What philosophical problems are reflected in the story overcoat. Overcoat - analysis of the work

The idea of ​​the story "The Overcoat" arose from N.V. Gogol under the influence of a real story told to him. One poor official had been saving up money for a very expensive gun for a long time. Having bought it and went hunting, the official did not notice how the priceless purchase slipped from the boat into the river. The shock of the loss was so strong that the unlucky hunter became seriously ill. The official's health began to improve only after his friends chipped in and bought him exactly the same gun.

Gogol took this amusing incident very seriously. He knew firsthand about the hard life of poor officials. In the first years of service in St. Petersburg, the writer himself "took off the whole winter in a summer overcoat."

Combining the main idea from the story of the official with his own memories, in 1839 Gogol began work on The Overcoat. The story was finished at the beginning of 1841 and first published a year later.

The meaning of the name

The overcoat in the story is not just a piece of clothing. She practically becomes one of the heroes of the work. Not only the happiness of poor Akaky Akakievich, but even his life, turn out to be dependent on an ordinary overcoat.

The main theme of the story is the plight of petty bureaucracy.

The protagonist Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin evokes unfeigned pity. The whole life path was destined for him from birth. At baptism, the child made such a face, "as if he had a presentiment that there would be a titular adviser."

Akaky Akakievich is just a cog in a huge bureaucratic machine. The work of an official consists in the primitive rewriting of documents. Akaky Akakievich is not capable of more.

The authorities treat Bashmachkin "coldly and despotically." In addition, he serves as a constant target for jokes from colleagues. Akaky Akakievich does not react in any way to ridicule. Only in extreme cases does he plaintively ask: “Leave me, why do you offend me?”.

In the eyes of those around him, Bashmachkin's life is boring and colorless. Although the official himself sees "a diverse and pleasant world" in his rewriting of papers. Akaki Akakievich does not even notice anything around, completely immersed in his monotonous work.

The “strong enemy” of all petty officials, the Russian frost, brings Bashmachkin out of his state of detachment. Akaki Akakievich understands with horror that buying a new overcoat is a severe necessity. The required sum could be accumulated only by the most severe economy and limitation of expenses. This led Bashmachkin to an even more disastrous financial situation, but, on the other hand, gave him his first real goal in life.

Dreaming of a new greatcoat, Akaki Akakievich seemed to be born again: "he became somehow more alive, even firmer in character." “Fire was sometimes shown in the eyes” of the obedient titular adviser.

The long-awaited realization of the dream became the most significant event in the life of Akaky Akakievich - "a great solemn holiday." Thanks to an ordinary overcoat, he felt like a different person and even agreed to go to a colleague's birthday, which he never did.

The bliss of Akaky Akakievich did not last long. Being attacked at night and having lost his dream, he fell into despair. The efforts to find the criminal did not help. The only means was the help of one "significant person". However, the sharp reception given to Bashmachkin by the general killed his last hope. "Proper scolding" led to a fever and an early death.

The figure of the titular adviser was so insignificant that in the service they learned about his funeral only on the fourth day. The replacement of the place by another official was completely painless for the work of the institution.

Issues

The main problem of the story lies in the fact that in the era of Gogol a huge number of people were the same Akaki Akakievich. Their lives passed without a trace and did not represent any value. For any higher official, Akaki Akakievich is not even a person, but a submissive and defenseless executor of orders.

The bureaucratic system breeds a soulless attitude towards people. A striking example is the “significant person”. This person "compassion was ... not alien", but the position he holds kills the best feelings in him. Upon learning of the death of the poor petitioner, the general feels remorse, but it quickly passes. The ending of the story with the appearance of the ghost of an official emphasizes that in real life the death of Akaky Akakievich would not have affected the established order in any way.

Composition

The story is a life story of the official Bashmachkin, the main event in which was the purchase of a new overcoat. The end of the work is the fantastic revenge of the deceased titular adviser.

What does the author teach

Gogol knew from his own experience what a negative impact on a person his cramped financial situation has. He calls to pay attention to the downtrodden and humiliated people, to pity them and try to help, because their lives may depend on it.

The well-known phrase of the French critic E. Vogüe that a whole galaxy of writers grew out of Gogol's "The Overcoat" is quite true. The image of the "little man", which became popular thanks to Charlie Chaplin, in a sense, is also from there, from her. In the thirties and forties, descriptions of the great feats of outstanding personalities not only became boring to the reader, but they wanted something else, something unusual. At this time, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol wrote "The Overcoat". The analysis of this work was carried out repeatedly, both before the revolution and after it. In it they found either dreams of universal equality and fraternity, or even calls for the overthrow of the autocracy. Today, having re-read the story through the eyes of a contemporary, we can safely say that none of this is there.

