Coat over Dependency

The short story “The Overcoat” is a translated work from Russia written by Nikolai Gogol. It is about a less than fortunate government official named Akaky Akakievich, who gets ridiculed by his fellow workers for having a ratty old overcoat. After spending much time earning a new coat, he becomes more sociable due to anticipation, and one obtaining the coat, transforms into someone everyone at work gets along with well. All his good fortune is for naught, as he gets mugged and his coat stolen from him. He goes to confront a general about finding those who wronged him, but the General passes it off as the minor detail it is, enraging Akaky. Falling deathly ill, Akaki passes from this world, leaving behind a ghost that steals people’s overcoats. It is through Akaki’s dependency on his nice coat that the auhor demonstrates how those with very little to live for can become emotionally and physically dependant on something that would otherwise be labeled as insignificant.

The first point of interest about this story is the main character’s name. Akaky Akakievich, although may be something specific in Russian, sounds very dull and bland. It has the feel of the Western equivalent of the name John Johnson or Steven Stevenson. This very uninteresting name shows the author’s intention that Akaky is a very average person, and is no more ordinary than anyone random off the street.

At the beginning of the story, Akaky is a social wreck. He does not get along very well with his coworkers, and is often ridiculed by them, focusing their jokes in his coat. It is through this that he develops the importance on the coat, as it represents not only others’ views on him, but also his self image. As he obtains a new coat, his self image also obtains a major boost, and he no longer holds himself back in the world. He becomes a better person to get along with, and finally is satisfied with himself.

It is because of his dependency on the coat, that when Akaky is mugged and deprived of the coat that gained him so much