an investigation into the structure of gogol

             An Investigation into the Structure of Gogol's The Portrait
             Gogol's The Portrait, is a short story which examined through a formalistic approach, can be understood beyond its
             obvious storyline and plot. Formalism is the literary theory that literature is not simply a mass of words, but
             comprised of individual words that each may possess a social stereotype, a spiritual aspect or convey a physical
             response in the reader. Formalism asserts that the world is full of codes that need to be decoded. By investigating
             these codes, one can understand the world or in this scenario, the literary message better. These codes in
             literature, must appear as defamiliarzied or distorted in literature. Everyday aspects of life outside of their average
             element, still maintain their same definition but bring that very definition to a different context, thus enabling one to
             see that original definition in a new light and indeed, apply it to elucidate other situations similar or completely
             dislike to the primary one. The Portrait can be completely and logically dissected by formalistic methods. I will
             concentrate on Part I of this short story (solely concerning Chartkov), to produce a more concentrated and concise
             Formalists took the power of the word to the next level, by seeing that the word can be used as a tool, to educate
             and better the masses, or for pure propagandist purposes. Art, according to the formalists, "not only bears
             meaning, it forces an awareness upon the reader." This awareness is dependent upon the accepted and expected
             produced images of the words in literature. These images transcend time and place;" images change little, from
             century to century . . . they flow on without changing . . . images belong to no one."
             Thereby, in making these familiar images seem strange, the reader perceives it in an entirely new way. A formalist
             approach to the opening of The Portrait, entails the story's usage of a semi-i...

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