The Arts in New York City | Baruch Fall 2013 Macaulay Seminar 1

The Nose is Hilarious (Mood Diary) – Kevin Parakkattu

Posted on October 8, 2013 by kparakkattu

This story was hilarious. Starting from the beginning of the play I was immediately engaged as the humor of the play shielded some serious messages. With the first lines hinting towards a setting of Soviet Russia, I couldn’t help but think of the Russian accent and intimidation. I couldn’t help but think of “In Soviet Russia….” joke that many comedians use.

In the first Act, I loved the dispute between Ivan Yakovlevitch and his wife about why the nose was in the bread in the first place. Rather than focusing on the absurdity of the matter, the husband and wife rather argue about how poor of a barber Ivan is. This scene reminds me of fights that I get with my parents when the argument begins with one subject and ends with a totally different one.

As the story progressed, I laughed louder and louder. My favorite scene is when the Nose and Kovalev are talking and Kovalev gets distracted by some attractive women that walk in. This is how I imagined the scene as Kovalev loses his focus:

The Nose itself reminded me of Bruce Almighty, a movie in 2003, about a man who recieves the power to be God. It is as if the Nose has mind control and forced everyone to think that it is a person of importance.

What made me laugh so much about this play was its sheer ridiculousness. Thinking I’m about to read the next Odyssey, I didn’t expect the story to have such an imaginative plot line. Although I do not believe that I have fully grasped the meaning, I understand Gogol’s message about society’s obsession with rank and hierarchy. Although the nose is Kovalev’s, he must address it in a respectful manner as it is of higher rank than he is. Gogol is asking the question of what is the meaning of rank and why does society automatically respect those that are of a high position? Overall, I loved the story and wish to read to more like it.

Mood Diary: Got your nose!

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Jake George Greenberg

This whole story seemed a bit like the childhood game of “I got your nose!”

The whole story was told in a satirical style so that it was easier to accept this silliness, only later upon sinking in can you really see the meaning of this story; there has always been certain symbols that equate to power and without them you are just like everyone else. As we discussed as a group there are many different things this nose stands for: a penis, social class and/or the stuck-up-ness of the rich, which is commonly referred to as holding their nose high.

Something we didn’t discuss in class was the fact that the law and the rest of the classes below the rich give into their demands. The law is the biggest factor because whether paid off or not they commonly have the mindset of keeping the status quo by shutting down the poor’s chances of moving up, shown by the officer stopping Ivan the barber and The Nose himself from getting out of town. There was an extremely obvious undertone to the cop when he delivers the nose back to its rightful owner and then discusses how he doesn’t have enough money to put his daughter through college. Kovaloff totally ignores this fact because he believes he can now go back to his status in society. I believe this was a stab at how the society in real life deals with the reach, giving into their undeserved power without thinking they deserve anything in return. Whats ironic is that this book was written over a 100 years ago and still we have these same problems in society even though this story addresses them. Even though the rich are a minority by definition, they always seem to intimidate the vast public from acting and thus history repeats itself. The idea of Healthcare is the new topic and in many comedy skits the reporter will ask the public how they feel about Obamacare and then The Affordable Care Act. People say they hate Obama care, yet will be happy to take on the other plan (they are the same thing). The rich have campaigned to make people have these feelings so they are manipulated to turn this down so that the rich insurance companies can continue to thrive, hurting the poor.

I can’t say that I understood the story or the Libretto in entirety, but I did enjoy them and they riled me up to do something about this repeating problem. I did feel in that moment like I had a genuine hatred for the rich and that a revolt was in order. After settling down I wasn’t as ambitious, but I do feel something must be done by today’s youth. The entitlement based on race, sex, last name, or financial status is unjust and is ruining America especially. The hypocrisy and leverage that comes with having the desired “nose”, penis, or physical presence dictates the order of way to many lives that have no say in the matter.

The Nose-Mood Diaries

Posted on October 8, 2013 by shixuzheng

OK, The Nose is just another nonsensical story just like Metamorphosis. A guy named Kovaliov loses his nose. Well, how is he able to breath? This question arouses when I read the beginning of the story. It might be off the topic of the story but I just came up with it. Could the man Kovaliov be able to survive without his nose?

