Sniper and How Much Land Does Man Require Essay Example

special treatment in return.

The story's theme revolves around the consequences of greed and how it can lead to one losing everything, even their life. The protagonist, Pahom, dreams of the devil mocking his lifeless body, a result of his insatiable greed. Pahom's servant buries him in a six-foot grave, all that he ultimately needs. As Tolstoy writes, "If I had plenty of land, I shouldn't fear the devil himself!" (P. 2), illustrating how greed can consume one's actions. This imagery serves to highlight the allure of making a deal with the devil, emphasizing that not all deals are beneficial. Additionally, a song explores a similar theme where the protagonist manages to overcome the devil in their bargain.

The text describes a song, picture, and short story that focus on two sisters discussing temptations. The main character, Pahom, believes that having enough land would make him fearless even in the presence of the devil. Consequently, the devil tempts him with land, but Pahom is constantly dissatisfied and continues to purchase more land without finding happiness. One day, a traveler informs Pahom about the bashkir who offer land for a fair price of 1000 roubles per day. However, Pahom must be able to walk the perimeter of the land and return to the starting point before sunset.

So he goes and finds the bashkirs and sells him the land under the conditions the travelers told him. He starts to walk the perimeter for a while but realizes that the sun is setting. He runs as fast as he can but gets too tired and dies, earning only six feet of land, just enough

to bury him. Symbolism: The dollar bill has a significant impact in the story "How Much Land Does A Man Need." The dollar bill relates to the story because Pahom desired more and more land, similar to wanting more and more money.

Questions:
1) Consider the meaning of materialism.
2) Consider the meaning of temptation and discuss with evidence what it means to the sisters.
3) Would you consider striving for more and more, even if you have what you need?

Characterization:
Direct: Devil
Indirect: Merchant
Flat: Pahom's Servant
Round: Pahom
Dynamic: Pahom
Static: Merchant

Tone:
There was really only one tone in the story "How Much Land Does A Man Need," which was greed. Pahom was discontent with what he had, so he moved to acquire more land. Therefore, that was the main tone of the story.

Point of view:
The story "How Much Land Does A Man Need" was told in third person omniscient.

When the story is told in third person omniscient, it means that the reader knows everything about the story. Leo Tolstoy presents this story. Figures of speech such as similes and personifications are used throughout. For example, the land is compared to being as good as growing rye as high as a horse. The heat in the air is personified, making it seem like it is quivering. These elements foreshadow the role of the Devil later in the story. Numerous stories have similarities to others because basic human qualities are unchanging over time.

Regardless of the time they are written, many stories have fundamental similarities. Tolstoy’s “How Much Land Does a Man Need?" shares qualities with Chaucer's genres, particularly in "The Pardoner’s Tale." Tolstoy's writing style is reminiscent of Chaucer's style

as both authors use apostrophe to personify beliefs or ideas. For instance, death is personified in "The Pardoner’s Tale" with the words "There came a privy thief, they call him Death." Similarly, Tolstoy includes the devil as a character in "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" stating, "But the Devil sitting behind the stove had heard everything." These two works by Chaucer and Tolstoy exemplify the Exemplum genre, commonly found in Chaucer's writing, where stories are sermons that illustrate known morals.

Both "The Pardoner's Tale" and "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" share the moral that greed leads to destruction and is the source of all wrongdoing. In "The Pardoner's Tale," the characters initially embark on a noble quest to find and defeat Death. However, their pursuit takes a detour when they stumble upon a pile of gold. Gripped by greed, they abandon their original mission and ultimately meet their own demise. Similarly, in "How Much Land Does a Man Need?," the protagonist named Pakhom seeks to acquire more land to provide for his family. Yet, no matter how much land Pakhom accumulates, his insatiable desire for more proves to be overpowering. Eventually, he is presented with an opportunity to claim as much land as he can encircle in a day.

The main characters in both stories have a common theme of greed leading to their downfall. Their overwhelming greed ultimately leads to exhaustion and death. Despite the potential to become extremely rich, their greed causes them to lose everything. In both stories, there is a mystical character who plays a role in guiding the main characters towards their "opportunity." In

"The Pardoner's Tale," an old man who serves as an emissary of Death directs the three friends to the location of Death, which ultimately leads them to the gold they seek.

The protagonist of the story, a peasant named Pakhom, is aware that his friends will greedily kill each other once they discover the gold. At the beginning, Pakhom's wife complains about their insufficient land. Pakhom declares that with plenty of land, he would not fear even the Devil. Unbeknownst to him, Satan is sitting behind the stove and overhears his statement. Satan promptly accepts Pakhom's challenge and reveals his plan to give him more land before taking everything away.

