The Overcoat

About

"The Overcoat" is a short story by Russian born author Nikolai Gogol and is considered to have a great resonating effect on Russian literature that sprang up in its wake, even spurring Fyodor Dostoevsky to say, "We all come out from Gogol's Overcoat." The story was recently turned into a play and it centers around a lowly worker who is in possession of an extremely decrepit overcoat, which coworkers belittle him for. After saving for quite some time, this man buys a new overcoat only to find that the problems a new stylized piece of clothing are difficult to bear. The story contains elements of dark humor, razor sharp wit and is considered to be one of the more coy pieces written about society and its attachment to material possessions.