, summary and analysis) depicts a petty, downtrodden and pathetic official Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin (see his description in the text of the work). He is so humiliated, so intimidated, so offended by fate that, apart from mechanical copying of papers, he does not know how to do anything. He speaks more with pronouns and interjections, is afraid of mocking colleagues and is in awe of his superiors.
Gogol "The Overcoat". Audiobook
He is so humble and irresponsible that it never even occurs to him to complain about his bleak life or grumble about his fate. Only occasionally, when young officials mock him too much and interfere with his work, does he quietly say: “Leave me alone! Why are you offending me?
“And there was something strange in the words and in the voice with which they were spoken. There was something in him that inclined to pity, that one young man, who, following the example of others, had allowed himself to laugh at him, suddenly stopped, as if pierced, and from then on everything seemed to change before him and appeared in a different form . Some unnatural force pushed him away from the comrades with whom he met, mistaking them for decent secular people. And for a long time later, in the midst of the most cheerful moments, a low official with a bald spot on his forehead appeared to him, with his penetrating words: “Leave me alone! Why are you offending me?” And in these penetrating words other words rang: “I am your brother!”
These amazing words change our entire attitude towards Akaki Akakievich. In this funny creature, in this machine for copying papers, we suddenly see the mournful human face– and our laughter gives way to painful pity. Founder " natural school“Gogol opened a new area for Russian literature: the world of “little people,” unnoticed sufferers, humble and meek victims of social injustice, the world of the poor, wretched, poor in spirit, “humiliated and insulted.”
And after romantic heroes, proud individuals who despise the crowd, rebel against society, mysterious, disappointed and intoxicated with their own greatness, the “little people” seemed alive and close. Gogol’s words rang out: “I am your brother!” - and all subsequent writers, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Nekrasov, and Tolstoy, responded warmly to them. Russian literature was imbued with compassion for a humiliated and unhappy person, love for his suffering soul, and a humane attitude towards his smaller brothers. All of them began to fight for the dignity of man and for the improvement of his bitter fate on our land. The humanism and philanthropism of Russian literature comes from Gogol, and this is his great merit.
Akakiy Akakievich becomes convinced that his old overcoat is no good, and begins to save money, pennies at a time, to buy a new one. He denies himself food, walks on tiptoe for fear of wearing out his boots, and sits at home in only his underwear to preserve his dress. He lives as an ascetic and ascetic, and only the dream of a new overcoat supports him amidst hardships.
Finally the overcoat was purchased. His comrades invite him to visit to celebrate this joyful event. But on the way back home, the thieves take off Bashmachkin’s overcoat. He runs around the offices, complaining about the theft, his superiors scold him and stomp their feet. Akaki Akakievich falls ill from grief and soon dies.
Akaki Akakievich in a new overcoat. Illustration by B. Kustodiev for Gogol’s story
The story of the poor official is so simple and sad. In what spiritual loneliness, in what desolation did this man live, if his greatest ideal, his most beautiful dream, could become a warm cotton overcoat! But, despite all his underdevelopment and neglect, he was capable of both willpower and heroic self-denial in the name of his dream. Is it his fault if the powers given to him by God were wasted in vain, if his goal was so base?
Are we not all to blame for passing indifferently past our brothers, immersed in coldness and selfishness?
Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin - main character N.V. Gogol's story "The Overcoat". By the will of the author, we only know about the birth of Bashmachkin and his adult life. This is a hero “without a story”, because there is nothing to explain in him: he is like thousands of others - invisible, not particularly smart, quiet, submissive. This is the author's intention.
Akaki Akakievich lives in St. Petersburg, serves as a titular councilor - he rewrites papers drawn up by others in even handwriting, for an annual salary of 400 rubles - and does not know anything else. Once he was entrusted with more - to rewrite and at the same time “change the title title and change verbs here and there from the first person to the third...” However, even this simple work turned out to be beyond Bashmachkin’s power - he begged “to rewrite something...” He is over 50 years old, bald, reddish, pockmarked, with no family or relatives.
