In the short story “How Much Land does a Man need” Pahom gets lost in his own greed and meets a fate that he had feared his entire life. Pahom starts off as a hard working farmer, although poor, is able to feed his family and live a simple life. The conflict between rich and poor comes up at the very beginning when two sisters are having and argument, the one is rich and one is a poor farmers wife. This argument is very interesting because the advantages of being rich is clear but the younger sister makes the best of her situation and lists reasons why it is better to have fewer luxuries. Even though they are a poor family they will always have enough to eat and because they spend all their time working there is “no time any nonsense settle in our heads (222).” The point that the woman makes is that free time can lead to bad things and too much time to think can make people want more. Pahom is the husband of that woman and although he understands his wife he doesn’t heed her warning.
Pahom is an interesting character because he understands the danger in greed but every time he sees an opportunity to better his life he takes it. When he settles to a new place he believes that his life will get better until something new comes along. Pahom is never satisfied. Greed is a major theme in the story and it leads to Pahom’s death. The story of Pahom’s life follows the rule of three because it’s not until the third move that Pahom allows his greed to kill him. The theme of greed amongst men has been one of the most powerful determinants in history. Men like Hitler and Napoleon all lost their lives due to their greed . Even in today’s society the United States has a negative savings rate due to the excessive use of credit. The fact is people want what they cant have. The title is very fitting for the story because it asks the simple question how much do we really need
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Your posting was really interesting to read especially the ending which concluded the moral of the story. I feel that so many people can relate to this story because we have all wanted something that we couldn't have in our lives. Most don't take it to the highest extent like Pahom but the ones that do spend their whole lives searching for a satisfaction they obvously will never have. It is extremely sad that he has forgotten about his family. His greed for land and money drives him away from them. And I feel that its not the materalistic things in life that brings happiness; it is the time thats spent and valued with the people you love.
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