Main character, A. A. Bashmachkin

To establish the opinion that the story lacks not only revolutionary motives, but also a social idea in general, it is enough to understand about whom N.V. Gogol wrote "The Overcoat". Analysis of the main character's personality leads to the search for modern analogies. The notorious "middle managers", contemptuously also called "office plankton", who carry out routine assignments, come to mind. Workers, according to one literary character, are divided into two main categories: the majority are not capable of anything, and only a few can practically everything. Judging by the description of Akaky Akakievich and his relationship with the team, he does not belong to the all-powerful minority. But Gogol would not be himself if he did not see in him certain virtues, which he also writes about with a fair amount of irony. Bashmachkin, a typical "eternal titular" (such in the Soviet Army were called fifteen-year-old captains, according to the term of service in a junior officer rank), loves his work, he is diligent and submissive to the point of humility. To the jokes of his comrades, sometimes angry, he reacts gently and peacefully. He has no friends, besides beautiful calligraphic letters, and he doesn’t need to.

In order to assess the financial situation of Bashmachkin, the modern reader needs to delve into the literature and understand what and how much it cost then. This job requires diligence and patience. The prices for many things were completely different, just as the assortment of a modern supermarket differs from the choice of goods in the shops and stores of that era in which Gogol wrote The Overcoat. Purchasing power analysis can be done approximately.

It is absolutely impossible to compare the prices of the middle of the 19th century with today's prices. Now there are many goods that do not fit into the then consumer basket (mobile phones, computers, etc.). In addition, the choice of clothes has become very wide (from cheap consumer goods sewn by our Chinese friends to offers from super-prestigious boutiques). It is more expedient to make a comparison with salaries in the relatively recent Soviet past.

Calculation of the financial capabilities of the protagonist

The hero's salary is known - 800 rubles a year. By the standards of that time, not so little, you won’t die of hunger. Judging by indirect signs and based on the text of the story, we can conclude that the scale of prices approximately corresponded to the capabilities of an ordinary engineer of the late Soviet era (70s or 80s), who received 120 rubles of salary. It is also known how much the new overcoat cost Akaky Akakievich. The story was written in 1842, there was no shortage of food and there were no queues, but getting to know the right people mattered even then. “According to the pull”, a certain Petrovich, a tailor, is ready to make the right thing for only 80. It was impossible to buy a decent coat in the USSR for that kind of money, and in order to collect for a new thing, an ordinary worker needed to save several months.

So Akaki Akakievich cut his budget in order to sew a new overcoat for himself. His problems were exclusively economic in nature, and, in general, were completely solvable.

What happened?

The plot of Gogol was inspired by a story about the same poor and ordinary official, who saved up for a long time for a gun and lost it on his first hunt. One had to be a genius to see in such an unfunny anecdote the plot of a future work and develop it to a tragicomedy, which is rightfully considered the story "The Overcoat". Its main characters are also officials, and for the most part they receive as much as Bashmachkin, or more, but not much. Seeing a new thing, they jokingly demand to “splash” (today they often use the verbs “wash” or “put down”). Colleagues know that Bashmachkin has no money for excesses, and if he had, then, obviously, he would not be in a hurry to part with them either - for many years they studied his character. Help came from the assistant clerk (judging by the title of the position, he is also not a great rich man), who offers refreshments and invites to visit him. And after the banquet, Akaky Akakievich was robbed and stripped, taking away his new overcoat. The summary of the scene of a friendly drinking clearly shows how spirited the humble official soared, having bought, in general, an ordinary thing. He even shows interest in a certain lady, however, not for long.

And then such a collapse.

The image of the boss

Of course, Nikolai Vasilyevich tells us not just a story about how an unknown official found and lost his overcoat. The story, like all outstanding literary works, is about relationships between people. A person is known by gaining power. Some people just need to get a job...

So the new boss, who recently took up his post, poses in front of a friend, scolding Akaky Akakievich on a far-fetched pretext of mistreatment, and in general, anxiety of the highest authority on such a petty issue as some kind of overcoat. The summary of the angry tirade of the Significant Person (as it is designated by the author) boils down to a reminder of who Bashmachkin is talking to, to whom he is standing, and a rhetorical question about how he dares. At the same time, the general has his own problems, he was recently appointed, and does not know how to behave at all, which is why he spreads fear on everyone. In his heart, he was a kind, decent, good comrade, and even not stupid (in many respects).