The co-workers laugh, even openly mock Akaki Akakievich: they come up with stories that the old landlady beats Bashmachkin, and throw torn paper on his head. But the hero, when it became unbearable, only says: “Leave me, why are you offending me?”
(Tailor Petrovich refuses to repair Akakiy Akakievich’s old overcoat)
So Bashmachkin would have copied papers - and he passionately loved his simplest, thoughtless service, but his overcoat, which he had been patching for years at the tailor Petrovich, was completely worn out. This time Petrovich did not repair the overcoat, because there was no place to put patches - everything was falling apart.
Having given up almost everything, saving on what is necessary, Akaki Akakievich collects money for a new overcoat, which becomes a dream for him. When the overcoat is ready and put on for the first time, thieves in the square take it off the hero at night.
No one even undertook to help Akaki Akakievich in the search for the robbers and the overcoat - neither a “private person” nor a “significant person.” Bashmachkin falls ill with a fever and dies. But even after death he has no peace: people say that at the Kalinkin Bridge a dead man meets passers-by and rips their greatcoats off their shoulders...
Characteristics of the hero
(Rolan Bykov as Bashmachkin in the film "The Overcoat" 1959, and further stills from the film)
Akaki Akakievich from the point of view of a “competitive society” is completely insignificant. He has not only achieved nothing, but also does not strive for more, does not make a career, does not make acquaintances, wants little - just to calmly rewrite papers.
It was not for nothing that Gogol chose such a name for the hero: in Greek it means “kindly, innocent,” and in Russian it sounds funny and ambiguous (“apparently, this is his fate”). The hero is not just “innocent”, but twice so - by name and patronymic. Moreover, “innocent” in Christian understanding words (Gogol at this time was already extremely immersed in Christianity): not knowing temptations, not subject to temptation, lust, greed, envy.
And also - “... a creature... dear to no one...”, a completely lonely person, but not complaining to anyone. Apparently, even physical passionate love did not happen in his life: this is how Akaki Akakievich lives - a bore and an ascetic. But he always “keeps up” on time when they throw out all sorts of rubbish - crusts, peelings, etc., which just end up in it...
Since ancient times in Rus', such people became either saints or deeply despised. The second applies to Bashmachkin. Why is he despised, since he has never done harm to a single living creature, let alone a person? This is the first main question of the St. Petersburg story by N.V. Gogol. The second is how “the most insignificant thing... becomes for a person a source of boundless joy and destroying grief” (A. Grigoriev)?
The image of the hero in the work
Bashmachkin is the first " little man"in Russian literature, a hero who, it seems, cannot interest the reader in anything and for whom it is difficult to experience any noticeable feeling - be it sympathy or contempt.
But French critic Eugene Vogüe, in an article about Dostoevsky, wrote that all “great” (Dostoevsky, Tolstoy) Russian literature came out of Gogol’s “The Overcoat”. Gogol anticipated the beginning of the great humanistic trends that will sweep the world at the end of the 20th and 21st centuries and which are talked about so much in the pages of Russian classics.
Bashmachkin is the first attempt to show what the “power of consumption” does to a person. Sinless, innocent, gentle, he turns into a monster when the ultimate dream - his overcoat - is taken away. Fiction? With Gogol - yes, in modern times - this is a common thing.
On the other hand, Akaki Akakievich is a mirror for others. An arrogant and cruel attitude towards him without reason shows what the real values of society are: like in a pack - if you are weak, you don’t snap back, don’t fight for best place, everyone will bite you, even just like that. Although each of those who “bite” Bashmachkin considered himself a Christian and probably celebrated Christian holidays.
The problems that became the basis of the story have now become extremely worse. The consumer society, the cult of success, does not accept those who are not like that. Centuries go by. More than 2,000 years have passed since the birth of Christ, and the law of the pack is still stronger than the 10 commandments.
