Writing prompt #58: Gogol's THE OVERCOAT

Hi Everyone,

As you may have noticed, I’m on a bit of a Russian kick lately— reading new work as well as revisiting familiar ones. Recently, I was delighted to reread one of my all-time favorite stories: “The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol.

What struck me this time around was how perfectly Gogol addresses the hypocrisies and contradictions of class in 19th-century Russian society.

As he put it:

“ … How the most refined manners and breeding often concealed the most savage coarseness … “

YOUR PROMPT: Write a 1-2 page portrait—from any point of view—of a person in your fictional (or non-fictional) world who purports to be someone they’re not. In short, a hypocrite. What are they ashamed of? What are they desperate to hide? How are they papering over their feared deficiencies?

Good luck with this one!

Abrazos,

Cristina