Reading master and man, by Leo Tolstoy it made me really question the inequalities in the world around us and notice that not everybody is being treated the same. It also came to show me that people can change at the very end of their life. At first my opinions on Vasili were controversial, I found his need for gold and riches amusing, and his attitude towards hard work and dedication very admiring. I began to question Vasili when I noticed how he treated Nikita like he wasn’t even a person. For example, when he insisted to keep going even due to a blizzard and put both his life and Nikitas life in jeopardy just so that he could make it to his deal in time (p. 85). This made me think about how people now are choosing money over spending time with loved ones and even others’ well-being.
Another idea I came up with was about the snowstorm itself. I realized that nature doesn’t care about social class or wealth, as you could see in story both men were equally powerless against it, and that in those moments when you feel like everything’s starting to fall apart it can be a chance for you to unlock a completely new side of yourself you never knew existed.
The ending stayed with me the most though and made me ask the biggest question: Can a person truly redeem a lifetime of terrible deeds and harm to the world with one small act of kindness? Towards the end of the story Vasili lies down on Nikita to save him, it came across as his first kind deed of the story (pp. 108-109). Part of me even wanted to forgive him because his final action showed that he understood he had lived an inconsiderate and dishonest life but had excepted it and wanted to redeem himself at the end of his life with one final kind act.
In the end, Master and Man left me asking three big questions. What truly matters more in life, chasing wealth or relationships? How does adversity reveal a person’s true personality when status, money and power no longer matter? And can a person truly redeem a lifetime of sins with one final act of kindness?