The Overcoat

“The Overcoat” is a satirical, supernatural short story told by an unnamed third-person narrator. Following a linear timeline over the last few months of its protagonist’s life, the story pokes fun at Materialism and bureaucracy, while at the same time making a plea for compassion. The main character Akaky Akakievich is the consummate underdog. No one notices him except to make fun of him or bark orders at him. Even Gogol’s narrator mocks the main character by describing his halting way of speech, his unassuming appearance, and his passion for his mundane job as a copyist. The story’s setting highlights Akaky Akakievich’s insignificance. He works as a low-ranking functionary in a bland, unnamed government bureaucracy, which allows Gogol to emphasize the repetitiveness and apparent futility of his life, and perhaps helps explain why he becomes so consumed with his new overcoat.

Akaky Akakievich is an everyman figure and, in some ways, quite a miserable one. At the same time, there is an element of grace about how fulfilled he is by his limited existence. He does not crave promotion or praise, instead choosing to return to copying when he is recognized for his skill at work.