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Deconstruction- How much land does a man need?

Deconstruction can be defined as reading texts, films, posters or anything and to find the thing which is hidden, and see the things in new way. It is like revise everything in totally different way than earlier.  It finds binaries and questions them. It is about reading text so deeply and by using the words question the work. Not only for the sake of finding faults, but what really words differs the meaning and gives another meaning of something that is deconstruction I think.




I found Leo Tolstoy's short story 'How much land does a man need?' very interesting to deconstruct.

By first reading we find it moral story which gives lesson that greed is bad. But beyond that there are many things which can be found problematic.

The opening of the story suggests many things. Elder sister and younger sister debate about country life Vs city life, but ultimately city life wins because Pahom who is peasant, feels that indeed they are not happy in this situation. At the time devil also introduced. This also can be read deeply. We can say that Devil came with elder sister from city. Because if he had been there then all things would already happened earlier, but Devil introduces after elder sister's arrival which can be read as that city life is shown as Devil who exploits village life and destroys it.

Now role of Devil also is problematic. In whole story only that Devil plays role. In literature we find that good and bad both play roles, but here all the things control only by Devil. What does it signify? Does world rule by Devil? In the end Devil wins also. So apart from greed is bad, it gives pessimistic idea.

And at last the ending which says that man need only six feet  land, this also can  deconstruct. It is dead man who need six feet land but we are not dead. Pahom's attempts to achieve land has portrayed as greed, but one can see that as running for success.

So in these ways we can deconstruct this short story.


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