Unfortunately, life is often unfair to people. Some can live carefree and prosperous lives without making the slightest effort, while others are forced to work hard to provide themselves with the bare necessities. It is about people of the second type that are told in the story by N.V. Gogol's "The Overcoat". Its main character, Akaki Akakievich Bashmachnikov, is a typical small, insignificant person in this life.
The basis of the story and a brief history of creation
Tale by N.V. Gogol's "The Overcoat" is based on an anecdote that circulated in clerical circles. Its essence was this: once upon a time there lived a poor official. He had a special passion for hunting, and the idea of buying a good gun was the most cherished dream. One day he decided to make his dream come true - he saved up money and bought the gun he wanted, but on his first hunt the official suffered a setback: his gun got caught in the bushes and sank. No matter how hard the official tried, he was unable to catch the weapon. Frustrated, he returned home empty-handed. After this, the blues attacked him - he was too sorry for the gun, and the official fell ill with a fever. His friends decided to help and gave him a new gun, which contributed to the recovery of their friend. However, the memory of the loss of his purchase for a long time drove the official into deathly pallor.
The comic basis of the work prompts the reader to perceive the comic reality of the story. And indeed, despite the rather unattractive plot, the plot of the story is distinguished by many funny and sometimes absurd life situations.
The story of the birth of the main character and the choice of name
A certain amount of irony and farce accompanied the main character of Gogol's story from birth. According to the author, this trend began from the very birth of the hero. Main mountain born on March 23. The issue with the godparents had already been resolved. Godfather The boy was to become the serving head of the Senate, Ivan Ivanovich Eroshkin, and the mother was the officer’s wife, Arina Semyonovna Belobryushkova. The godparents were chosen in accordance with the requirements of the religion - they were respectable people. When the time came to baptize the child, his mother was faced with an insurmountable obstacle - choosing a name for her newborn.
All possible options from the calendar puzzled her: Mokkiy, Sessions, Khozdazat. Further searches led to the names Trifiliy, Dula, Varakhasiy. “This is the punishment, what are all the names; “I really have never heard of such things,” says the woman. The next attempt was no less successful - they offered names to choose from: Pavsikahiy and Vakhtisy, which also did not impress. The woman decides that there are no other options, she needs to name her son after his father because “this is his fate.” That is why the newborn boy was named Akaki. The boy was successfully baptized, and the child began to cry “as if he had a presentiment that there would be a titular councilor.”
You can follow life and fate in the story of the same name by N.V. Gogol.
His last name was Bashmachnikov. Gogol points out that everything here is prosaic - the surname comes from the word shoe, but neither Akaki himself nor his immediate relatives have anything to do with this.
Appearance of Akaki Akakievich
Some time passed, and Akaki became a grown man. We don’t know how his childhood and growing up went. A detailed acquaintance with Akaki Akakievich occurs already during his adult life. At the time of the development of the main actions of the novel, he is over fifty.
Akaki’s appearance is not particularly distinctive or memorable: “short, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, somewhat blind in appearance, with a small bald spot on his forehead, with wrinkles on both sides of his cheeks and a complexion that is called hemorrhoidal.”
Gogol calls the “St. Petersburg climate” the reason for such premature old age. This phrase also has a double meaning - on the one hand, it can be taken in its literal meaning, indicating the difficulties of the body’s adaptation to certain climatic conditions and, as a result, the impact on appearance and health. On the other hand, this phrase can be taken in an ironic sense.
Life in St. Petersburg was not easy and carefree, especially for an insignificant person in social and financial terms, which Bashmachnikov was. Significant competition and high demands in work, the specific attitude of people towards their personality - all this had an extremely negative impact on people. It is precisely this context-characteristic of society that implies the irony of the phrase.
Akaki's clothes want to be better - his uniform has long lost its color, his collars were always very short, so his neck seemed prohibitively long. His clothes were never perfectly clean. There was always something attached to his suit. Basically it was a string or a piece of hay.