Having received such an affront, the poor official came home, fell ill, and died, it is not clear whether it was from a cold or due to severe stress.

What the author wanted to say

The tragic ending is also characteristic of other Russian writers of the 19th and 20th centuries, who “grew up” from the same outerwear mentioned. A.P. Chekhov (“The Death of an Official”) “kills” (only without subsequent mysticism) his main character in the same way as N.V. Gogol (“The Overcoat”). An analysis of these two works, their comparison suggests the spiritual relationship of the masters of the pen and their general rejection of fear of anyone. The declaration of inner freedom became the main leitmotif of both works created on the basis of the antithesis technique. The classics seem to be telling us: “Don’t be Akaky Akakiyevich! Live boldly, do not be afraid! All problems are solved!

How strange that in the intervening decades and centuries so few have taken this call to heart.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, who left a mystical mark in Russian literature, became the ancestor of many writers of the 19th century critical realism. It is no coincidence that Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky's catchphrase in an interview with a French journalist became a catchphrase: "We all came out of their Gogol overcoat." The writer meant the attitude towards the “little man”, which manifested itself very clearly in the story. Later, this type of hero will become the main one in Russian literature.

The "Overcoat", which was included in the cycle of "Petersburg Tales", in the initial editions was of a humorous nature, because it appeared thanks to an anecdote. Gogol, according to the memoirs of P. V. Annenkov, "listened to the comments, descriptions, anecdotes ... and, it happened, used them."

One day he heard a clerical anecdote about a poor official who was a passionate hunter and saved up enough money to buy a good gun, saving on everything and working hard in his position. When he first went hunting for ducks on a boat, the gun caught on thick reeds and drowned. He could not find him and, returning home, came down with a fever. Comrades, having learned about this, bought him a new gun, which brought him back to life, but later he recalled this incident with a deathly pallor on his face. Everyone laughed at the anecdote, but Gogol left in thought: it was on that evening that the idea of ​​a future story was born in his head.

Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, the protagonist of the story "The Overcoat", starting from birth, when his mother, rejecting all the names on the calendar as too exotic, gave him the name of his father, and at baptism he cried and made such a grimace, “as if he felt that there would be a titular adviser”, and all my life, dutifully enduring the coldly despotic treatment of superiors, bullying colleagues and poverty, "knew how to be satisfied with his lot". No change in his order of life was already possible.

Suddenly, fate gives a chance to change your life - to sew a new overcoat. So the central event of the story is the acquisition and loss of the overcoat. At first, a conversation with an angry tailor, who claims that it is impossible to repair an old overcoat, plunges Akaky Akakievich into complete confusion. In order to raise money for a new coat, Bashmachkin has to not drink tea in the evenings, not light candles, and walk almost on tiptoe to keep his soles. All these restrictions cause terrible inconvenience at first.

But as soon as the hero imagined a new overcoat, he became a different person. Changes are striking: Bashmachkin "become more alive, firmer in character, like a man who has set himself a goal". The irony of the author is understandable: the goal, because of which the official has changed, is too insignificant.

The appearance of the long-awaited overcoat - "most solemn day" in the life of a hero. Bashmachkin is embarrassed by the general attention of his colleagues, but still accepts the offer to celebrate the new thing. The habitual way of life is broken, the behavior of the hero changes. It turns out that he is able to laugh merrily and not write any papers after dinner.

Since Bashmachkin has not left the house in the evenings for a long time, Petersburg seems beautiful to him. This city is fantastic already because it appeared "from the darkness of the forests, from the swamp of blat", but it was Gogol who turned it into a phantasmagoric city - a place where something out of the ordinary is possible. The hero of The Overcoat, lost in the night Petersburg, becomes a victim of a robbery. A shock for him is the appeal to the police authorities, the attempts of colleagues to arrange a clubbing, but the most serious test is the meeting with "significant person", after which Bashmachkin dies.

The author emphasizes how terrible and tragic the helplessness of the "little man" in St. Petersburg is. Retribution, reinforced by the intervention of evil spirits, becomes just as terrible. The ghost that appeared after the death of Bashmachkin in the wasteland, reminiscent of a former titular adviser, tore "from all shoulders, without disassembling the rank and title of all overcoats". This went on until "significant person" did not end up in the ill-fated wasteland and the dead man did not grab him. That's when the ghost said: “... I need your overcoat! ... You didn’t bother about mine - now give yours!”

