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“How Much Land Does a Man Need?” by Leo Tolstoy



                                                                   


                                                        Tolstoy’s short story –  “How much land does a man need?” — is a religious-morality tale which can be interpreted in a variety of ways,  but which seems primarily concerned with the destructive consequences of human ambition.  The story is about a man named Pahom – a peasant farmer —  who desires to acquire more land, acquires some land, but is not satisfied and needs to acquire more.  Eventually he over-reaches, forfeits all his accumulated wealth and causes his own death.  The message to take from the story may be as simple as a warning against biting off more than you can chew, or we could say simply that the story shows how human nature pushes us to want more and more. We are never content with our lives, no matter how well off we may be; and , while trying to improve our standard of living, we put ourselves in danger of ending up with nothing.

                    The story begins with two sisters who remain unnamed but who are the reason that set the event of the story in motion. The protagonist of the story is Pahom who is a peasant and who believes that life could be easier if could have a bit of more land. The essential question asked in the story is how much land does a man really need?

                   Pahom reminds us of ourselves who never tire of our quest to get a little more. Pahom, starts as a humble farmer who never loses an opportunity to increase his lands. In the story, it is the devil that brings all these opportunities to get more land right at Pahom’s doorstep. The greed to get some more is indeed devil himself.

                   The story reminds me of our incessant running to add just a little more to our wealth, to gain a little more, to be a little richer than our neighbors. All this while we forget ourselves, stop living our life, stop enjoying what nature and life has already bestowed us with. We run and run and don’t stop until we realise it is too late.

                     Tolstoy ends his story with an excellent example. On Pahom’s last trip to find land, he gained an opportunity to gain land as much as he wanted.  Pahom made a deal that he would gain the land that he made mark on if he came back to the starting point before sunset. Pahom, full with greed, walks beyond his limits. As a result, Pahom had to run to get back to the starting point. When he did, he died of exhaustion. The landowner, who saw this happen, buried Pahom. The only land he needed in the end was eight feet long, three feet wide land. The end of the story teaches us how much we actually need in life. After death, we do not carry or bring anything with us. Use the time given for better things than to satisfy your greed.

                Many people in the world today believe that we need possessions and wealth to live a happy life. They often waste their time trying to gain more for themselves. As Tolstoy tries to tell us, we should not have greed on materials that are meaningless, but we should do things that are worthy. As the story said, the only thing we need in the end, is a little piece of land.

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