However, Akakiy was not embarrassed by this state of affairs. He wanted his things to serve him for as long as possible.
Occupation and service of Akaki Akakievich
Akaki Bashmachnikov was a lonely man. He had no relatives or friends. He also did not have his own housing - he rented an apartment in the poorest part of the city. Bashmachnikov worked as a titular adviser in the department “in order to avoid any troubles, it is better to call the department in question one department.” Akaki Akakievich’s job consists of copying papers. His salary is 400 rubles, and a bonus is added to this amount - mostly 45-50 rubles, and sometimes even 60.
Akaki Akakievich has been serving in one place for a very long time, so long that no one can remember exactly when he started serving. Bashmachnikov never changed his workplace: “No matter how many directors and various bosses changed, he was always seen in the same place, in the same position, in the same position.”
The lack of promotion does not cause resentment in Akaki. He likes his job. When Bashmachnikov is given the opportunity to get promoted, he neglects it. The fact is that Akakiy Akakievich can only reproduce the text word for word; any, even the smallest changes cause him insurmountable difficulties: “No, better let me rewrite something.” Since then they left it to be rewritten forever.” Akakiy Akakievich finds an inexplicable charm in this activity; he always starts his work with pleasure. Gogol argues that it is not enough to say that Bashmachnikov zealously does his work, he truly loves it. When he is busy rewriting, a feeling of pleasure freezes on his face. Bashmashnikov has beautiful, neat handwriting, he meticulously rewrites documents and never makes mistakes. He is also always at work. His colleagues cannot remember a moment when Bashmachnikov was not at work.
Leisure time Bashmachnikov
Akaki Akakievich does not care about his leisure time. He was used to spending his evenings at home. His favorite activity– rewriting papers, he always takes some of the work home with him. If it happened that all his work was done at the workplace, he still took some paper for copying just like that, and not because of the need for service.
All his colleagues are trying to go out somewhere and have fun, but such pastime does not arouse interest in Bashmachnikov; a quiet, calm life, focused on copying papers, absolutely suits him. Every evening he falls asleep with happy thoughts about tomorrow's work day and about new documents that require rewriting.
The attitude of others towards Bashmachnikov
Oddly enough, despite all his diligence in work and diligent fulfillment of his duties, Bashmachnikov does not bother good attitude in relation to oneself.
His work colleagues laughed at him and made fun of him all the time. They discussed rumors about his seventy-year-old owner and that she was beating Akaki Akakievich.
His superiors didn't appreciate him either. The management treated him with despotism and indignation, although he, like no one else, did his job efficiently.
The watchmen did not have any sympathy or respect for him. They didn’t pay attention to him, “they didn’t even look at him, as if a simple fly had flown through the waiting room.” And they did not get up when he appeared, as was customary.
Bashmachnikov humbly endures all ridicule and insults. And only sometimes he pitifully exclaims: “Leave me alone, why are you offending me?” - and in these penetrating words other words rang: “I am your brother.” However, everything remains in its place, the attitude towards it does not change. A certain amount of compassion is shown among his colleagues after Bashmachnikov’s overcoat was stolen; they even try to raise money for him to buy a new one, but they are unable to raise the necessary amount.
Characteristics of Akaki Akakievich
Akaki Akakievich Bashmachnikov did not have a strong character. He was a gentle and good-natured man, he did not know how to stand up for himself - neither give physical nor moral resistance. With his appearance he evokes pity, and his manner of speaking and the plasticity of his movements only strengthen this situation.
Bashmachnikov has a quiet and calm temperament - his voice is also subject to this description. He speaks measuredly and quietly, without eloquence. It is difficult for Akaki Akakievich to express his thoughts clearly; he is constantly confused and confused in his story. Akakiy Akakievich spoke mostly in prepositions, adverbs and, finally, particles that had absolutely no meaning.
