Literature can entertain and amuse us, and as we see from Tolstoy's story, it can teach us, challenging us to examine what is truly worth loving and what is best lost. In the story, Pahom's love is misguided and ultimately leads to his death.
Based on Pahom's tragic fate, we know Tolstoy's opinion on this issue of loving and pursuing material things. In today's world, he might drive around with a bumper sticker that reads, "You cannot take it with you." Now it is our turn to explore this issue of loving "things" in our lives and society.
Assessment Instructions
- Complete the Short Story Guide in preparation for the assignment and your Discussion-Based Assessment.
- Write a well-reasoned essay in which you respond to one of the following quotations. In your response, take a position (whether you agree or disagree) and use evidence from the story, real life, and one other short story or novel you have read to support your perspective. There is no right or wrong response; instead, your instructor will be evaluating your depth of thought and the strength of your evidence and explanations.
- View the Steps to a Successful Essay
Steps to a Successful Essay
A. Do you agree or disagree with your chosen quotation?
B. Why do you agree or disagree?
C. What evidence can you locate in the story to support your opinion?
D. What evidence do you have from one other literary work? This can be from another class or from your personal reading.
E. What evidence can you think of from real life that supports your opinion?
F. You do not need to research for this essay; your instructor wants to know what you think. You should look to these three sources for your evidence: Tolstoy's short story, another short story or novel, and real life.
G. As you discuss your perspective and explain your examples, be sure to give credit to the sources of your examples by using the author’s name and the title of the work.
H. Since this is not a research paper, you do not need to provide parenthetical citations or a Works Cited. Should you choose to consult any sources outside of the short story and the one other literary work, you will need to provide a Works Cited and use quotations or paraphrases correctly. Refer to MLA Style Documentation for an overview and helpful tips on citation and documentation.