This incident changed the once important official: he became less arrogant. And the appearance of the dead official stopped: “It can be seen that the general’s overcoat fell on his shoulders”. For Gogol, it is not the appearance of a ghost that becomes fantastic, but the manifestation of conscience even in such a person as "significant person".

"The Overcoat" develops the theme of the "little man", outlined by Karamzin in "Poor Lisa" and revealed by Pushkin in. But Gogol sees the cause of evil not in people, but in the structure of life, where not everyone has privileges.

• "The Overcoat", a summary of Gogol's story
• "Portrait", analysis of Gogol's story, composition

The story "The Overcoat" is one of the best works of the most mysterious (according to the Russian writer Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich. The story about the life of the "little man" Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, a simple copyist of one of the many offices of the county town, leads the reader to deep reflections on the meaning of life.

"Leave me alone..."

Gogol's "Overcoat" requires a thoughtful approach. Akaki Bashmachnikov is not just a "small" person, he is defiantly insignificant, emphatically detached from life. He has no desires, with his whole appearance he seems to be saying to others: "I beg you to leave me alone." The younger officials make fun of Akaky Akakievich, although not maliciously, but still insultingly. Gather around and compete in wit. Sometimes they hurt, then Bashmachnikov will raise his head and say: "Why are you like that?". In the text of the narration, it is present to feel it and offers Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. "The Overcoat" (the analysis of this short story may be longer than itself) includes complex psychological interweaving.

Thoughts and aspirations

Akaki's only passion was his work. He copied documents neatly, cleanly, with love. Arriving home and having had some dinner, Bashmachnikov began to walk around the room, time dragged on slowly for him, but he was not burdened by this. Akaki sat down and wrote all evening. Then he went to bed, thinking about the documents that were to be rewritten the next day. These thoughts made him happy. Paper, pen and ink made up the meaning of the life of the "little man", who was well over fifty. Only such a writer as Gogol could describe the thoughts and aspirations of Akaky Akakievich. "The Overcoat" is analyzed with great difficulty, because a small story contains so many psychological collisions that it would be enough for a whole novel.

Salary and a new overcoat

The salary of Akaki Akakievich was 36 rubles a month, this money was barely enough to pay for housing and food. When frost hit Petersburg, Bashmachnikov found himself in a difficult situation. His clothes were worn to holes, they no longer saved from the cold. The overcoat was frayed on the shoulders and back, the sleeves were torn at the elbows. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol skillfully describes the whole drama of the situation. "The Overcoat", the theme of which goes beyond the usual narrative, makes you think about a lot. Akaky Akakievich went to the tailor to mend his clothes, but he said that "it is impossible to repair", a new overcoat is needed. And he named the price - 80 rubles. The money for Bashmachnikov is huge, which he did not have at all. I had to save heavily in order to save the required amount.

After some time, the office gave the bonus to officials. Akaky Akakievich got 20 rubles. Together with the salary received, a sufficient amount was collected. He went to the tailor. And here the whole drama of the situation is revealed by precise literary definitions, which only a writer like Gogol can do. "The Overcoat" (an analysis of this story cannot be done without being imbued with the misfortune of a person who is deprived of the opportunity to simply take and buy a coat for himself) touches to the core.

Death of the "little man"

The new overcoat turned out to be a feast for the eyes - thick cloth, a cat collar, copper buttons, all this even somehow raised Bashmachnikov above his hopeless life. He straightened up, began to smile, felt like a man. Colleagues vied with each other touting the renovation, and invited Akaky Akakievich to a party. After her, the hero of the day went home, striding along the icy sidewalk, even hit on a woman passing by, and when he turned off Nevsky, two men approached him, scared him and took off his overcoat. All the next week, Akaki Akakievich went to the police station, hoping that they would find a new thing. Then he developed a fever. The "little man" is dead. So ended the life of his character Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. "The Overcoat", the analysis of this story can be done endlessly, constantly opens up new facets to us.

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Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol, who left a mystical mark in Russian literature, is "the most mysterious figure in Russian literature." To this day, the writer's works cause controversy.

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The "Overcoat", which was included in the cycle of "Petersburg Tales", in the initial editions was of a humorous nature, because it appeared thanks to an anecdote.

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Once Gogol heard a joke about a poor official: he was a passionate hunter and saved up enough money to buy a good gun, saving on everything and working hard in his position. When he first went hunting for ducks on a boat, the gun caught on thick reeds and drowned. He could not find him and, returning home, came down with a fever. Comrades, having learned about this, bought him a new gun, which brought him back to life, but later he recalled this incident with a deathly pallor on his face. Everyone laughed at the anecdote, but Gogol left in thought: it was on that evening that the idea of ​​a future story was born in his head.

