In searching through the archive files in my presently overwhelmed brain, what I thought most profound about the Gogol literature read for last class was first and foremost, their wonderful absurdity. Who couldn’t chuckle over the visual image of a nose disappearing from someone’s face, growing 100 times its size and running madly about town. However, it was the covert messages hidden between the lines that I found most intriguing. These stories have the ability to simply be silly fiction or, as I discovered, provide a potentially deeper commentary about real human issues. While I appreciated the comedic aspect of a nose on the run, I particularly favoured “The Overcoat” for its message about the struggle between the importance of individualism and conformity. In the beginning, Akakii Akakievich appears content with the simplicity of his life and takes little interest in his surrounding world that places importance on social status and material wealth. I have always commended those like this who have the ability to ignore the pressures of society and live a truly individualistic lifestyle. It seems, however, that in fulfilling Akakievich’s desire for a new overcoat and the increase in respect and attention he receives upon doing so, he demonstrates a shift from individuality to conformity. With the coat, Akakievich’s original way of living is altered; he ventures out of his house into the dark to socialize among work colleagues. It appears to me that, in purchasing this commodity fetish, he sold himself to the power of capitalist society that so easily grabs hold of us all. He seems to have bought into the crowd he rejected in the first place. It is interesting that Gogol takes away this possession from Akakievich as if to punish him for participating in such material consumption. It seems to be as though Gogol finds particular interest in questioning institutional ideologies enforced by colonialist discourse.
Heather
