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'The Diary of a Madman' is based on Nikolai Gogol's darkly comic 1853 short story centered on the life of a minor civil servant, Poprischin, in the repressive era of Nicholas I. Written in first-person, diary entry format, the story follows the protagonist's yearning for a senior official's daughter and his elaborate delusions, among them his imagined royal status and communication between animals. Only as Poprischin descends into madness does he attain a measure of greatness. The story satirizes state bureaucracy in 1830s St. Petersburg and relates an average man's quest for individuality in an indifferent world.

Added by Upcoming Robot on February 12, 2011