“How Much Land Does a Man Need”

1. Leo Tolstoy “How Much Land Does a Man Need”

2. 1. How much wealth does a person need? 2. How large a house does a person need? 3. How large a vehicle of transportation does a person need? 4. How powerful a military does a nation need? 5. How many nuclear warheads does a nation need? 6. How much wealth and power does a society need? At what point does it become inconsistent with a good life for the citizens? 8. How many automobiles, highways, freeways, etc, does the world need?

3. Purpose • What Tolstoy gives us is a didactic tale, a story meant to teach a moral or religious lesson. • How greed and an excessive desire for earthly wealth can destroy a person • consequences of ignoring spiritual needs and the state of one’s soul, in favor of acquiring more and more material wealth. • what can happen when humans become too ambitious and greedy

4. Purpose • Many interpretations and aspects to take into account when gathering purpose from a didactic tale • Must consider how greed can affect an individual AND those around him/her • Role of humility and religion • Social aspect, Ecological aspect, Economic aspect, Ethical aspect—gain multiple meanings and insight

5. Background • From the sixteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, Russian peasants were bound by law to work land they could rent but not own. • Grew food meant to feed others • Cultivated crops that others would sell • Worked to exhaustion to make a profit for the land-owner • Peasants could be bought and sold with the land they worked

6. Background • Story takes place after the laws were changed to allow ordinary people to purchase land. • To those who had never owned it, land represented the ability to control one’s destiny. • Tolstoy uses land to explore the age-old question of how much is enough. • Significance of Russian author

7. Background • Russia - In terms of territory, it is the largest country in the world • Total area of 17,075,200 kilometers (6,592,735 square miles). Covers about one-eighth of the world's land surface. • Russian Revolution – example in Russian history of political turmoil regarding control • Absolute power (totalitarianism of the Tsar)

8. Tolstoy • 1828-1910 • Very famous Russian author • Most famous works include • War and Peace - about Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812. Masterpiece for its graphic depiction of war, insights into Russia culture, and exploration into the meaning of life. • Anna Karenina - explores themes such as hypocrisy, faith, jealousy, fidelity, society, desire, etc. Shows pressures of Russian social norms, public eye upon a marriage of the upper class. “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

9. Tolstoy • Lost his parents at a very young age – lifelong obsession with the inevitability of death • Came from a noble family • During his childhood, 800 serfs lived on the Tolstoy estate (Yasnaya Polyana) • When he inherited the estate at age 19, he tried to make a better life for them. • Serfs – work the land for a lord/noble land-owner

10. Tolstoy • Created his own religious faith that emphasized a natural existence, universal love, equality, and nonviolence. • Profound impact on important figures such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. • Still revered today as an author who sheds light on personal and societal problems – question the moral implications of how you live your life