How Much Land Does a Man Need? Literary Elements

Historical fiction, short story

19th-century Russia, mostly in the western countryside near the Volga river and the Ural mountains.

Third-person omniscient point of view following Pahom, a Russian peasant.

Objective and blunt; sardonic.

Protagonist: Pahom, a Russian peasant with grand ambitions and a thirst for acquiring land. Antagonist: his pathological greed and pride.

As Pahom acquires more land and wealth, he becomes increasingly greedy and dissatisfied—leading to a neglect of his values, relationships, and sense of self.

The story reaches its climax as Pahom rushes to return to his starting point before sunset.

Pahom's dream of the Devil laughing at the sight of his dead body foreshadows Pathom's death. The image of the "red as blood" sunset disappearing from the day foreshadows the image of Pahom's blood flowing from his mouth as he faces his demise (23).

The younger sister declaring, "...but though you often earn more than you need, you are likely to lose all you have. You know the proverb, 'Loss and gain are brothers'" foreshadows Pahom's loss of his family, community, and values (5). Likewise, Pahom's claim that "Our only trouble is that we haven't land enough. If I had plenty of land, I shouldn't fear the Devil himself!" prefigures his preoccupation and obsession with upward mobility (5).

The story's final line, "Six feet from his head to his heels was all he needed," understates the physical and mental extremities of Pahom's arduous quest to own as much land as possible—and reveals its futility in turn (24).

The story does not contain overt mythological or historical allusions, with the exception of the passing references to the Volga river and the Bashkirs, a group of people living in the Ural Mountains.

In Pahom's dream, the image of the Devil standing over Pahom's corpse in his dream signifies his powerlessness. Additionally, the image of the "blood-red" sun sinking toward the horizon foreshadows Pahom's inevitable perdition (23).

The paradox of Pahom's quest becomes evident at the end of the story. Pahom spends all his time and effort seeking as much land as possible and dies with a large amount of land under his possession. However, Pahom cannot possess the land in death, illustrating the uselessness of his pursuit.

The sun parallels Pahom while he seeks to claim as much Bashkirian land as possible in a single day. As Pahom grows exhausted, the sun also bears down harder; as he grows fatigued, the sun increases his lethargy. Finally, as the sun sets, so does Pahom's life.