The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

Submitted to: Ms. Anne Tooba Zahid BS English Language and Linguistics
Subject: Short Fictional Narrative Compiled by: Malaika Riaz
Submitted by: Group 2 Section: C (M) F21-25
 M Umar Maryam Bhatti
 M Hamza Malaika Riaz
 Sultan Sikander Neha Nawaz
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Over Coat by Ghulam Abbas

Author: Ghulam Abbas (1909_1982):
Pen Name: ‘Ghulam' Died: 1 Nov 1982 | Karachi, Sindh.
Ghulam Abbas was a short story writer from Pakistan. He was born on 17 nov 1909 in
AMRITSAR, INDIA & died on 2 nov 1982 in Karachi. He was very famous in Urdu Adab. He held a
life of common man and saw things very closely. He started his career in 1925.He also worked
in All India Radio during world war-II. He translated many foreign text, also worked as editor in
phool and tehzeeb-e-niswan. His first short story is “ANANDI” published in 1948.He got ADAM
JI LITERARY AWARD in 1960. In 1967, He got Sitara-e-Imtiaz by Govt of Pakistan. He also
worked 4 years for BBC London (1948-1952). His notable work which got very famous is
“Anandi”” Jaray Ki Chandani”,” Overcoat” & many more.
Writing Style:
•Unique.
•Non-stereotypical
•Social Critique
•Harsh reality of life.
His writing style observes the social criticism and harsh realities of life. His short stories
observe the details of actual-life and are portrayal of social-realism. Specific characteristics of
the writing style of Ghulam Abbas are simplicity, fluency and light rhythm.
 STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
Point of view:
 •The story is told as 3rd person perspective, so the point of view is 3rd person (HE, SHE,
IT, THEY)
 •The writer is OMNISCIENT in this story. he is aware of the events and telling us
 •Author is narrating the story.

Setting:
 •January Saturday evening (mid-winter)
 •Davis road to Mall road
 •Wearing an overcoat
 •Whole attire was Western

Tone & Style: The tone & style of story was dramatic, had warmth effect.
 Warm: As we read the first paragraph of story we feel positivity and think that the story
will be very positive and full of pleasure
 Suspense: As we move to the second or third paragraph we feel suspense that the
character was doing window shopping and speaking in English with the Tonga Walla and
taxi driver.
 Tragic: When the truck driver hit the young man it's tragic moment of the story.
 Melancholic: In the end of the story when the character was hitted by the truck and
went to hospital and his clothes were removed his reality comes up which is very sad
and tragic.

Characters:
The only main character on which whole story revolves and also end is a MALE
FIGURE anonymous person (3rd). There is no name, instead writer calls or narrate
him in story as a YOUNG BOLD MAN.
Side Roles:

 •Pan Walla & Taxi driver.

 •Tonga wall -White cat
 •Salesman of musical instruments shop
 •The owner of carpet shop
 •A young couple
 •Traffic inspector
  Young nurses (Shehnaz and Gill)

Plot of the Story:

a. Exposition: Exposition is the introduction of the story exposition introduces with the
main character.
One evening in January a well-groomed young man having walked up Davis Road to the Mall
turned to Charring Cross. His hair was sleek and shining and he wore side burns. His thin
moustache seemed to have been drawn with a pencil. He had put on a brown overcoat with a
cream colored half opened rose in his button hole and a green flat hat which he wore at a
rakish angle. A white silk scarf was knotted at his neck. One of his hands was slipped into a
pocket of his overcoat while in the other he held a short polished cane which every now and
then he twirled jauntily.

b. Conflict:
 Man Vs himself.
 Man Vs nature.
 Man Vs society.
 Man Vs man.

c. Resolution: - (The resolution is the end of the story. It occurs after the CLIMAX. It is
when you learn what happens to the characters after the CONFLICT is resolved). In the end part
of story there is a revelation of tragedy and exposition of reality. When he was taken to hospital
in the causality department after the accident at night. The doctor khan ,Nurse Shehnaz and Gill
were on duty . He was taken to the operation theatre and was laid down on white marble table.
He was still wearing his brown overcoat and his body was stained with blood. Now step by step
his clothes were to be removed by the nurses. when the overcoat, his scarf and shoes were
removed here the tragedy come out and we see that his body was all covered with dirt seems
that he could not have had a bath for at least 2 months. Beneath the scarf there was no tie or
collar or beneath the good looking marvelous overcoat there was a cotton sweater with holes
through which one could see the dirty vest. His socks were different in colour torned and holes
at the heels, where the flesh showed. Only upper part of his neck or outlook appearance was
clean and looked quite attractive while in reality he was a poor soul. who was now dead and got
freedom from this world in which he was trying to manage and hide his poverty.