Shortly thereafter, the landlady in the village decides to sell her estate. The villagers, including Pakhom, seize the opportunity and purchase as much of the land as they can, using their collective resources. By diligently working on his newly acquired land, Pakhom manages to pay off his debts and improve his standard of living. However, his possessiveness toward his property leads to conflicts with his neighbors, who even go as far as threatening to burn down his building. Eventually, Pakhom decides to relocate to another Commune where he can access a larger area of land. Here, he can cultivate even more crops and accumulate a modest fortune. Nonetheless, the fact that he has to grow these crops on rented land continues to irritate him.

After purchasing and selling a considerable amount of fertile and valuable land, Pakhom is introduced to the Bashkirs. He learns that they are a group of simple-minded individuals who possess an extensive amount of land. Intrigued by their

wealth, Pakhom approaches them with a proposal to acquire as much of their land as possible for a minimal price. The Bashkirs present an unusual offer: Pakhom can tour as large of an area as he desires, starting at daybreak and marking his route with a spade along the way, all in exchange for one thousand rubles. If he manages to return to his initial point by sunset, the entirety of land enclosed by his route will be legally his. However, if he fails to reach his starting point, he will lose both his money and any claim to the land.

He is overjoyed because he thinks he can cover a long distance and has found a very good deal. That night, Pakhom has a strange dream where he sees himself dead beside the Devil, who is laughing. He stays outside for as long as possible, marking the land until right before sunset. Near the end, he realizes he is far from where he started and runs back as fast as he can to where the Bashkirs are waiting. He finally reaches the starting point just as the sun sets. The Bashkirs celebrate his good luck, but Pakhom, exhausted from running, dies.

The short story "The Sniper" and the film "Paid In Full" share a thematic connection, illustrating the characters' behavior devoid of boundaries and humanity. In the movie, a young man builds an illegal cocaine empire, choosing to ignore boundaries. Within this empire, competitors and those who pose a threat are heartlessly killed without any limitations on who they target.

In both The sniper and the film, characters demonstrate a

lack of boundaries when it comes to killing. In The sniper, the sniper kills without hesitation as it is part of his job, prioritizing getting the job done above all else. Similarly, in the film, a man is shot in a minor altercation with the Maine dealer. The short story also depicts the sniper aiming and shooting an old woman without hesitation, as she had revealed his hiding place to his opponent. These examples illustrate the characters' behavior that shows a disregard for boundaries when it comes to killing.

The film and short story both portray inhumane behavior. In the film, there is a dilemma involving Mitch's brother Sunny being kidnapped for ransom. To gather the necessary money, Mitch attempts to secure a large quantity of drugs but is ultimately killed by his own partner, who betrays him and takes all the money instead of helping. This event highlights the absence of human qualities.

In the short story "The Sniper," the protagonist unknowingly kills his own brother, highlighting the inhumane act of killing without consideration for the victim's identity or potential consequences. This act demonstrates the character's callousness and lack of normal human qualities. Both "The Sniper" and the film "Paid In Full" share a thematic connection, as they depict characters who display boundaryless and inhumane behavior. The theme of "The Sniper" is that war dehumanizes individuals, reducing them to nameless, faceless objects.

The author uses characters to highlight the theme that in war, anyone can be a target, regardless of age, gender, location, or family ties. The story serves as a reminder of the futility of hatred and violence, illustrated by

the tragic event of a brother killing his own brother. The Sniper is a short story by Irish writer Liam O'Flaherty, which takes place during the early weeks of the Irish Civil War and was published in The New Leader (12 January 1923) while the war was still ongoing.

The positive attention it received helped launch O'Flaherty's career and led to the publication of his other works. Today, it is a popular read in secondary schools in English-speaking countries due to its brevity, accessibility, and surprising conclusion. The story follows an IRA sniper positioned on a Dublin rooftop near O'Connell Bridge who observes an armored car carrying Irish Free State soldiers. When an elderly woman, wearing a worn shawl, betrays his location to the soldiers, he shoots both her and one of the soldiers in an attempt to drive them away. However, he is then targeted by another sniper.

Requiring to be creative due to his injured arm, the main character deceives the opposing sniper by getting him to shoot at his hat. Taking advantage of the situation, he then drops his own rifle onto the street below, causing the other sniper to mistakenly believe that he has successfully eliminated the protagonist. Seizing the opportunity, the IRA sniper utilizes a revolver to quickly and fatally shoot his adversary, who was about to depart. Driven by curiosity about the identity of his foe, the sniper ventures across to examine the fallen body and turns it over, only to make a shocking discovery - it is his own brother. Nevertheless, the text does not disclose if this brotherhood is biological or serves as a symbolic

representation.