"How Much Land Does a Man Need?" Response

In Leo Tolstoy’s “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” Tolstoy examines the tendency of man to be ever unsatisfied with the life that he has and the possessions and blessings that make up his lot. In this way, man is restless and always unable to accept that the grass truly does not grow greener on the other side. In this parable, Pakhom begins as a poor peasant who works hard as a farmer, and never complains about living a life of scarcity. As his wife explained to her rich, elitist sister, “The peasant’s stomach may be thin, but it is long. That is to say, he may never be rich, yet he will always have enough.” Upon hearing this comment, Pakhom contends that if only he had a little more land to till, then he could do anything; even if the Devil himself tried to stop him. As the parable goes on, the Devil leads Pakhom into constant temptation at every turn, even when it seems that Pakhom has settled into the life that he set out searching for.

Pakhom starts out buying 40 acres of land from a local landowner, in which he takes tremendous pride. As Tolstoy writes, “He felt overjoyed whenever he rode out to his estate, either to plow or to inspect the crops and meadows. The very grass seemed to him different from other grasses, the flowers to bloom differently.” However, when trouble from the locals strikes and he hears of an opportunity to be allotted 25 free acres of fertile land, he convinces himself that he does not have enough space to grow in his current situation, and relocates to the community of Samara. There, Pakhom is able to purchase 125 total acres in all (a huge leap from the 40 acres he originally owned), and sow wheat on his own land. But still, even as he continually makes a profit on his crops and is living comfortably, Pakhom leases more and more land and grows tired of fighting over divided land plots with the other peasants. After hearing from a passing merchant of a land inhabited by the Bashkirs, Pakhom sets out with gifts, vodka, and the intention to buy as much land as the eye could see for 1,000 rubles.

The crux of the parable lies in the last few pages of this short story, where Pakhom travels 300 miles to try to acquire an immeasurable amount of land for 1,000 rubles. As the chief of the Bashkirs designates, Pakhom is able to purchase a lot comparable to the amount of land he can walk in one day, as long as he is able to return to his starting point before the sunset. Overcome by the vast landscape and the wide open frontier, Pakhom traverses too wide of a radius and literally dies of exhaustion in his attempt to make it back to his starting point. In my opinion, Tolstoy is trying to convey that the natural urge of the human heart is to feel restless, unsatisfied, and always certain that something greater lies beyond what we already have. However, if we constantly strive for different circumstances, we will never be able to rest in the blessings that are already bestowed upon us. GOD is our principal provider, and can always ensure that our needs are met in whatever situation that He brings us to. By running towards temptation and forsaking what we have already been given, we are running straight into the trap that the Devil has set for us.