Bashmachnikov has a sense of shame. He never uses obscene language or rude words in his speech. Bashmachnikov is not used to being the center of attention, so he feels awkward when attention is paid to him and becomes shy.
The personality of Akaki Akakievich is not of interest. He is a small fry, the loss of which is difficult to notice.
In addition, he is extremely unlucky. He always becomes a victim of throwing garbage out of the window, so his suit is always dirty, you can find the remains of thrown food or garbage on it.
The overcoat and its role in Bashmachnikov’s life
Bashmachnikov always treated his things with special trepidation. The point here was not that he was a pedant or a man of exceptional purity, but that his life consisted of significant expenses, and the cost of clothing was too burdensome. Akakiy Akakievich urgently needed to update his wardrobe: “It was necessary to get new trousers, pay the shoemaker an old debt for attaching new heads to the old boots, and he had to order three shirts from the seamstress, and two pieces of that underwear that is indecent to name in a printed style.”
Bashmachnikova’s overcoat was in terrible condition; it “also served as an object of ridicule for officials; They even took away the noble name of the overcoat and called it a hood.” The collar of the overcoat was constantly being cut off into patches, it seemed that the entire overcoat already consisted of patches, and the collar was terribly small.
The material of the overcoat had become threadbare and, due to age, was unraveling from any action on it. Finally, the moment came when it was no longer possible to straighten the overcoat, “the cloth was so worn out that it was see-through, and the lining was unraveling.”
Bashmachnikov goes to the master, in the hope that he will fix his outerwear, but a miracle does not happen - the master flatly refuses to do anything and claims that it cannot be fixed in any way.
Bashmachnikov has no choice but to save up for a new overcoat. He draws up an action plan: “it will be necessary to reduce ordinary costs, at least for one year: banish drinking tea in the evenings, do not light candles in the evenings.” Such measures were not enough to save money, he decides to walk along the street extremely carefully so as not to wear out his shoes, resort to the services of a laundress less often, and even go hungry. “He fed spiritually, carrying in his thoughts the eternal idea of a future overcoat.” Accumulating money for a new overcoat became the goal of Bashmachnikov’s entire life. Finally, the dream came true and Akaki Akakievich accumulated the necessary 80 rubles.
The purchase of an overcoat became an event in Bashmachnikov’s entire life - he carefully hung it up, admired the strong fabric and warm lining for a long time, and even “pulled out, for comparison, his old hood, which had completely fallen apart.” After purchasing a new overcoat, Bashmachnikov was amazingly transformed: “he became livelier, stronger in character, like a man who had set a goal for himself.” Such a seemingly petty event revealed a new Akaki Akakievich to the world. He is able to laugh and joke cheerfully, enjoy life and even sit back. His colleagues are forcing him to do the unthinkable - to go out in public in the evening. Bashmachnikov agrees. Night city, which he has not seen for many years, seems to him a fabulous place - Akaki is full of admiration. A sudden event changes everything - he gets lost in the night streets and becomes a victim of robbers. The robbers took away his most precious possession - his new overcoat. Discouraged by this event, Bashmachnikov turns to the police, but finds no support, and the attempts of his colleagues to help also do not lead to the desired result. In the hope of a successful turn of events, Akaki Akakievich turns to some significant person, but even here he is refused.
Death of Akaki Akakievich
Completely upset, Akakiy Akakievich falls into the blues and is overcome by a fever. The humid climate of the city only contributes to the development of the disease and aggravation of its condition.
Perhaps for the first time in his life, he does not go to work. He is in a semi-fainting state and endlessly swears in his delirium, plunging everyone into horror with his condition. Bashmachnikov dies.
There was nothing left after him - all his things were in terrible condition and were of no value.
His death went unnoticed by anyone - he was too small and insignificant a person in this life.
