The Overcoat

Name
Instructor
Course
Date
The Overcoat
The passage talks about a person (a character in the story called Akaky) who had entirely run out of money to the extent of starving himself. Besides, he was from a humble background and seems to be tormented by poverty. However, he finally accepted his situation and became contended. From analyzing the passage, it can be argued that the character was in love with a coat which had worn out, creating an expense that he had not prepared for. The need for a new coat stressed him as he tried to think of how he could get another one. The narrator says that Akaky would feel satisfied with life if he had an overcoat that was incapable of wearing out. Therefore, it seems Akaky is starving himself as he tries to tighten his budget in order to save money to buy a new coat. Akaky finally managed to save enough money for the overcoat. After making enough savings for the coat, he felt comforted and became livelier than before.
Akaky’s life had a new beginning after he managed to save enough money to buy a new overcoat. At first, he was depressed because he did not know whether he could afford a new overcoat. The narrator talks of Akaky having a new companion (the overcoat) to mean a turn in his life. Akaky could not concentrate on his work as he was always thinking of how he could get a new coat. In fact, he had to meet with his tailor, Petrovich once every month to discuss it. It seems his tailor gave him hope of acquiring a new overcoat and thus made him go home with satisfaction.

The narrator ends the passage by narrating how Akaky was anxiously waiting to collect his new coat from the tailor. This would be the happiest day of his life. It can be argued that Akaky was obsessed by the overcoat and hence had a higher purpose in life.