There are several ironies in Tolstoy's short story "How
Much Land Does a Man Require?" (traditionally translated "Need"). The first is dramatic
irony, a contrast between what Pahom thinks is happening and what we (readers) know to
be true. Pahom and his wife are adamant in a discussion early in the story that living
a more rural, simple life is much better than a life in the city because they are not
tempted to participate in the Devil's activities so rife in the cities. Pahom's only
complaint is that he could do so much more if he had more land, and he and his family go
through several moves in an attempt to attain that goal. He boasts that he wouldn't be
afraid of the Devil himself if he just had enough land. The Devil overheard him and
tricked Pahom, playing on his greed, into actions which lead to his death. We recognize
the Devil at work, but Pahom does not.
Another example of
irony in this story is situational irony--a contrast between what we and the characters
expectto happen and what does happen in this story. The deal which Pahom made is to pay
1,000 rubles for whatever land he can walk around in one day; after he was tricked by
the Devil and beaten by his own greed, Pahom did end up with all the land he
needed--literally. Six feet of land on which to be
buried.
Ironies generally point readers to the themes of
a work; in this case, that greed is no way to gain happiness, that taunting the Devil is
not going to turn out well, and that all we really needis enough to
meet our basic neccessities--in this case, land enough on which to be buried.
I've included an excellent e-notes summary below, as
well, which I think you'll find helpful.
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