However, after his death, strange things begin to happen in the city. A certain ghost of Bashmachnikov walks the streets. One day it happened "no one significant person” to go not his usual route, suddenly someone stops him: “he noticed a man of small stature, in an old, worn uniform, and not without horror recognized him as Akaki Akakievich. The official’s face was as pale as snow and looked completely dead.” The ghost of the dead man forces him to take off his overcoat and leaves. After this incident, dramatic changes occur with the official; he ceases to be rude and prejudiced towards his subordinates, and becomes humane.
Analysis of the image of Bashmachnikov by critics and contemporaries of Gogol
Dmitry Chizhevsky, a literary critic and scientific figure in the field of literature, drew attention to the fact that N.V. Gogol’s story became the reason for the appearance in literature of a number of works about a “little man” who is unable to change his life and therefore suffers from pressure all his life environment and circumstances.
Chizhevsky became one of those researchers who debunked the postulate about the bureaucratic component of the story.
D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky, analyzing the image of Bashmachnikov, argued that Gogol raised an important topic in the story and drew people’s attention to the fact that “there are a legion of such Bashmachnikovs.”
Scientists and critics belonging territorially to the Western world took a different path of research. They considered the story from the point of view of Hoffmann's theory. So, for example, Yu. V. Mann, drew attention to how rudely and inhumanly a person’s dreams are sometimes broken into reality: “Transcendental aspiration was reduced to an elementary need, but a vital need, not redundant, urgently necessary, integral in the poor, homeless life of Akaki Akakievich and, moreover, suffering the same inevitable collapse that the dreams of an artist or composer suffered.”
Analysis of the image of Akaki Akakievich and the story “The Overcoat” from the point of view of religion
N.V. Gogol was a deeply religious person, so a completely logical explanation, from the point of view of the critic Apollo Grigoriev and Boris Zaitsev, is the need for analysis from the point of view of religion.
In the vision of these critics, Gogol's story is not humorous story, but a parable, similar in essence to biblical stories. At its core is the story of the degradation of God's creation - man. Tailor Petrovich, at the same time, appears in Gogol’s story in the role of a demon, a devil. “In the image of Akaki Akakievich, the poet outlined the last facet of the shallowness of God’s creation to the extent that a thing, and the most insignificant thing, becomes for a person a source of boundless joy and destroying grief, to the point that the overcoat becomes a tragic fatum in the life of a creature created in the image and in the likeness of the Eternal" (Apollo Grigoriev).
At the same time, researchers draw attention to the fact that the name of the main character is exclusively symbolic and corresponds to his essence - in translation, the name Akaki means “innocent, good-natured.” In addition, the name of the main character is essentially an allusion to the work of John Climacus, “The Ladder.” The main character of this work, Akaki Sinai, a saint revered by Christians, also becomes the subject of ridicule, like Bashmachnikov.
Thus, the main character of the story N.V. Gogol's Akaki Akakievich Bashmachnikov is a classic example of an image later called the “little man.” He is not able to stand up for himself, his life is devoid of joys and aspirations. He is ready to perform mechanical work and find joy and admiration in this. Bashmachnikov is ready to be content with so little that his joy over such a worthless life seems something from the category of absurdity and indecency. However, this image is capable of transformation - small successes significantly transform Bashmachnikov, he reveals to people, and to himself, new facets of his personality, he realizes that his life before the changes was not as ideal as he wanted to believe. At the same time, Akakiy Akakievich’s feeling of suspiciousness and weakness does not go away - when faced with new troubles, he does not try to resist them - blues and disappointment lead him to death.
The image and characteristics of Akaki Akakievich in the story “The Overcoat”: description of appearance and character, portrait in quotes
3.6 (72.63%) 19 votesIn Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s story “The Overcoat,” the main character is Akaki Akakievich, a petty official. The man Akaki Akakievich is very modest, even downtrodden, everyone makes fun of him and mocks him. He cannot defend himself, because Akaki Akakievich’s character is too soft; those around him see this, so they behave this way towards him. Only in rare moments does he lose his temper and ask not to be mocked, but this looks more like a pitiful groan than strength of character.
