I was so in love with this week's reading. I was not at all expecting this story to go where it did. When the story actually did turn into a story and not another written lecture I was so excited I almost wept tears of joy that I was reading a short story with characters and a plot with a beginning, climax, and ending. (Also had major flashbacks to Tolstoy's Anna Karenina with the whole societal pyramid thing going on). Anyway, I think that the story can teach us about greed and not judging other people based on appearances.
Akakiy was so selfless and willing to live without even the necessities of life because he desperately needed that cloak. Was I the only one who had a sense of absolute dread build up inside me when he was at the dinner party? Not to mention how I just wanted to reach through the pages of the story and hug him when he discovers his precious new cloak on the floor!!!! I mean, I can practically see the look on this guys face as he discovers his prized possession laying in a heap. Then the way that Gogol takes the time to tell us that Akakiy "brushed it, picked off every speck upon it. . ." and proceeds to make his way home. I am probably way too emotionally invested in this character. By the time he blessedly passed on I was happy for him and the fact that he didn't have to live in this dreadful world anymore.
I commented on Daniel Stephen's post.
I agree with you that this was a nice break from all of the philosophy we have been reading. It is interesting to see what other people got out of this story. I like your conclusion about greed and not judging other people based on appearance. I also sympathized with him while he was at the dinner party mainly because I'm not really a "party person" myself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. The lengths Akakiy has to go through breaks my heart. I was not happy about his passing though. He never saw justice when he was alive, and that saddens me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this reading too. I loved that it was actually a narrative and not an essay. I felt as if I was actually there in the story, and the imagery was used so well.
ReplyDeleteThe narrative was really good and I also loved it after reading all of the philosophy of late. Gogol's imagery was great and I also feel the same sympathy you felt when the poor guy found his cloak on the floor! He took so much care of it and loved it so much that it broke my heart when it was stolen.
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