Never once in his life did he give heed to what was going on every day in the street; while it is well known that his young brother officials train the range of their glances till they can see when any one's trouser straps come undone upon the opposite sidewalk, which always brings a malicious smile to their faces.

In this quote near the beginning of the story, the young officials with whom Akakievitch works are portrayed as superficial and critical of others. They examine the clothes of others on the street in great detail and constantly measure themselves against them. Not only are they vigilant about how others dress, but they also take pleasure when others dress worse than they do. This predilection shows how social hierarchy dominates their thinking. They wish to be above others in the social hierarchy and take pleasure in others’ misfortune.

In Holy Russia all is thus contaminated with the love of imitation; every man imitates and copies his superior.

This quote appears as Akakievitch contemplates approaching the prominent personage for help, and it sums up how social classes function in Russia. Everyone in Gogol’s St. Petersburg, with the exception of Akakievitch himself, idolizes their superiors to such a degree that they imitate their behavior. Everyone has a “superior” of some sort. This includes even the prominent personage who is befuddled and thrown off by anyone of the rank of “general.” Superiors are the subject of idolization by their inferiors so much so that they are imitated in every way.