Analysis Of How Much Land Does A Man Need By Leo Tolstoy

“How much Land does a Man Require.” by Leo Tolstoy, is a story of greed. In the story, Pokhom, the main character, unknowingly challenged the Devil by stating that if only he had plenty of land, not even the Devil himself could frighten him. Using his greed against him, the Devil leads him to his own death. Pokhom did not deserve his fate because he worked hard to try and earn money to make his life better, he seized opportunities that were presented to him, and his challenge with the Devil was unintetional.

In 1886, Leo Tolstoy wrote The Death of Ivan Ilyich to express his philosophy of life; how it should be live and what truly matters most. According to Tolstoy, there are two principle ways to live: first, by outer appearance; a propriety; a standard of conduct and the second, by inner appearance and spiritual life in which he claims is “the real thing” that makes one’s life meaningful.

“Master and Man” by Leo Tolstoy is a story that explores the dynamics between a peasant, Nakita and his master,Vasillii Andriech. Andriech foolishly risks both of their lives, when they venture to another town in inclement weather to secure a business deal. Unfortunately, Andreich's impatience and greed ultimately leads to his demise. At the end of the story Nikita dies and is denied the same bliss that Vasillii Andreich experiences in death; in order to solidify the dichotomy between these two men, demonstrate how Andriech cheated Nakita, and he uses Nakita's lackluster death to amplify Andriech's extraordinary passing.

Unlike any of the other characters in the story has a REAL sense of compassion and empathy towards others especially Ivan during his last weeks. Since Gerasim has the well-being of others ahead of his own he is able to connect with people on a more personal scale, which breaks down barriers. With stating this Gerasim is the only character in this story that is able to confront death with equanimity and courage. Gerasim again is the only character in this story that accepts that dirt, death and illness are all parts of life’s grand journey. At the end of Ivan’s life it is Gerasim that is the one that helps with Ivan’s excretions and helps to put Ivan’s feet up at night, he sees by doing these duties for Ivan that he is helping a slowly dying man.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by world famous Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy may be a short piece, but it is also one of the greatest works of fiction in any language of the world, even to this day. In it, Tolstoy examines the shallowness of the bourgeoisie lifestyle and all that surrounds it. Ivan Ilyich is an extremely successful member of the state administration. Throughout his life he has carefully and meticulously adapted his personality to please his superiors, and peers, and to live a smooth life without any complications. He is the perfect example of the blind willingness of some people to conform to social and socio-economic norms. Only shortly before his death did he finally discover the true horror that lies behind the deceptive veil of his seemingly successful life.

In “The Death of Ivan Illych,” Tolstoy portrays life similar to a game of bridge, leaving us to question if life is left up to chance or is there a technique to increase our likelihood of success. Implementing card strategy and the social network that comes with it, bridge becomes a significant symbol of how Ivan conducted himself throughout his existence. Paralleling Peter and Ivan's characters, Tolstoy distorts time and reverses the story's sequence with Peter attending the funeral leading up to Ivan's death. The reversal of the story creates a near paradox between Ivan's happiness playing bridge coinciding with the unbearable pain he experiences also while playing bridge. Finally, the an omnipresence of the card dealer creates a metaphysical

Ok this essay is going to discuss each of these themes with examples on how they're used in the story. First the price of progress, then manipulation, and finally the most seen in the story the lack of honesty. Let's get started on price of progress shall we.

When reading “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence one can quickly see how greed destroys families. Our main character Paul is a smart young man who wishes to stop the voices in the house from whispering “There must be more money! There must be more money!” (Lawrence 1224) This phrase, repeated multiple times throughout the story, emphasizes that the lack of money isn’t an issue, but that there can never be enough.

Leo Tolstoy experienced a lot even at a young age. His mother dies before he was age two and his father died seven years later. Tolstoy endured many more deaths in his family as a young child but was later able to place his thoughts and emotions into his writing. Tolstoy not only wrote about his childhood, but he wrote about social issues and changed the lives of others with his works.

I agree that Ivan has a revelation towards the end of his life. Tolstoy’s story shows two ways of living life. One is the right and true way which Gerasim represents and the other is the wrong way which Ivan and the others represents. The wrong way of life consists of being materialist, self-interest and having superficial relationships. The wrong way of living life provides no comfort because it is an unfulfilling and makes it impossible to find true meaning to life thus leaving one in fear and alone to face death. Ivan knows about this thru his life experiences. “"Resistance is impossible!" he said to himself. "If I could only understand what it is all for! But that too is impossible. An explanation would be possible if it could be said that I have not lived as I ought

Therefore, wealth can only create temporary happiness; it creates a never ending desire that cannot be satisfied. The ideal life is an illusion that deceives humans to want more than they can ever have. Firstly, the cars show the carelessness of the rich. Then, the green light was a symbol deceiving others disguised as a symbol of dreams. Finally, with the representation of the Valley of Ashes being the hopelessness values of the American Dream never happening. So, while every human wishes to be wealthy and carefree, it seems to bring only more problems than it is worth.

Leo Tolstoy was an acclaimed writer of his time. Finding his love for writing in early adulthood he had time to grow and flourish with each book he wrote. Tolstoy did not have an easy life and you can feel the emotions he had as an adolescent while reading his words. Through Leo Tolstoy’s childhood and adult life, he faced challenges with family and education, causing his drive for religion and his many accomplished works of literature.

As we can see throughout the story, Pahom continually wants more land, and when he gets them, he soon gets unsatisfied with having not enough, he cannot stop his desire for wanting more and

"Greed will always leave you dissatisfied because you'll never be able to get everything you desire. Greed never allows you to think you have enough; it always destroys you by making you strive ever harder for more." (Rabbi Benjamin Blech). This statement points to the idea that one's greed will never be satisfied because it will always keep wanting more. Greed is only achieved through an individual's selfish desires which creates conflicts in personal relationships and society. The short stories The Rocking Horse Winner, D.H. Lawrence, The Lottery Ticket, Anton Chekhov and Twins, Eric Wright illustrate this truth. These three short stories clearly portray that greed destroys relationships, fosters

¨How much land does a man require¨ by Leo Tolstoy is a story about greed. Pokhom did not deserve to die because the challenge that was put against Pokhom by the devil was unfair, because Pokhom was unaware of this said challenge. Another reason why Pokhom did not deserve to die was that he fell into greed and everyone gets greedy no matter who they are. Therefore, it would be unfair to place a death penalty on Pokhom, as his desire to acquire more land could have also been driven by ambition. Furthermore, Pokhom earned the 1,000 Rubles on his own for which the devil did not provide support. However, the devil offered him an irresistible opportunity to further grow this money. In brief, Pokhom, the main character, had unknowingly challenged the devil, so it seems unfair for Pokhom to die, and if he had known that the devil was challenging him he would have most likely not went to the Bashkirs and would not have died.