Master and Man Flashcards
by Leo Tolstoy — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: Master and Man
Why does Vasili Andreevich insist on traveling despite the storm?
He is racing to buy the Goryachkin grove before timber-dealers from town can outbid him. He fears losing the profitable land deal if he waits even one day.
How does Vasili Andreevich plan to pay for the grove?
He combines 700 rubles of his own money with 2,300 rubles of church money he holds as church elder, totaling 3,000 rubles.
What village do Vasili Andreevich and Nikita stumble into after first losing their way?
Grishkino -- they arrive there twice, circling back to the same village both times they get lost.
Who is Petrushka, and how does he help the travelers?
He is the young son of the household in Grishkino. He harnesses a mare and guides them to the turning onto the high road, quoting Pushkin verses as he goes.
What does Vasili Andreevich do when he panics during the night in the blizzard?
He abandons Nikita, mounts Mukhorty, and rides off alone to find the forest and forester's hut, but circles back to the same spot near the sledge.
What happens when Mukhorty tumbles into the snow-drift with Vasili Andreevich on his back?
Mukhorty throws Vasili Andreevich off, breaks free, and runs away -- but ends up back at the sledge, having brought his rider in a circle.
How does Vasili Andreevich save Nikita's life?
He opens his fur coat, lies on top of Nikita in the sledge, and warms him with his own body heat through the rest of the night, sacrificing his own life.
How far from safety are the travelers when peasants dig them out in the morning?
Only about seventy yards from the road and less than half a mile from the village.
What is Nikita's main character flaw, and how has he tried to address it?
He is an habitual drunkard. At the time of the story he has sworn off drink for two months after drinking away his coat and leather boots.
How does Vasili Andreevich cheat Nikita on wages?
He pays Nikita about 40 rubles instead of the fair 80, gives it haphazardly in small sums, and mostly in overpriced goods from his own shop rather than cash.
What is the name of the horse, and how does Nikita treat him?
Mukhorty, a good-tempered bay stallion. Nikita speaks to him affectionately, calls him "pet" and "darling," and covers him with a drugget for warmth when they stop.
Who is Isay, and what is he known for in the district?
He is a peasant acquaintance of Vasili Andreevich whom they meet in Grishkino. He is known as the principal horse-thief in the district.
What is Nikita's wife Martha's situation at home?
She has been living for twenty years with a cooper who lodges in their house. She manages the homestead and collects all of Nikita's wages.
How does Vasili Andreevich's attitude toward money contrast with Nikita's throughout the journey?
Even while stranded in the blizzard, Vasili Andreevich lies awake calculating timber profits and dreaming of becoming a millionaire, while Nikita thinks of simple things -- his son, the horse, and accepts whatever comes.
What emotion does Vasili Andreevich experience while saving Nikita, and why is it significant?
He feels a "peculiar joy such as he had never felt before." It is significant because his entire life of wealth-seeking never produced genuine happiness -- only self-sacrifice does.
What does Nikita mean when he thinks of "the Chief Master" while facing death?
He means God. Nikita sees himself as always serving a higher master beyond his earthly employers, and trusts he will not be ill-used by Him -- showing his spiritual acceptance.
How does the story invert the social hierarchy between master and servant?
The wealthy master, who considers himself Nikita's benefactor, ultimately serves Nikita by dying to save him -- making the "master" the servant and revealing that true worth lies in selflessness, not status.
What is the structural significance of the travelers returning to Grishkino twice?
The circular return creates a pattern of futility that mirrors Vasili Andreevich's inability to escape his own greed -- no matter how hard he pushes forward, he ends up in the same place.
What is ironic about Vasili Andreevich's attempt to escape on the horse?
He abandons Nikita to save himself, but rides in a circle and ends up back at the sledge -- the selfish act is completely pointless and only wastes his remaining strength.
How does Tolstoy use the wormwood stalks as a symbol?
Vasili Andreevich twice mistakes the wormwood for a village, and its desperate tossing in the wind mirrors his own terror and helplessness. Finding his own horse tracks around it confirms he is going in circles.
From whose point of view is the story told, and how does it shift?
Third-person omniscient, alternating between Vasili Andreevich and Nikita. At the moment of death, the perspective slips from inside Vasili Andreevich's consciousness to an external narrator viewing a corpse.
What is a "verst" as used in the story?
A Russian unit of distance equal to about 0.66 miles (1.07 km). The travelers frequently estimate distances in versts.
What is a "shaft-bow" in the context of Russian sledge travel?
A curved wooden arch (called a duga) that connects the shafts above the horse's collar. Nikita sets the shafts upright with the shaft-bow as a marker so rescuers can find them.
What is a "drugget" as Nikita uses it in the story?
A coarse woolen cloth used as a blanket or covering. Nikita folds it over Mukhorty for warmth when they stop for the night.
What does Vasili Andreevich realize in his final moments: "He did not know, but now I know..."?
He realizes that love and self-sacrifice -- not money, property, or status -- are the true purpose of life. He sees his former self as a stranger who wasted his life on the wrong things.
What does Vasili Andreevich mean when he feels "he was Nikita and Nikita was he"?
In the act of sacrifice, the boundary between master and servant dissolves. Vasili Andreevich experiences a mystical union -- his life continues through the man he is saving.
What poem does Petrushka recite as he sees them off into the storm?
Pushkin's "Winter Evening": "Storms with mist the sky conceal, / Snowy circles wheeling wild. / Now like savage beast 'twill howl, / And now 'tis wailing like a child."