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The first draft of the story was called "The Tale of the Official Stealing the Overcoat." The official bore the surname Tishkevich. In 1842, Gogol completes the story, changes the name of the hero. It is being printed, completing the cycle of "Petersburg Tales". This cycle includes the stories: "Nevsky Prospekt", "The Nose", "Portrait", "Carriage", "Notes of a Madman" and "Overcoat".

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The writer works on the cycle between 1835 and 1842. The stories are united according to the common place of events - Petersburg. Gogol was attracted by petty officials, artisans, impoverished artists - "little people". Petersburg was not chosen by the writer by chance, it was this stone city that was especially indifferent and ruthless to the “little man”.

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Genre, creative method The genre of "The Overcoat" is defined as a story, although its volume does not exceed twenty pages. It received its specific name not so much for its volume, but for its enormous semantic richness, which you will not find in any novel. The meaning of the work is revealed only by compositional and stylistic devices with the extreme simplicity of the plot. A simple story about a poor official who invested all his money and soul in a new overcoat, after stealing which he dies, under Gogol's pen found a mystical denouement, turned into a colorful parable with enormous philosophical overtones. "The Overcoat" is a wonderful work of art, revealing the eternal problems of being, which will not be translated either in life or in literature as long as humanity exists.

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It is difficult to call a realistic story: the story of the stolen overcoat, according to Gogol, "suddenly takes on a fantastic ending." The ghost, in which the deceased Akaky Akakievich was recognized, ripped off everyone's overcoat, "without understanding the rank and title." Thus, the ending of the story turned it into a phantasmagoria.

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Themes The story raises social, ethical, religious and aesthetic problems. Public interpretation emphasized the social side of the "Overcoat". An ethical or humanistic interpretation was based on the pitiful moments of The Overcoat, a call for generosity and equality, which was heard in Akaky Akakievich’s weak protest against clerical jokes: “Leave me, why are you offending me?” - in these penetrating words, other words rang out: "I am your brother." Finally, the aesthetic principle, which came to the fore in the works of the 20th century, focused mainly on the form of the story as the focus of its artistic value.

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The idea “Why portray the poverty and imperfections of our life, digging people out of life, the remote nooks and crannies of the state? ... No, there is a time when otherwise it is impossible to aspire society and even a generation to the beautiful until you show the full depth of its real abomination” - wrote N.V. Gogol, and in his words lies the key to understanding the story.

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The author showed the "depth of abomination" of society through the fate of the main character of the story - Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin. His image has two sides. The first is spiritual and physical squalor, which Gogol deliberately emphasizes and brings to the fore. The second is the arbitrariness and heartlessness of others in relation to the main character of the story. The ratio of the first and second determines the humanistic pathos of the work: even such a person as Akaky Akakievich has the right to exist and be treated fairly. Gogol sympathizes with the fate of his hero. And it makes the reader involuntarily think about the attitude to the whole world around, and first of all about the sense of dignity and respect that every person should arouse for himself, regardless of his social and financial situation, but only taking into account his personal qualities and merits.

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The nature of the conflict N.V. Gogol lies the conflict between the "little man" and society, a conflict leading to rebellion, to the uprising of the humble. The story "The Overcoat" describes not only an incident from the life of the hero. The whole life of a person appears before us: we are present at his birth, naming him, find out how he served, why he needed an overcoat and, finally, how he died. The story of the life of the “little man”, his inner world, his feelings and experiences, depicted by Gogol not only in The Overcoat, but also in other stories of the Petersburg Tales cycle, firmly entered Russian literature of the 19th century.

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The main characters The hero of the story is Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, a petty official of one of the St. Petersburg departments, a humiliated and disenfranchised man "short, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, somewhat even blind-sighted, with a slight bald spot on his forehead, with wrinkles on both sides of his cheeks." The hero of Gogol's story is offended by fate in everything, but he does not grumble: he is already over fifty, he did not go beyond the correspondence of papers, he did not rise above the titular rank. Bashmachkin has neither family nor friends, he does not go to the theater or visit. All his "spiritual" needs are satisfied by rewriting papers. No one considers him a person. Bashmachkin did not answer a single word to his offenders, did not even stop working and did not make mistakes in the letter. All his life Akaky Akakievich has served in the same place, in the same position; his salary is meager - 400 rubles. a year, the uniform has long been no longer green, but a reddish-flour color; co-workers call an overcoat worn to holes a hood.