Although "The Overcoat" can be read as a tale of perfect poetic justice, for the moment let's look at the story as a tragedy. Please say which you think is the greater failure in "The Overcoat": Is it the story of an individual's (Akakii's) failure to meet the needs and requirements of his community, or the community's failure to meet the needs of the individual?
Please write a reply of three or four sentences in which you argue for either individual or societal failure, supporting your position with evidence from the text.
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16 comments:
I say that is Akaky that fails the world, not the world that fails Akaky. He should have changed his name, gone on a reality television show for a fashion makeover so he wouldn't be the laughingstock of his department, and pretended to like the work when he was given the challenge of editing a document, even if he did have performance anxiety and miss the Zen of copying. Lack of ambition can be fatal; too bad he suffered from it but why should we feel any pity for him? I've got my own problems.
I disagree with "Heartless Social Darwinist" about Akaky's failure and that the reader should feel no pity for him. It's compassion that ennobles us in real life, and literature should give you practice looking at the world with sympathy and understanding. Scratching your way to the top gets you to the top but do you sleep well at night? And Akaky was a hard worker and didn't ask for much--it's not like he was some freeloader. The people who were cruel to him, such as his coworkers who made fun of him, the people surrounding the superintendent, and the superintendent himself, were all his trying to impress each other and follow convention. If only he were treated with respect he might not have died, and I call that he failure of the people around him.
Akaky is an individual who is definitely an individual. He does not follow the footsteps of others and aspires to be just who he is. As a society, we claim to accept those for who they are then persecute them for not being like what we expect them to be. However, remembering the time that the story was written, and even in today's equivalent, there is no expectation to be any different. We have failed him. DAWN
I think the greater failure in The Overcoat is that of the community. They should have helped out poor Akakii but instead were selfish. If they had cared about Akakii then they would have chipped in to help him get the necessary tools that he needed in order to succeed.
I believe it is the communities failure to meet the needs of the individual. He obviously needed help affording this coat and when it was stolen he went to the authorities and nobody would help him. Jeff
The community failed to meet the needs of the individual in that if they would have done so, the community would have supplied the individual (Akakii) with the proper materials that he needed. The community was selfish in the aspect that they didnt supply for the individual.
I agree with those who stated that the he community failed to meet the needs of Akakii. A good community would help each other out. His community was selfish and often making fun of him. It was obvious that he needed help and everyone just turned their backs on him. They could've atleast helped him out when the coat got stolen.
It was a community failure to find Akakii’s coat. His friends at work tried to help him by donating what funds they felt they could spare, but it was not enough. The officials who refused to help Akakii definitely failed in their responsibility, to actively engage in trying to find his coat and bring justice to the attack on him. Therefore, the community failed to meet the needs of the individual. Bonnie
I think that Akakii failed his community, he clearly did not strive to be a productive part of the community. He did not try to improve his situation, although offered several times a new and better position at work, he would refuse . It is each citizen responsibility to live up to the best standard that you can. The better your position in life the more you can help yourself and your fellow man thus relieving the burden from your local government. A person that dose not live up to his potential hinders to his local economy. Patricia
I felt that the biggest tragedy that the story produced was that no one wanted to help Akakii. Someone should have heard him screaming in the street or the police should have helped or the prominent man. The ending where he dies shows how tragic the outcome of not helping you fellow neighbor is. I think that he could have survived if one person had just given him a hand.
I believe that the community has failed to meet the needs of Akakii. Akakii was a member of the middle class, the working poor if you will. He was hard working, and scratched a modest living out of what was available to him. After his overcoat was stolen the time came when Akakii became dependent upon the state to retrieve what was rightfully his. Yet the state did nothing to resolve the issue.
In response to Patricia's post, I disagree. Though Akakii was offered a chance to better his position this does not mean he failed his community. It takes all kinds of people to make the world go around, and some people are happy to go to and from work each and everyday happy to do the simple things in life. I think too often people think that individuals with little ambition are lazy. Just because someone does not want to change stations in life does not make them lazy. In fact I've found more often than not these individuals are even more hard working than most.
In response to Patricia - I have to go with Nate here, a well balanced society requires every type of inidividual it can offer - the least ambitious to the over-achieving-gotta-have-it-all gogetter. Yes it is the responsibility of the individual to be all that they can be, but how can we expect more than a person can give? Does it make Akakii a failure because he is unable to more than he is or does it make us the failure because we can not accept his limitations?
I've gotta agree with Dawn and Nate regarding Patricia's post. How can you say that Akakii failed the community when he was doing his very best to succeed? More to the point if you saw someone down and out wouldn't you try to help them?
The community failed to meet the needs of Akakii. The authorities were not interested in helping him in his time of need. Although his work mates tried to raise money to help him with a new overcoat they were not able to raise the funds as it was very coastly to purchase an overcoat.
Clif
The community has failed Akakii as it's a shame no one would befriend him. I think Akakii has failed himself also for not taking a stand against the people that were so mean to him all the time. Sometimes if you stand up for yourself, it's amazing the respect you sometimes gain...
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