The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol tells how people are treated by their rank in society. Akaky Akakievich is a copier in the 9th class of his society. He faces difficult challenges because of his rank and is treated poorly. In a society filled with inhumane, crude gestures to one another, society is universally in need of more compassionate people. .
In the beginning of the The Overcoat, Akaky Akakievich starts out by not acknowledging society. Akaky Akakievich lives in his own world and he was happy with it. There, in his copying, he found an interesting, pleasant world for himself and his delight was reflected in his face (924). Because Akaky never acknowledges anyone, he finds happiness in his work. All he wanted to do was copy. Akaky Akakievich never said a word and even acted as though no one were there. (924). When his office mates played tricks on his and made up stories about him, he pretended as though they did not exist because hes content and happy with his life. .
Throughout the story, Akaky is treated poorly because of his rank in society. It must be noted that Akaky Akakievich's overcoat had also been the butt of the clerks jokes (926). Since Akaky is a copier, those of higher rank assume they can mistreat him. They tormented him everyday and made fun of his clothes. In Petersburg, theres a formidable enemy for all those who receive a salary in the neighborhood of four hundred rubles a year. The enemy is none other than our northern cold, although they say its very healthy Akaky Akakievich had noticed that for some time the cold had been attacking his back and shoulders quite viciously, try as he might to sprint the prescribed distance (925 and 926). .
Because Akaky was a copier, he didnt make a lot of money which means he couldnt afford to get a better coat. When the cold was attacking Akakys back, it was as though the society or his work mates were attacking him. Because the upper class had warm coats to wear, the cold didnt bother them as much as the lower class.
Martha Hale, wife of the man who discovered Mr. Wright's death, along with Mrs. Peters, the wife of the local sheriff, are key characters to this story. Running parallel to each other throughout the story, they are central to the story line, and they alone allow the story to develop. Although the t...
