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Creator / Nikolai Gogol

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Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol ( Ukrainian: Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь; Russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич Го́голь; April 1, 1809 March 4, 1852) was a Russian-language writer of Ukrainian origins.

Although his early works were heavily influenced by his Ukrainian heritage and upbringing, Gogol wrote in Russian and his works are disputed as belonging to either Ukrainian or Russian literature.

The novel Dead Souls (1842), the play Revizor (The Government Inspector or The Inspector General) (1836, 1842), and the short stories "The Overcoat" (1842) and "The Nose" (1835/36) count among his masterpieces. His works are highly allegorical and, especially in the case of his short stories like "The Overcoat" and "The Nose", are early examples of Magical Realism with Surrealist influences. Cossacks are major figures in several of works, including Taras Bulba and A Terrible Vengeance.


Works on the wiki:


See also:

  • Viy, the 1967 film adaptation of Gogol's novella

Other works contain examples of:

  • Animate Body Parts: "The Nose" is about a man whose nose flees and disguises itself as a human. The Russian name of the story, "Nos", is the Russian word for "dream" backwards.
  • Genre Shift: "The Overcoat" is set in nineteenth-century Russia and appears to have no elements of the supernatural at all. Then, in the last few pages, the main character dies and comes back as a zombie.
  • Involuntary Dance: The end of "The Lost Letter": the only thing that remains following his ordeal is the fact that once a year, on the date he met the group of demons, his wife has an uncontrollable urge to dance and does, with no way of stopping her.
  • Living Apart: Kovaliov's nose in "The Nose".
  • The Noseless: "The Nose" is about a man who ends up noseless and finds out that his nose has taken a life of its own and run away, wearing a nice uniform.
  • Odd Organ Up Top: The detached nose from "The Nose" was able to pass itself off as a human being with its own body and surpass the rank of its owner.
  • One-Steve Limit: Averted in "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich", depending on how much weight you give to the fact that they have different patronymics.
  • Unfinished Business: A particularly mundane example. At the end of "The Overcoat," Akakiy Akakievitch returns from the grave wanting only to find a suitable replacement for the cloak that was stolen from him.

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