How Does Gogol Use Irony In The Nose

In his two short stories The Overcoat and The Nose, Gogol writes about Russian society during the 19th century. Using a form reminiscent of magical realism, Gogol places rational people in wholly irrational situations, documenting how the characters respond. Gogol comments on the Russian rank society and by narration.
The way Gogol narrates his stories is quite unpredictable. In his The Nose, he mainly narrates in a third person point of view; however, switching to a first person standpoint at the last part of the story is very surprising as if he is a storyteller. These stories are just like our dreams: volatile, misplaced and irrational. Yet, Gogol used his magical means of narrating to drag the audience into his world by controlling the

“Major Kovalyov,” as he is better known, rank is everything to him. It is irony that when he finally sees his nose out in the world for the first time, he finds the nose ranks higher than him. Kovalyov’s rank was the most important part of his identity, just as the central part of his face, and when he lost it, he could do nothing but hysterically attempt to retrieve it. When Kovalyov finally retrieves the nose he had lost, he is deeply troubled when the nose will not stick to his face. Once he has been stripped of the dignity associated with high rank, it is difficult to make that prestige stick once again, and Gogol shows this flawlessly

Akaky rises from his position as a socially inept government clerk, who has no hope of ascension either economically or socially, with the help of his new overcoat. When he puts on the new piece of clothing, Akaky’s life is changed; his new outward appearance grants him the attention of his co-workers, who elect to hold a party in his honor. Gogol used his narration to control the flow of the story. Akaky didn’t have a lot of chance to speak for himself, which gives more weight to the role of narrator. Gogol didn’t narrate too much on the misery of Akaky, but emphasized on his hard work and the joy when he finally gets the overcoat. In this way, Gogol is able to create a psychological gap, even if Akaky’s pain is not shown on paper, it gives the audiences enough space for imagination. Akaky lost his overcoat overnight, which is just like having a dream. Actually, psychological gap is filled in this story showing deep contrast between the rich and the poor, the omnipotent and the insignificant. When he loses the overcoat after it has been beaten from him, he experiences the same crushing defeat experienced by Kovalyov when he loses his nose, and does everything in his power to try and get it back as