The Cloak by Nikol Gogol is a Russian narrative that speaks for the poor and the underprivileged. Those who are basic, decent, hard working, misrepresented, and ridiculed for having no aspirations of anything more than living out their ordinary lives to the best of their abilities-however humble that may be. The author clearly conveys how cruel humans can be in their ability to mock the spirits of those who are defenseless, less inclined to be egotistical, greedy, self-absorbed, or frivolous. Metaphorically, the cloak represents protection: protection from the elements of human behavior towards those who are powerless and exposed.
             The story revolves around Akakiy Akakievitch, who is a simple man of simple means who works as a civil servant for the Russian government. He is meek, shy, gentle in nature, socially inept, and socially ostracized. His co-workers struggle for power within the social and bureaucratic structure, and one might symbolically suppose that their constant joking and ridicule of poor Akakiy Akakievitch is a cloak of their own-designed to protect themselves from their own sense of inadequacy.
             Akakiy Akakievitch lives in a rental, owns nothing, eats cabbage soup for dinner, and wears a cloak that is badly damaged and worn. Russian winter has arrived and Akakiy suffers aches and pains over the areas of the body where the cloak is most damaged, so he visits a local tailor in hopes that the cloak can be repaired. The tailor is a poor, one-eyed drunkard who would be classified as being in the same social class as Akakiy. He informs Akakiy that the cloak is beyond repair and quotes an exorbitant monetary figure for the cost of making a brand new one. Here the author tries to convey that the people from this class are desperate, and if ripping off your fellow man is a way to make ends meet than so be it. Akakiy eventually talks the tailor down to a price that would be manageable through effort, restraint...