Human Duality

The Very Important Person stands as a symbol of human duality. While he was definitely power-hungry and strove to appear in control and calloused,“Sympathy for a fellow human being was not alien to him; his love was open to al kinds of kindly impulses in spite of the fact that his rank often prevented them from coming to the surface. As soon as the friend he had not seen for so long had left, he felt a little worried about poor Akaky, and since that day he could not get the pale face of the meek little Government Clerk out of his head, the poor Civil Servant who could not take an official reprimand like a man” (268).

The Very Important Person stands as a symbol of human duality. While he was definitely power-hungry and strove to appear in control and calloused, Akaky helped to bring out his more emotional side. This excerpt demonstrates the Very Important Person’s natural human inclination to feel pity for another, despite his appearance of being immune to the particular sentiment. This man serves as a symbol of hope to all of mankind. He shows that even those who may appear to solely think about themselves and don’t notice when others take offense to their words are likely to possess more humility under the surface than they care to lead on. His deep worry following his reprimand of Akaky shows that somewhere inside he felt at least a hint of guilt in the way he presented his words. He evidently learned his lesson to the fullest when he heard of Akaky’s death. Did he feel fully responsible? Did he sense the great amount of guilt that he should have for his contribution for Akaky’s death? I believe he did. “This incident made a deep impression upon the Very Important Person. It was not so frequently now that his subordinates heard him say, ‘How dare you, sir? Do you realize who you’re taking to, sir?’ And if he did say it, it was only after he had heard what it was all about” (271). Despite the fact that he did learn his lesson, it’s sad to say that it took Akaky’s loss of life for this to be the case, as is the case for most humans today. While a literal human life may not always be the cost, oftentimes others are disabled in some way—whether mentally or physically—before another can learn of his or her wrongdoings.