1. How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Post-Reading Discussion

2. Reading Check How much land does Pahom acquire in his first purchase?
40 acres
For what crime does Pahom attempt to prosecute a pesant named Simon?
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?
Passing dealer
How much distance does Pahom hope to cover in his bid to acquire land from the Bashkirs?
35 miles
What does Pahom’s servant see when he lifts Pahom from the ground on the hillock?
Blood running from Pahom’s mouth

3. Identifying Facts
Pahom buys his first 40 acres of land from an aristocrat. How does he raise the money?
Sells colts and bees, hires out son, borrows from his brother-in-law
After buying his first farm, why does Pahom quarrel with the neighboring peasants?
Continually trespass on land
What happens when Pahom attempts to purchase land from the Bashkirs?
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?
6 feet
Length of Pahom’s grave

4. Interpreting Meaning What is the theme of the story?
How does the resolution of the story’s conflict support the theme?
Unchecked ambition brings a person neither happiness not health
Pahom’s death proves the harm of striving for material gain

5. 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

6. Interpreting Meaning
Contrast Pahom’s attitude towards land with the attitude of the Bashkir chief?
What do you think accounts for the difference in their values?
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

7. 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

8. Interpreting Meaning
How does this story serve as a parable that reflects Tolstoy’s beliefs about private ownership of property?
Pahom’s bids for ownership fails to bring contentement
The Bashkirs’ communal ownership is portrayed as a superior system

9. Applying Meaning
Discuss how the desire to have material goods and status in 19th century Russia and 20th century America are comparable.

10. Writing Prompt: Please answer both prompts.
Have you ever “grasped too much and ruined the whole affair” – that is, lost something because you were too ambitious?
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?