Definitely, the nose must be a symbol for something. What’s happened in the story is the not as important as what is behind the story. The story is really sarcastic as it turns out that after Kovaliov regains his nose, he remains as the same person as before the loss of his nose, who is vogue and proud and who gazes at himself in mirrors, flirts with ladies, and enjoys snuff.

I relate Kovaliov’s to myself. I image that what if I lose a very important part in my life which really affects the way I act (definitely not my nose!!). Let’s say, someone is a billionaire who succeeds a company from his father and behaves bossily. One day he or she suddenly loses all his assets due to economic depression. The person then has to work as a “blue collar” and be oppressed by his boss. He might be rich again through his efforts. However, during that process, would he start to appreciate how the life in a different social status could help him to develop a different point of view. Like Kovaliov’s life when he is outranked by his nose, would he realize that he is no longer as powerful as before and he is supposed to change his extravagant lifestyle? Unfortunately, all Kovaliov concerns about is to retrieve his social status. This is why I feel sorry for the character.

I do want to compare Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Gogol’s The Nose. I really like the way The Nose is narrated because we are all outsiders including the narrator. At the ends of first two acts. Those questions about what would happen next really separate the readers from the story in that I start to think more objectively because the story is more like fact-based. In Metamorphosis, the content about Gregor’s plight really makes me feel too sympathized for the character that I tend not think from other characters’ perspective. I do not like Grete when reading the story, but after the ballet show, I do appreciate what she has for her family. The Nose is more like a allegory because of its conciseness and detachment from emotion while Metamorphosis is more like an affecting story whose plot could stand alone without our exploring the meaning behind it.

Mood Diary #2: The Nose

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Joanne Ramadani

I read the libretto version of The Nose first, and I was in two moods the whole time: confused or amused. Sometimes both. The entire opera was rather confusing—I mean, it started off with a nose baked into bread. How did that nose get into the bread dough to begin with? Apparently even Gogol didn’t know—I read his original short story after the libretto, and it clarified a lot of things. At the same time, really subtle things were different in both versions. In the libretto, Kovalev confronts his nose in a cathedral, where it’s praying, but in the short story, the Nose is found outside shops. In the libretto, it appears that police officers assault a marketwoman, but that never takes place in the short story.

While reading the libretto, I was reminded of the story of Tycho Brahe, a famous philosopher from the Age of Enlightenment. Part of his nose was lopped off in a duel with a Danish nobleman, who also happened to be his third cousin, and so he was forced to wear a replacement nose made out of precious metals (and copper, it’s believed).

I found it really funny that Kovalev was so shallow that he didn’t care about losing the ability to smell—he pretty much only cared about his reputation and how women were going to look at him now. It’s especially hilarious when, right after he goes to convince his nose to return to his face, he’s distracted by a young woman with whom he wants to flirt. When he returns, the nose is obviously gone—he actually lost his chance to get his nose back because he wanted to flirt.

The multiple Ivans actually confused me when I’d read only the libretto, because an Ivan is laying on a couch in Kovalev’s apartment, singing about love at one point. I thought he was Ivan the barber, but he’s actually not–part of that is probably due to the nature of the libretto as dialogue and action-oriented.

At one point in the libretto, there’s an elderly woman (this is after the part with the traveler and the gentleman and lady) who says that “the dead have no need for dresses.” Not only was I thinking about how that seemed to illustrate the social class—she was likely poor and mindful of spending—but my first thought when I read that part was of the song “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry. It was an ironic thought, mostly because the song goes, “If I die young, bury me in satin / lay me down on a bed of roses” but the woman is elderly and strongly protests the idea of being buried in fancy clothing.

I was horrified by the portion of the libretto in which many policemen appear to assault a marketwoman who is selling bagels. The scene does not appear in Gogol’s original short story—I was hoping it would, because the scene was not exactly clear in the libretto, and Gogol’s story actually made some sort of sense out of the libretto, surprisingly—so it struck me as strange that it was added to the libretto. After a while, I theorized that perhaps it was added to illustrate the corrupt practices in Russia during the 1930s, when the libretto was written.

There’s a scene in the libretto where a coachman blows a horn and then the Nose comes in. It made me think of the phrase used to describe someone loudly blowing his or her nose, which reminded me of the movie 12 Angry Men: “Well, your horn works, now try your lights.” (The video’s below—I couldn’t find a precise clip of the scene, but I’ve copied the link according to the time it’s supposed to be at. If it doesn’t work, the time is around 7:23 or so!)

It’s here!

By the end of the tale, I realized that Kovalev didn’t learn any lesson from the whole ordeal. He was just as shallow and conceited as ever, and was possibly even more prideful, which irritated me. Overall, though, I was mostly amused by the whole tale, slightly confused, and only a tad irritated with Kovalev for being annoying. The Nose was probably my favorite character in the whole thing, mainly because it’s almost used as a tool to mock Kovalev, who seems to represent the privileged upper class. Also, it was praying in a cathedral. I don’t know about you, but my nose can’t do anything like that.

Credits for photos & videos:

Image 1— The Galileo Project (galileo.rice.edu)

Image 2— “The Lid” (yidwithlid.blogspot.com)

Video 1— Official “The Band Perry” YouTube Channel

Video 2— Obtained from YouTube—link goes directly to the source

Image 3— The Talent Code(.com)

Mood Diary: Major Kovalev and Gregor Samsa

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Lisa Huang

As I read The Nose, the first scenes that formed in my mind were similar to those in dramatic, slap-stick sitcoms. I envisioned a gaudy yellow room with a primly dressed Prascovia Osipovna sweetly pulling a rack of fresh rolls out of the oven. Sort of like a blend between “I Love Lucy” and “The Twilight Zone,” the barber’s life is rather ordinary until disrupted by an odd, unexplainable event. The combination of Prascovia Osipovna’s wild anger toward the nose and her husband’s careless panic is comical.

However, reading part two of The Nose set a different story of ideas in my mind. I noticed that I was more reserved in how I chose to imagine how Major Kovalev acted because the narrator portrayed Kovalev as more authoritative and commanding. Similarly, I was also more toned down in the settings I imagined him in while talking to the Nose. As a character, Kovalev doesn’t focus much on what goes around him using sight, scent, and sound. Instead, there is more internal dialogue than in-depth description. Thus, when I read about Kovalev hurrying to the Police Commissioner’s or going to post the newspaper ad, the only colored element to the scenes were Kovalev; the surroundings were grey.

I think the fact that Kovalev is very focused about himself brings forward interesting themes in his character about humiliation, pride and the need to be presentable. It’s not just the fact that he doesn’t have a nose that makes him feel uncomfortable in society anymore. It’s also knowing that he doesn’t have a grand story to tell others about how he lost it. As the narrator states, “It would have been better, too, to have had my nose cut off in action, or in a duel, or through my own act: whereas here is the nose gone with nothing to show for it — uselessly — for not a groat’s profit!”

I found Kovalev without a nose comparable to Gregor as a roach. Both had previously defined themselves by their appearances in society and their daily routine. Without the ability to easily do either one, they were lost at what to do from then on. Kovalev begins to irrationally accuse others of taking his nose and, ultimately, comprehending how important something so inherent to his person his nose had been. Therefore, when he wakes up the next day with a nose, Kovalev can appreciate life in a different way. If Gregor would have been given the same opportunity, I think he would have stopped his monotonous job and applied himself toward a career he actually enjoyed. Although his family would have initially suffered from the loss of financial support, in the long run, the Samsa family would still have a son.

Works Cited

I Love Lucy. N.d. Photograph. Feedbooks. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://countrygourmethomeofsd.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/kitchenlucy.jpg>.

A NOSE?

Posted on October 8, 2013 by jessamyn

The Nose:

When I was reading this short story the only thing I couldn’t understand was why? Why would Gogol write a story about losing a nose? But then again why would Kafka write about a man awakening one morning being a cockroach? In Gogol’s The Nose we learn the story in about social class, and where people rank. In truth though both Gogol and Kafka’s stories seem ridiculous and pointless.

Technically speaking it is quite ironic that the first sense mentioned is smell when Ivan wakes up “becoming aware of the SMELL of fresh-baked bread.” The use of his nose lead him tot find someone else’s nose. I was shocked when in the third paragraph Gogol already mentioned the losing of a Nose. I expected this short story to be drawn out and not mention a nose at all until Act two. I have found in past readings that the title is not defined or not mentioned until deep after all character analyses can be made.

How can a nose go missing from someone’s face and not make a fuss about it? What are with these authors Gogol and Kafka, that they don’t make fusses about fussy things!

The only thing I could picture Kavalev (the man who lost his nose) looking like would be Lord Voldemort.

Imagine a regular prosperous man who gets his face shaven regularly one day wakes up and looks like the image above. How scarred would you be waking up to see that in the mirror.

How does a person smell without a nose? How come Gogol didn’t mention Kovalev’s sense of smell once he lost his nose? I understand the nose was merely a representation for social status but Gogol could have incorporated things that come hand in hand with social class and referred to that as smell.

What is this nose’s form that Kovalev follows? I know I referred to this concept in Metamorphosis…the size of the cockroach but really, does it look like a regular nose or is it just a man Kovalev has never seen before with a his nose on their face? If it is a real life-size nose how come no one recognized it as a nose in the street? Could this be justified that he was a highly decorated civil servant? Maybe people didn’t look up in that time to civil servants because of class, and if they did look up maybe they had no right to say anything. If the nose was just Kovalev’s nose on a different man how did Kovalev recognize it? Noses look different on different faces. When people get nose jobs some people choose a nose form a book. All people that get nose jobs though don’t look alike.

nose job

I know I asked many questions, but that is because I just do not understand why? Why a NOSE? Why did Gogol write this short story?

Mood Diary: The Nose

Posted on October 8, 2013 by kenconnolly3

I really don’t know what it is about this story but I really liked it. It was simple, fast paced and there are a few ways to interpret the story. I thought that their were definitely some… strange, parts. Once again is the emergence of the theme of being lackadaisical about strange situations, as the same with metamorphosis. The man, Ivan pulls a nose out of the bread and the woman is just like “You cut that off some guy, you pulled someones nose too hard when you shaved them!” When she should be more like HOLY CRAP WHY IS THERE A NOSE IN THE BREAD! Either way I think it got stranger and stranger as the story progressed with the nose walking around and living its life and the man searching for his nose.

An interesting thought I had while looking over the story a second time was about the social commentary that was mentioned in the class earlier. People were saying that the nose represents social class and I think it is kind of ingenious to use a nose to represent social class because when people believe they are superior to someone else they hold their nose up at them. I think it is a not so subtle reference that really works well with the story.

I think its also interesting the fact that we don’t know what the nose looks like when it develops a life of its own. I mean it seems to be walking around and doing everything a human would do but somehow the man who lost his nose, Kovalev is immediately able to recognize the fact it is his nose in church. I mean I guess if I lost my nose and I saw a nose walking down the street I’d probably be like oh thats my nose but at the same time that fact does not retract from the general weirdness and sense of confusion throughout the story.

Maybe is confusion a theme in the story because he is looking for his nose and even the police, who are suppose to help everyone, is completely not understanding him. He begs for them to help him and they are like, oh well someone came in looking for their poodle the other day. I LOST MY NOSE WHY ARE YOU COMPARING THAT TO A DOG? I guess you aren’t suppose to take the story seriously in the sense that it is actually his nose but it bothers me. I know it shouldn’t but it does.

The nose, ran away?

I think there is some commentary on the incompetence on the police and government system in general, as can be seen by the lack of organization and inability to help a person with such a simple request, finding a lost nose. The police argue and bring up unrelated topics as if it would help but in general do not help Kovalev very much.

I feel this story was good, had a strong ending, I always enjoy a story where all the loose ends get tied up neatly, I hate open endings so the nose was perfect.

The Russian Within Me: Mood Diary of “Nos”

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Ariella Trotsenko

As I continue to read all these bizarre and outrageous stories like “The Nose” and “The Metamorphosis,” I can’t help but think about how there must be a hidden meaning to everything! When reading “The Nose”, and trying to find the symbolism behind the story, I instantaneously thought back to a great quote from one of the best shows ever- How I Met Your Mother. The main character, Ted Mosbey, says to Robin “Maybe there aren’t any signs. Maybe… maybe a locket‘s just a locket, and..a chair’s just a chair. Maybe we don’t have to give meaning to every little thing.”

How I Met Your Mother

But beside the hidden symbolism that we must all look for in all these short stories, I couldn’t help but think how weird the entire story is. So many questions came to mind: How did he identify the nose? How does he get his nose back? Is the nose just a waddling nose or does it have human like attributes?

The Nose (maybe?)

However, I also thought the entire concept and hidden meaning in the story was very interesting. Who would’ve thought to see this whole other side of Kovalev when he loses his nose? I think the entire meaning behind the theme of “social class” relays back to any traditions in Russia. Being Russian, I understand the idea of adults/elders wanting to have respect and authority for them, as well the idea of Russians as a whole being very nationalistic and wanting to be the best.

In Soviet Russia…

While I slightly caught onto the theme of social class in “The Nose”, I was still slightly confused and had to dig a little further into learning about Gogol and the story itself. When reading about the themes of “The Nose”, it was mentioned to also have a surreal/dream like feel to the story, adding onto the plot itself. And that’s when the Russian in me came out and saw that “Nos” (the word nose translated to Russian) is “Son” spelled backwards (which means dream translated in English). According to dream Oneirology, dreaming of a “running nose” can mean that you will have a small lapse of health followed by an even better recovery. In relation to ‘story, Kovalev’s nose was literally running which followed to him being very happy when the Nose was back in place. Another interpretation behind seeing a nose in your dream can mean intuition, and wisdom, which suggests that you will learn more about a situation about to arrive. While the interpretation of weather this translation fact is relevant or not to the story, it is still interesting to ponder weather the absence of his nose is a symbol for dreaming.

Not relevant to the nose, but, looks like a complex situation of the inside of the brain to me

Pictures brought to you courtesy of…

Hart, Katie. How I Met Your Mother. N.d. Photograph. TV Breakroom. 22 Dec. 2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://tvbreakroom.com/tag/how-i-met-your-mother/>.

The Nose Bookcover. N.d. Photograph. Feedbooks. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1430/the-nose>.

Now That’s A History Lesson. N.d. Photograph. Likes. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://likes.com/comedy/best-of-in-soviet-russia-meme?page=2>.

Dream. N.d. Photograph. Groupname for Grapejuice. Blogger. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://groupnameforgrapejuice.blogspot.com/2013_01_01_archive.html>.

The Nose: Art? Or Weird?

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Cate Larsen

The Nose was just another in what seems to be a series of unorthodox (yet oddly interesting) stories. At face value it seems, as Gogol himself says, ridiculous and pointless. Yet there is a little something more behind this seemingly senseless story, in this case relating to the exaggerated importance of social status in Russia at the time. When something seems crazy and weird on the outside, it’s time to delve into the deeper meanings beneath and stop judging a book (or opera) by its cover.

Needless to say, my first connection was on a much more ordinary scale. The scene where Ivan (the barber) discovers Kovalev’s nose in his bread reminded me of when my mom used to try to trick me into eating vegetables by hiding them in other foods I liked. The shock Ivan felt when he went to eat something delicious, only to find an unpleasant surprise within, was something I related to. This reminder led me to a feeling of disgust as I read that part.

At the end of the short story version of the Nose, Gogol adds an ironic sort of statement about how confusing and meaningless his story is at its core. He asks rhetorical questions that the text infuriatingly never answers, made even more infuriating by the fact that he was the one that could have provided these answers, being the author and all. Gogol says that the story does no benefit or harm to the state, bringing its entire purpose into question. This reminded me of Mark Twain’s intro to Huckleberry Finn, in which he says that anybody who tries to read meaning into the story will be prosecuted and/or shot; the irony in both these disclaimers is that the stories do have a larger meaning that makes a deeper comment on society- those commentaries are the reason the works were even written. I wonder if it’s an author thing where they’re trying to be funny, or if they’re actually trying to convince the judgmental members of their particular societies that there is no point, conscious or otherwise, behind the text. Either way, though it’s frustrating to have to think of these questions analytically rather than directly being told “This is the point of it all,” there is a sense of freedom that comes from the process of interpretation. Because the Nose is so bizarre, I felt as if I could see it from any correspondingly bizarre angle I wanted to. I could relate the discovery of the nose in a piece of bread to a tricky parenting skill, and that would be as acceptable as another in-depth revelation someone took from the same scene.

I was a little more satisfied with the reaction of Kovalev to the fact that he had no nose – unlike Gregor, he freaked out and was very proactive in trying to change his situation. It was a bit more interesting of a read because of the fact that there was action going on, a quest to get his devious nose back. Kovalev was more of a human in his thoughts, actions, and reactions.

I caught onto the social commentary right away, especially when Nevsky Avenue was mentioned. I previously read another piece by Gogol (Nevsky Prospekt) about this particular street; it is a place where people’s clothes, badges, choice of which time to walk on the street, and even their mustaches reflect something about the social status of the person to whom these things belong. In that story, Gogol likens the street to the devil, calling it an evil place. Therefore, as I read The Nose I was actively looking for some sort of similar anti-societal message between the lines, and that contributed a lot to my interpretations of various events. For example, it is funny that as the nose travels, it is not noticed as a nonhuman by anybody but Kovalev, simply because all the people in the city pay attention to is someone’s dress and badges of honor that denote ranking.

As to not get too serious, the fact that Ivan thought he cut off Kovalov’s nose by accident reminded me of Sweeney Todd. I’ve never even seen it, I only know the concept because of its popularity, but regardless, that image was something straight out of a creepy Tim Burton movie.

Mood Diary: “The Nose”

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Tiffany Chan

When I first started reading Gogol’s “The Nose,” I thought the description of Ivan Jakovlevitch’s morning was pretty typical. However, once I reached the part where he discovered the nose in his bread, I realized that this story would be even weirder than Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis.” As I continued reading, I found most elements of “The Nose” to be extremely peculiar, like Jakovlevitch’s actions after finding the nose. I also found it difficult to visualize the scenes because they simply didn’t make sense.

(Source: http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2013/03/20/)

I had so many questions that were left unanswered as the story progressed. For instance, how big was the nose that Kovaloff saw dressed as a state-councillor? Did it have a face? After all, it was wearing a uniform and had magically sprouted legs. I also wondered what others thought upon catching sight of this walking nose. Didn’t they find it strange that it could talk? These are only a few of the numerous questions running through my mind as I read.

(Source: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Nose/663241)

I did notice that Gogol placed a lot of emphasis on social ranks throughout the piece. He talked a lot about appearances, comparing the barber’s disheveled presence with the neatly-dressed “Major.” It was awkward when Kovaloff realized that his own nose was of a higher rank than he. The Major couldn’t even find the right words to say when approaching the nose because it was superior.

(Source: http://forums.evancarmichael.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=9422)

The nose also greatly affected Kovaloff’s demeanor. Without it, the Major felt hopeless, and I actually pitied him. He constantly concealed the missing organ on his face with a handkerchief because he feared that people would perceive him differently. It seems that the Major cared a great deal about his image and what people thought of him.

(Source: http://tolstoywarpeace.blogspot.com/2010/09/le-nez.htm)

Although “The Nose” was super weird and random, I was thoroughly amused as I read it. I was glad that Kovaloff’s nose returned to his face at the end. It was definitely more pleasant than the ending of “The Metamorphosis.” My questions still linger in my head, but I guess they’re irrelevant to the main point that Gogol was trying to establish in his story.