How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Summary
Introduction:
“How Much Land Does a Man Need?” Is a short story written by Leo Tolstoy in which he depicts a story of a peasant named Pahom.
Content:
Pahom states that if he had enough land, he wouldn’t fear the Devil. The Devil overhears this and decides to test him. An opportunity for Pahom to acquire land arrives, and he takes it. In his quest to attain more and more land, Pahom visits the Bakshirs, whose chief agrees to sell him as much land as he can
walk around in one day.
Explanation:
At the beginning of the story, a woman comes from town to visit her younger sister in the country. They debate whether country life or city life is better; the younger sister says that in the country, there is no chance of husbands being tempted by the devil. Her husband,
Pahom, agrees. He reflects that peasants are too busy in their work to be tempted and that their only problem is that they don’t have enough land. He thinks that if he only had enough land, he would not fear the Devil: but the Devil, who is in the kitchen with him, hears this and decides to test him.
Soon, a local landowner decides to sell her land, and Pahom and the other peasants of the Commune attempt to buy it together as communal land. Pahom was delighted as he gains more success.
When a traveling peasant from beyond the Volga River informs Pahom that in that area, land is better and plentiful, Pahom investigates and eventually moves there with his family. With three times the land he had before, Pahom is initially
content. But he does not have the right land to grow wheat. So he wanted to buy land at cheap price. However, before the deal is settled, a stranger comes to
him and tells him that the Bashkirs, a group of people in a neighboring country, are selling their excellent land at extremely
cheap prices, provided that the purchasers bring gifts.
Moved by his greed, Pahom again goes to investigate. The Bashkir leaders are charmed by Pahom’s gifts, and
they tell him that they will sell him however much land he wants for a thousand rubles. Bashkirs assure him that the deal is sound— however how much land he can walk around in one day will be his. If
he doesn’t make it back by sundown, the land and money will be forfeited.
Pahom believes that he can walk thirty-five miles in a day. Pahom dismisses the dream upon waking up and begins his circuit the next morning with the Bashkirs
watching. At first it seems that he will be able to make it, but as
the day wears on, he becomes less and less sure and will not make it back. Though exhausted, he begins to run, fearing the loss of his money, land, and dignity.
At the end of his run, as the sun is setting, he sees the Chief of the Bashkirs laughing. Pahom reaches his starting point but falls
down and dies. His servant buries him, noting that in the end, the only land Pahom needed was six feet, from head to foot—for his grave.
Conclusion: In this story Leo Tolstoy have nicely described about the corrupting power of greed.
Pahom had been marking
his land and digs a grave in which to bury him: “Six feet from his
head to his heels was all he needed.”
English Study Material 