Nikolai Vasilyevich in his story feels sorry for Bashmachkin and urges that you should not make fun of a person just because he is soft by nature. Akakiy Akakievich’s old overcoat is leaky, but due to his service he is obliged to wear it and he decides to save money to sew a new one. Bashmachkin has to give up a lot, he remains hungry in the evenings, takes things to the laundry less often and saves the soles so that he doesn’t have to buy things ahead of time. Akaki Akakievich’s goal is to sew a new overcoat; Gogol even writes that he has become more cheerful and brave, and has a twinkle in his eyes.
Akaki Akakievich quickly gets used to a modest life and lives only with the thought of his new overcoat. The day has come when Bashmachkin puts on a new overcoat and goes to the department, where everyone notices the new attire of the titular adviser. There was even a celebration on this occasion, at which everyone continued to make fun of Akaki Akakievich.
Bashmachkin, inspired by the new thing, enjoys his appearance, but the happiness did not last long. On the way home, thieves take off Akaki Akakievich's overcoat. Wherever he turned, no one wanted to help him; when he contacted the police, they said that I couldn’t do anything. Then Bashmachkin goes to a “significant person” and he completely kicks him out of his house.
In connection with these events, Akakiy Akakievich falls ill and dies, no one even noticed the disappearance of a man who no one needed. Only a ghost makes everyone shudder. After the ghost takes off the overcoat from the “significant person,” he thinks about it and begins to address people better.
Option 2
Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin is the main character of the work.
Akaki Akakievich is a man of about fifty, bald, wrinkled, short in stature, with reddish hair and poor eyesight.
The writer presents him in the image of an inconspicuous and ordinary civil servant who does not have the right to receive nobility, serving as a petty copyist of documents in one of the departments. His colleagues don’t even remember how Akaki Akakievich got this position, which does not require basic ingenuity and intelligence.
The hero unquestioningly carries out the instructions of his superiors and will not think about anything else. Entrusting him with other tasks, in which there is a need for thoughtful study, plunges Akaki Akakievich into great excitement and anxiety. At one point, he even refuses the proposed promotion, because he is not confident in his own abilities and is timid.
In addition, Akaki Akakievich is tongue-tied and is able to express himself only in adverbs and prepositions.
The events of the story unfold around the protagonist's long-standing dream of a new overcoat. Akakiy Akakievich’s old clothes are worn out to holes, have a reddish-floury color and can no longer be repaired or repaired.
Akaki Akakievich decides to sew a new overcoat and for this he begins to save on literally everything, just to collect the amount necessary for this. The man practically doesn’t eat, doesn’t use candles at night, and doesn’t wash his dirty linen.
And finally, the official’s dream comes true; he acquires a new uniform with a warm lining and a fur collar. On this occasion, Akaki Akakievich’s colleagues, who constantly teased him because of his leaky overcoat, are organizing a small buffet. Bashmachkin is happy and cannot hide the contented sparkle in his eyes.
Unfortunately, that same evening Akakiy Akakievich loses his new clothes after being robbed by hooligans. Having turned to a passerby, the police, and even an influential person for help with a request to find the loss, Bashmachkin is faced with indifference and rudeness. Forced to wear a shabby overcoat again, Akaki Akakievich catches a severe cold and dies.
However, the story does not end there; the main character appears in the form of a ghost who wanders around the bridge at night and takes overcoats from passing people. One day, the ghost of Bashmachkin meets an influential person who refused to help him and deprives him of expensive clothes. After this incident, a significant person changes his worldview, becomes more attentive and hospitable to others.
Essay Characteristics and image of Akaki Akakievich
Tale by N.V. Gogol's "The Overcoat" was written in 1842. The main character of the work is Bashmachkin Akaki Akakievich.
