Do you believe that Akakii Akakievich is made a better man by the experience of saving for and finally acquiring his new overcoat, or is he made worse by it?
Please respond with a reply of three or four sentences, explaining in what way he is made better or worse, and support your answer with evidence from the book.
Click on the Comments link below (next to "Posted by Tracy Mendham at 8:29 AM") to answer.
17 comments:
The overcoat is a material temptation and Mr. Bashmashkin is made by a lesser man by succumbing to it. I think that although he is unconscious of his real motivation, Akaky no long wants to be the laughing stock of his boorish coworkers. When the message "I am thy brother" cannot be gotten across by the direct appeal of "Leave me alone! Why do you insult me?", Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin instead trys to say "I am your equal" by finally showing up for work in some decent clothes.
I believe that Akakii is made worse by his overcoat. Although he's accepted by his peers, he ends up losing his life. Ultimately he gets mugged and eventually dies by acquiring his overcoat and haunts people. He haunts the individuals until he manages to acquire a new coat.
I believe that it was a catch 22 in that he needed the coat to survive the cold but it didn't necessarily make him a better man. If anything it changed him and pushed him outside of his simple life. Jeff
I believe that Akakii is made better in that he learned to save his money in order to purchase something that he needed but yet he learned a valuable lesson in life that even though material things can be taken away from you in a split second, you learn the value of hard work in order to achieve a great happiness.
I think that Akakii is made a better person by the coat. It gives him confidence. The coat gave him his one momment in the sun, the one time in his boring life when he did shine.
Patricia
I believe that Akaky feels as though he were a better man; however, I'm not sure that it does make him a better person nor a worse person. His coat allowed him to no longer hide behind his shadow. He grew confidence within himself which allowed him to go where Akakii has never been before. He was invited to a party in which he was never invited to before; however, I believe had he been invited prior to the coat, he would never have gone.
I don't know if you can say he was made better by it but he was definitely changed by the whole affair. Initially it terrifies him to think that he has to purchase a new coat and the amount of money it will cost. However, he processes internally what needs to take place to make it happen - he negotiates the price to something far more reasonable, realizes he already has some savings and that by being more frugal, can save the rest. The need for a new overcoat changes him and gives him another focus in his life, and he surprises himself by the stepping outside his box to achieve what he needs to achieve - whether he is better or not is very much in the eye of the beholder !
I believe Akakii is made a better person by acquiring the overcoat. In real life, you have to work hard to get something you want and the overcoat forces Akakii to do the same. It teaches Akakii not to take things for granted.
Akakii made great personal sacrifices to acquire the overcoat, which he needed to survive the cold. Sacrificing pleased him, and made him proud to be able to afford the new overcoat. I believe in showing the strength to make the sacrifices he was being a good citizen. The alternative would have been only to beg others for the money to purchase a new overcoat or to give him an overcoat, and that would not have been the way to be a good citizen. Therefore, I believe the experience made him a better person. Bonnie
I think if he had lived while having the coat longer he would have had more opportunities given to him. I think that he was made a better man by saving and desiring something more out of life than just what he had allowed himself in the past. He had to sacrific to have something else and the fact he did it on such a short budget showed that he had bigger priorities. The overcoat being the bigger priority and the extra hours of writing by candle light and the food that he choose to eat being the "extravagance" that he enjoyed before.
I believe Akaki is made better by the experience. Saving for and acquiring the overcoat gave him a sense of accomplishment. Once he acquired the overcoat he seemed more alive and happier than he did before he had the overcoat.
I believe Akaki is made better by the experience. Saving for and acquiring the overcoat gave him a sense of accomplishment. Once he acquired the overcoat he seemed more alive and happier than he did before he had the overcoat.
I believe that society failed the individual in his needs. People looked down on Akakii because he didn't have a new overcoat. Once he saved and bought a new one, he was accepted as a member of their society. In the end, it wasn't worth it because he ended up being robbed and ended up dying.
I believe that having the overcoat for Akakii made him a better person. It gave him the confidence that he did not have when he had his old coat.It showed him that saving for something worthwhile or something that you need is a neccessity. It also showed him that it doen't matter what you have, it cna be goe in a split second and there is nothing you can do about it.
December 16, 2007 3:23 AM
I believe that Akakii Akaievich is made a better man from this experience because he has to give something up in order to get the coat. If anything i would say it made Akakii a stronger individual almost to the point of being cocky by hi leaving the comfort of his neighborhood
I think that the individual's failure to meet the needs and requirements of his community are the end result in this story. Had Akaii not ventured out of his comfort zone in walking around a town he had no knowledge of and his arrogance of showing his new overcoat, none of this would have happened. He certainly was entitled to go where he pleased but he was unaccustom to that part of the city. when he went to see the city official he was cast aside because he was no one of importance. He had a right and duty to protect himself and it appears he jumped in over his head by wandering around the city.
The act of saving for and acquiring the overcoat. When he was saving for it he had to make sacrifices to save up the funds to acquire the overcoat. Making those sacifies made him appreciate the coat even more than those that would just be able to go and pay for it right out of there pocket.
Post a Comment