<P> `` The Nose '' is divided into three parts and tells the story of Collegiate Assessor ( ' Major ' ) Kovalyov , who wakes up one morning without his nose . He later finds out that his nose has developed a life of its own , and has apparently surpassed him by attaining the rank of State Councillor . The short story showcases the obsession with social rank that plagued Russia after Peter the Great introduced the Table of Ranks . By allowing commoners to gain hereditary nobility through service to the state , a huge population was given the chance to move up in social status . This opportunity , however , also gave way to large bureaucracies , in which many of Gogol 's characters worked . </P>
what value of the russian culture is represented in the story the nose
obsession with social rank