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The authors purpose of writing How Much Land Does a Man Need? is to show us that we need to set definite boundaries on our own greediness. It shows us in an entertaining way, that if we are not careful are greediness and lack of self-discipline may end up killing us. The story appears to take place in a small peasant village in the late 1800 s, in the midst of thousands of acres of farmland. Although, it could happen anyplace when someone is not content with what he has and tries to get more. The main character in the story is Pahom, a peasant who is not satisfied with what he has.
There are also a few minor characters including, Pahom s servant, wife, and brother-in-law. The story also includes an old lady, a passing land dealer, and the Bashkirs. The story starts out with Pahom, a peasant, who is working on someone else s farmland. As the plot progresses, Pahom is able to purchase about forty acres of his own farmland. As time goes by, he is still not satisfied. When he hears that there is land for sale in another city, he sells everything he owns and moves there to try buying more land.
Pahom succeeds with his quest and ends up ten times better of than he was before. But, after awhile he is still dissatisfied. Pahom hears about the far away land of Bashkirs where he can get as much land as he can walk around in a day for only a thousand rubles. Pahom sells everything again and heads of to the land of Bashkirs.
He arrives safely and finds out that everything he had heard about the land was true. However, in the end, things do not turn out so well and he learns to late a very valuable lesson on self-discipline. The main strength of the story would have to be the characters. Although, Pahom is the only one actually named, the characters flow in and out of the story very smoothly and advance the plot perfectly.
If any of the characters were removed, the story would not fit together. The one big weakness that I noticed, was the setting. The story seems to switch from the real world to an imaginary one. It starts out in a peasant village, than it moves to a different village, than it goes to the far away land of Bashkirs. To me, the villages would be in the real world.
However, the land of Bashkirs seems like a made up world. It is a great story for someone who enjoys surprise endings, and likes to figure out what the story really means. How Much Land Does a Man Need, in its fundamental physical action, is a marvelous metaphor for us to set definite boundaries on our own appetites.
Free research essays on topics related to: farmland, peasant, real world, moves, satisfied
Research essay sample on Set Definite Boundaries Land Does A Man Story
