Transcript How Much Land Does a Man Need?

How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Post-Reading Discussion
Reading Check
•
How much land does Pahom acquire in his first purchase?
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For what crime does Pahom attempt to prosecute a pesant
named Simon?
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Passing dealer
How much distance does Pahom hope to cover in his bid to
acquire land from the Bashkirs?
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Chopping down a clump of 5 lime trees
Who interrupts Pahom and a peasons just as Pahom is about
to purchase 1300 acres of land?
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40 acres
35 miles
What does Pahom’s servant see when he lifts Pahom from the
ground on the hillock?
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Blood running from Pahom’s mouth
Identifying Facts
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Pahom buys his first 40 acres of land from an aristocrat. How
does he raise the money?
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After buying his first farm, why does Pahom quarrel with the
neighboring peasants?
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Continually trespass on land
What happens when Pahom attempts to purchase land from
the Bashkirs?
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Sells colts and bees, hires out son, borrows from his brother-in-law
Tries to get so much that he dies from exhaustion
According to Tolstoy, how much land does a man really need?
How is the question in the story’s title answered?
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6 feet
Length of Pahom’s grave
Interpreting Meaning

What is the theme of the
story?

Unchecked ambition
brings a person neither
happiness not health

How does the resolution
of the story’s conflict
support the theme?

Pahom’s death proves the
harm of striving for
material gain
Interpreting Meaning


How does the two sisters’
discussion, at the
beginning, foreshadow
Pahom’s end?
What other events
foreshadow the ending?

“Loss and gain are
brothers twain,”
References to death on
the land and the Devil’s
temptations

Pahom’s dream

Interpreting Meaning

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Contrast Pahom’s attitude
towards land with the
attitude of the Bashkir
chief?
What do you think
accounts for the
difference in their values?
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The more land Pahom
acquires, the more he
wants
The chief is content with
what he has, he’s willing to
share
Nomadic/feudal
backgrounds
Interpreting Meaning


What tone does Tolstory
use when describing
Pahom?
Cite examples from the
story that best reflect the
author’s attitude toward
his main character.

Restrained, objective

Pahom is thrilled, Tolstoy
reports the scene (section
2, last paragraph)
Pahom’s death
Bashkirs’ display of pity
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
Interpreting Meaning

How does this story serve
as a parable that reflects
Tolstoy’s beliefs about
private ownership of
property?
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Pahom’s bids for
ownership fails to bring
contentement
The Bashkirs’ communal
ownership is portrayed as
a superior system
Applying Meaning

Discuss how the desire to have material goods and status
in 19th century Russia and 20th century America are
comparable.
Writing Prompt:
Please answer both prompts.
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Have you ever “grasped too much and ruined the whole
affair” – that is, lost something because you were too
ambitious?
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In a paragraph, describe one such example, applying it to the
message of Tolstoy’s story.
Can you think of examples of people from current events,
history, or other fictional stories who have failed by being
greedy or attempting too much?
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In a paragraph, describe one such example, applying it to the
message of Tolstoy’s story.