The Overcoat"-Figurative language/Imagery

arousing in readers a complex of emotional associations. Figurative language is a non-literal way

to express a suitable relationship between essentially unlike things. Tone is an author’s attitude

toward his or her subject matter and audience. In “The Overcoat”, Nikolai Gogol uses figurative

language, imagery and tone to convey to readers the corruption of government and society at that

Gogol uses figurative language and imagery to emphasize the corruption of government in

Russia then. He shows this by using extremely detailed descriptions. An example of his

descriptions is when he is first illustrating Akaky’s overcoat and says, “His frock coat, which was

supposed to be green, had turned a sort of mealy reddish. It’s collar was very low and very

narrow, so that his neck, which was really quite ordinary, looked incredibly long --like the spring

necks of the head-shaking plaster kittens...” (634). The image of how bad poverty stricken

Russian life was in Gogol’s time is often repeated throughout the story. Another example of

. . .
This extreme cold is also an image of the

people of Russia through the narrator’s eyes. The first, and probably

most obvious, is satiric of the government and high society members. Another sarcastic note that was found in the story is when the narrator is talking about the

important personage thinking he is better than everyone else, and treating them like they are not

worthy to talk to him. They want nothing

to do with Akaky until he gets an attractive, expensive new overcoat. He conveys what it really was like to live in poverty at that particular time in Russian

history. The second tone found in “The Overcoat” is

fearfulness.

Gogol also describes the coldness of winter. By adding this small detail to a

paragraph he discloses a sense of fear of speaking his opinion of the subject too loudly. Everywhere Akaky went for help he was turned down or ignored. It

was foreshadowing what would become of Akaky. Obviously the government officials or so-called important people did nothing to stop the

injustice of this act. the wickedness of man toward man

and all the cruelty and vulgarity which are concealed under refined manners” (633). This is seen when the

narrator talks about Akaky’s coworkers and the obvious shallowness of them.

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Approximate Word count = 791
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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