The Overcoat – Flashcards

Nikolai Gogol
-born in Ukraine
-went to St petersburg in 1828
-embezzled his mothers money
-recieved praise from famous poets
-great contribution to Russian literature

-introduced to the setting, along with Akaky and how he is treated
-made fun of for the overcoat
-Akaky’s search for help
-Petrovich makes him a new coat with the money Akaky has saved up for
-overcoats stolen
-yelled at by the important personage
-Akaky gets ill and dies
-haunts the official
-takes the officials coat for revenge

1. akaky is teased about his coat
2. he doesn’t have enough money to pay for a new one
3. overcoat is stolen

-main character
-works as a clerk
-loves his job, content with his life
-brutally teased

-detective of high rank
-mysterious
-harsh and yells at Akaky

st. petersburg
clerks workplace
brutal winter

1. occupation and social class
->often preconcieved notions are made about lower class individuals, and this causes a clear difference in the way people treat others at different status
2. importance vs unimportance
-> sometimes power or money given to someone ends up negative due to their greed or overconfidence

-similes
-metaphor
-oxymoron
-onomatopoeia
-personification

overcoat
-represents Akaky’s life
-influential to Akaky’s tone and mood
-basic literal need for a coat in the winter

-story is a variation of a story Gogol heard
-interesting name
-triangular system of collisions

high, civil, or military official

a metal pan or bowl used to hold burning coal

to put at risk of being harmed and destroyed

a type of overshoe (slipped over shoes to prevent from mud and water)

pit-like scar left on the face from small pox

an interlaced decorative design

to understand the corruption of different races and social classes in the society