“HOW MUCH LAND DOES A MAN NEED” By: Mark Diamond, Brandon Beary, Seth Mayer Wesner, Billy Murganti

Discussion Director By: Mark Diamond

Author Leo Tolstoy Born in Yasnaya Polyana, Russia on September 9th, 1828. Died on November 20th 1910 in Astapavo, Russia.

Author Background Leo was a Russian writer who wrote several novels and short stories. Most famous work is titled War and Peace Married a woman 16 years younger than him. He had Christian beliefs

Questions and Answers #1) Considering the outcome of the story, what is ironic, or surprising, about the younger sister’s comments about peasant life and city life? A) The peasant gets land but it ends up killing him from exhaustion of walking on his land. #2) In view of Pahom’s earlier difficulties with the manager of the woman’s estate, what is ironic about the disputes he became involved in after becoming a landowner? A) He first wanted land and ended up getting more land then he could handle himself. #3a) How and why does Pahom’s attitude toward his first plot of land change? A) At first, he really liked it but then started working to hard and it became a hassle. #3b) Explain whether you think that Pahom’s attitude would have remained the same if he had not had difficulties with his neighbors. A) His attitude would have remained the same probably because he wouldn’t have had to deal with them and the land at the same time.

Questions and Answers(cont.) #4a) How would you characterize the peasants who live in the settlement beyond the Volga? A) They are poor and jealous of Pahoms land. #4b) How does their way of life and their behavior contrast with that of the Bashkirs? A) The peasants are not as fortunate as the bashkirs. #5a) How does Pahom’s dream foreshadow, or hint at, the outcome of the story? A) Pahom’s dream was to have a lot of land for himself and he ended up killing himself to try to get more. #5b) What does the dream suggest about the role played by the Devil throughout the story? A) The Devil represented the Bashkir chief and how he acted.

Questions and Answers(cont.) #6a) What is ironic about the outcome of the story? A) Pahom dies due to his persistence in getting even more land for himself. #6b) Considering the outcome, what is ironic about the final line? A) That he didn’t need a ton of land but only 6 feet for himself. #6c) Did you find this ending satisfying? Why or why not? A) I found it satisfying because it sounded like a realistic ending to the story. #7) During the course of his life, Tolstoy came to believe the property ownership was evil. How does this story reflect this view? A) This story suggests that greed can get you into trouble.

Fake Wall Link http://www.myfakewall.com/w/pahom+smith

Scenes and characters

Pahom (Peasant) Pahom the peasant is a big part of the story, and as in fact the antagonist, in the short story, “How Much Land Does a Man Need”. He is the one who receives land from the protagonist, the devil.

Wealthy sister The short story includes 2 sisters. One of the two sister are very wealthy, and thinks she has it all, and loves her life.

Poor Sister She is the poor sister of the two, and knows how to live with her life, and is proud of being a peasant and doesn’t like her sister bragging about being wealthy.

Neighbors The Neighbors of Pahom, are angered by Pahom, since he has so much land. Pahom blames his neighbors for letting there cattle roam around his crops and land, yet it wasn’t the peasants fault. Pahom continues to anger them and soon destroy his land on purpose.

Scenes Scene 1- The sister have an argument of which life is better and easier to live. Pahom is then introduced in the middle of the argument. Scene 2- Pahom explains to other peasants that if he ever had land, he wouldn’t be afraid of anything, not even the devil himself. Little does he knows that the devil over heard his conversation. Scene 3- The devil gives Pahom the opportunity to have lots of land, to see if what he sais is true. Scene 4- Pahom works on his land that he bought from a women named Sarah Jones. The devil gave him the opportunity and Pahom took it, and started working and growing crops. Scene 5- Pahom’s neighbors, accidently destroy a bit of his land, by having there cattle roam, and loose fire burning his land down. In Pahom’s perspective, he thinks his neighbors are destroying his land on purpose. Scene 6- Pahom’s neighbors are not guilty of his land being destroyed, therefore get angered by Pahom’s prosecutions, leading to his neighbors destroying his land on purpose. Scene 7- After a hard day of repairing his land , and working hard all day he headed home with cute and bruises an his arms and legs. His land, was so big that he could not make it back home. Scene 8- Pahom realizes that he is lost and starts to think if he will survive or not. He was bleeding injured and, doesn’t know where he is. Scene 9- Poham eventually makes it back to his starting point, the Bashkir leader then congratulates him, but Poham then dies of exhaustion.

Word watcher

Literary Information Protagonist: A peasant named pahom. Antagonist: neighbors Other important characters: younger sister older sister. Setting: Russia Conflict: Pahom wants more land.

Literary terms definition Allegory- Symbolic narrative representation person or object. Parable- what the story means Fantasy- imagination Realism- are terms that describe any manifestation Universal theme- problem to all people

Literary Information Allegory/parable- The story teaches a life lesson. Fantasy- Shows fantasy because you don’t normally see the devil behind a stove. Realism- the younger sister and elder sister were talking to each other while having tea Universal Theme- Nobody is satisfied with what they have

Literary Information Themes: Getting what you want doesn’t always mean good things will happen A person only needs as much as they can survive on