Words cannot be used to describe how I felt while reading The Nose by Nikolai Gogol. 

As soon as I read “He poked two fingers in and pulled out – a nose!” I had to stop reading and put my head down. The absurdity of this story just didn’t settle with me. Used as a metaphor or not, I couldn’t take Gogol seriously, as the image of a nose running around, talking, giving orders, and acting high and mighty ruined the seriousness (if it even had seriousness) of the short novel. I was too busy distracting myself with comedic scenes in my head and trying to fit different voices to the pompousness of the nose.

Another event that bothered me throughout the story was the obliviousness of the people. How could they not realize a nose walking around and interacting with things? I also questioned how big the nose appeared to be. Was it still the same size, walking around in a grown man’s uniform and conversing with its owner or was it enlarged tremendously? How exactly does a nose “[pray] with an expression of profound piety” again? How do the people not question Kovalyov’s lack of a nose on his face? What would Kovalyov sound like, as it definitely can’t be nasally due to his lack of a nose. Would a person even be able to speak without a nose in real life? I couldn’t concentrate on Gogol’s main point with his ridiculous topic.

Works Cited:

Sam Weir. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://25.media.tumblr.com/bc2bd9ae52d427ae25f20d5c2dba7824/tumblr_mhs1nultQc1rd37xho4_r1_250.gif>.

Gogol, Nikolai. The Nose. Diary of a Madman and Other Stories, translated by Ronald Wilks, Penguin Books, 1987 reprint, pp. 42-70