A quiet and modest, unremarkable person, Akaki Bashmachkin lived very modestly, if not poorly. Years of hard and diligent work yielded an unenviable result: the hero of the story received the rank of titular councilor. The salary he received was so small that the official barely had enough for food. The clothes he wore had long since lost their original appearance. It was impossible to even tell what color it was when it was new.
The hero's mental abilities were insignificant. For many years he was engaged in rewriting documents, he could not do anything else and did not want anything else. Once, when he was offered a minor promotion, Bashmachkin refused it. He did his work with great diligence and diligence. Work that requires effort mental abilities, scared him.
Akaki Akakievich was a lonely person in life. He lived in rented housing with his landlady. At work he was also lonely: no friends, no acquaintances. He was not respected either among his colleagues or his superiors. His poor financial situation set him apart from everyone else. And it served as a reason for endless ridicule from colleagues.
Bashmachkin received the most sophisticated ridicule and bullying from his young colleagues. Not only did he amuse them appearance hero, they came up with all sorts of ridiculous stories. And this was also a reason for bullying. Akaki Akakievich endured all this in silence. And only when it became completely unbearable for him, he asked his colleagues to stop ridiculing.
The only joyful event in the hero’s life was the day when he could afford to sew a new overcoat. The old overcoat was very worn out and no longer protected from the cold St. Petersburg climate. But Bashmachkin’s happiness did not last long. The very first day he put on his new clothes, they took them away from him on the street. Akakiy Akakievich turned to the bailiff for help, and after him to a high-ranking official. The bailiff did nothing to help, and the “high” official was rude to him and kicked him out. On the way home, the hero of the story caught a bad cold and fell ill. He died soon after.
/ / / The image of Bashmachkin in Gogol’s story “The Overcoat”
Nikolai Gogol's story "" most clearly showed us the problem " little man"in society. And the main character of the work, Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, became the personification of that very “little man”.
Already the first lines of the story tell us that the fate of the main character is decided. The first thing that catches your eye is the choice of name. Gogol ironically describes the moment of choosing a name for a child. Of all the names presented: Mokkiy, Sossiy or Khozdazat - Akakiy was the most suitable. Therefore, it was decided to name the baby Akaki in honor of his father.
Akaki Akakievich was fifty years old. He was short in appearance, with a bald spot on his forehead. All his life he worked as a minor official in one of the city offices. His main task was to rewrite papers. It is worth noting that Bashmachkin really liked his work. He even had favorite letters, which he wrote with special diligence.
Like all “little people,” the main character was afraid to take the initiative; he was frightened by any new business. One day new director The office, seeing the efforts of Akaki Akakievich, decides to reward him and give him a more difficult job. You had to read the article and change the verbs where necessary. After thinking a little, Bashmachkin said that it would be better if he simply rewrote something.
His meager salary did not allow him to make expensive purchases. For many years he wore a green jacket, which already seemed to be a reddish flour color. One day, Akaki Akakievich decides to order himself a new overcoat. It must be said that this decision was not easy for him. He twice asked the tailor to patch up his old overcoat, but the tailor did not want to take on the job.
Bashmachkin begins to save on everything in order to collect the required amount of money. And now the overcoat is ready. This event became a real holiday in the life of the main character. The new overcoat seemed to open the door to his new life. He even decides to go out for the evening to "spark" new thing. There he becomes the main one actor. For the first time in his entire life, Akaki Akakievich allowed himself to have fun. Late in the evening, on the way home, Bashmachkin is attacked by robbers and his overcoat is taken away. From that moment on, the life of the main character turned into hell. No one understands his tragedy. He tries to find help, but the bureaucratic apparatus “crushes” him.
Having caught a cold, Akaki Akakievich dies. His death is noticed only on the fourth day, but no one regrets what happened. Meanwhile, the ghost of Akaki Akakievich begins to take revenge on his offenders, tearing off their greatcoats. He calms down only when he takes the overcoat from the general who drove him away.
This was the result of the life of the “little man” Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin.