Author's name: Nikolai Gogol

"The Overcoat" tells the story of a poor man named Akaky Akakievich, a man who lives only as a copyist and wouldn't be able to complete any other job if given one. He is constantly ridiculed by his colleagues and lives in isolation. He owns only one overcoat, which he tries to mend, but to no avail. He then buys a new, expensive overcoat for someone as poor as him. His life changes slightly until one day his overcoat is stolen, and everything changes. He tries to report it to the police and speak to someone in authority, but to no avail. He falls ill with a fever and dies. "The Nose," on the other hand, tells the story of a nose that is severed from its owner's face and wanders around St. Petersburg as an independent entity. The protagonist is Yakup Plevevich, a barber content with his life. One day, while cutting bread, he finds a nose among the loaves. Strangely, the nose is familiar to him; it belongs to Kovalev, the college inspector, whom he used to shave on Wednesdays and Sundays. Frightened, he tries to get rid of it, pinching it to make sure it wasn't asleep! The two novels had a tremendous impact on intellectuals and readers in Russia due to their precise focus, profound humanity, and empathy for the vulnerable and oppressed. They also exposed the class hierarchy of that era.