-
Phaom
'It is perfectly true,'thought he. 'Busy as we are from childhood tilling mother earth, we peasants have no time to let any nonsense settle in our hearts. Our only trouble is that we haven't land enough. If I had plenty of land, I shouldn't fear the Devil himself!'
This is important because it is foreshadowing and telling us that there is more land to come. -
Phaom's Wife
"Of course our work is rough and coarse. But, on the other hand, it is sure: and we need not bow to anyone, But you, in your towns, are surronded by temptations; to-day all may be right, but to-morrow the Evil One may tempt you husband with cards, wine, or women, and all will go to ruin. Don't such things happen often enough?"
This is important because it gives us some foreshawdowing of what is going to become of the family. -
The Devil
But the Devil had been sitting behind the oven, and had heard all that was said. Áll right,'thought the Devil. 'We willhave a tussle. I'll give you land enough; and by means of that land I will get you into my power.'
This is very important because it tells us when Phaom is headed with the Devil there by his side -
Landowner near Phaom
Close to the village there lived a lady, a small landowner, who had an estate of about three hundred acres. She had always lived on good terms with the peasants, until she engaged as her steward an old soldier, who took to burdening the people with fines. However careful Pahaom tried to be, it happened again and again that now a horse of his got among the lady's oats, now a cow strayed into her garden, now his calves found their way into her meadows- and he always had to pay a fine. -
The first property
Óther people are buying,'said he, ánd we must also buy twenty acres or so. Life is becoming impossible. That steward is simply crushing us with his fines.'This is imporant because this is the first property Phaom buys. -
The beginning of the end of Phaom
'I cannot go on overlooking it, or they will destroy all I have. They must be taught a lesson.' Phaom starts getting aggrivated with people letting their animals on his property.
This is important because this is the beginning of when he starts to give into the devil. -
Unsatisfied
I would take over their land myself, and make my estate a bit bigger. I could then live more at ease. As it is, I am still too cramped to be comfortable. -
In hopes of something better
I will sell my land and my homestead here, and with the money I will start afresh over there and get everything new. In this crowded place one is always having trouble. -
Bigger estate
As soon as Phaom and his family arrive at their new abode, he applied for admission into the Commune of a large village. -
Continuously unhappy
At first, in the bustle of building and settling down, Phaom was plaeased with it all but when he got used to it he began to think that even here he had not enough land. -
Phaom becomes sick of renting land from others
'If it were my own land,'tought Phaom, "I should be indepedent, and there would not be all this unpleasantness."
Phaom has been renting land to sow his wheat in, and is becoming unhappy with having to rent land. He wants to buy land of his won. -
visted by a stranger to be told about more land
The deler said that he was just returning from the land of the Bashkirs, far away,where he has bought thirteen thousand acres of land. Phaom is once again vistied by a stranger and told about another amazing deal. This could be a sign that that is not just any dealer, it could be the devil himself. -
The dream
but the Devil himself with hoofs and horns sitting there and chuckling, and before him lay a man barefoot, prostrate on the groundm with only trousers and a shirt on. And Phaom dreamt that he looked more attentively to see what sort of a man it was that was lying there, and he saw that the man was dead and that it was himself!"He awoke horror- struck. This is foreshawdowing how he changes. -
Death
"Phaom's servant came running up and tried to raise him, but he saw the blood was flogging from his mouth. Phaom was dead!"Phaom makes it to his destination just in time, then falls over, adn dies. Tis story really shows that people need to be satisfied with what they have,and not worry about what they don't have, With a blink on an eye everything can be gone, just like Phaom's life was.