Themes:
The basic theme or central idea of this story is that most of the people pretend to be rich and
tries to hide their poverty and miseries because they are looked upon by the elite class, who
has merely made the physical appearance to be final yardstick of measuring character and
status in the society. But we should judge people around us morally not materially as
“Our true beauty is defined by our soul; our appearance is just a camouflage we use to hide
our true beauty, our true identity…”.

Symbol:
Symbol is the word that generates an idea, a feeling or vision.
In this story Overcoat is the symbol of camouflage i.e. hiding your own personality as the
character hiding personal appearance behind overcoat.
Small polished cane: The young man holding small polished cane in one of his hand also
signifies the ruling monarch which are western or British as it was an item of royal or imperial
insignia. Which is also another point of influence of western culture on him.

Post-Colonial-Criticism: - The post-colonial effects can be traced in the

overcoat, but before moving ahead, it is obligatory to define colonialism & Post colonialism.

❖Colonialism: The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another
country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. In the process of colonization,
colonizers may impose their religion, language, economics, and other cultural practices.

❖Post-colonialism: The historical period or state of affairs representing the aftermath of

Western colonialism.
Post-colonial Theorist:
Two main post-colonial theorist are;
•Homi-k-Bhabha.
•Frantz Fannon.

Topics of Essay:
1: Mimicry.
2: Hybridity.
3: Ambivalence (state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or
someone).

Mimicry:
The action or Skill of imitating someone or something.
•To imitate someone’s action.
•To imitate the west.
When we associate mimicry inside the Story, the whole first paragraph is the mimicry of west.
Young Man wants to look like typical western guy, the way he dressed.
•He had worn an overcoat with green flat hat. A white silk scarf that was knotted at his neck.
He held a short Cane in one hand while the other hand was into a pocket of his overcoat. The
mimicry of narratives continued when a cat, shivering with cold comes near him and he patted
it, sympathizing by saying “Poor Little Soul”. Also when once his stick fell down on ground, he
picked it up saying “O Sorry” to himself.
•All these things are nothing but a mimicry of an English Men.

Hybridity:
The fusion of two things to form another. Inside the Story it maybe the fusion of two cultures.
The entrance of young man in an English music shop is an example of his taste for English
music. Although he didn’t buy anything but he played a few notes on a huge German Piano.
Here piano is again a symbol of British people taste.

Frantz Fannon:
•African Author.
•Wrote a book named “Black skin white mask”.
•When it comes to story last paragraph is a fine example of black skin white mask.
•When overcoat was taken off, young man had worn only an old sweater. Beneath the scarf
there was neither a tie nor even a shirt. Layers of dirt covered his body. Only the upper part of
his neck was clean and well powdered. That’s called Black skin, white mask. And that’s also
called the sense of identity crises and insecurity.

CONCLUSION:
False consciousness is a Marxian concept that elucidates the behavior of the people who are
materialistically conditioned within a society. The character study of Overcoat by Ghulam Abbas
reveals a society that is evidently divided into two main classes the ruling class and the working
class. The author through the character of an unnamed young man sheds light on the behavior
of the people belonging to lower strata of the society. It has been evaluated that the characters
who belong to lower class are isolated in the society and work as servants and facilitators of the
upper-class. The dividing line between the two classes asserts the indifferent attitude of the
upper class that causes alienation and segregation which eventually leads the people of the
lower strata to accept their social conditions on the basis of their economic instability. The
economic conditioning within the society affects the people from the lower class to accept their
status but if they find a space to fill up this gap of indifference they will not be reluctant to give
up this chance. Thus, it is concluded that the lower class that is shown in the story confronts the
indifference on the material basis. Their social conditioning enforces them to work in a
particular condition that in some way or the other facilitates the upper class. People of the
lower class strive hard to diffuse this division but the upper class manages to maintain their
status by raising their level of conditioning and the only way that is left for the lower strata is to
do what the young man chooses to do.
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