What Men Live By by Leo Tolstoy

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION

ABOUT THE STORY

: LEARNING OF FIRST TRUTH

: LEARNING OF SECOND TRUTH

: LEARNING OF THIRD TRUTH

THEME OF THE STORY

LITERATURE REVIEW

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION
Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian writer and philosopher…. His famous novels

are ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Anna Karenina’…. He wrote many novels and short stories…. His way of

writing was very simple yet it displays the mind of the genius…. Later in his life he also wrote many

plays and essays… Tolstoy’s ideas of non-violent resistance had a significant impact on Mahatma

Gandhi and other political leaders…. ‘What Men Live By’ is one of the short stories of Leo Tolstoy…. It

is an inspiring story as it tells us about the importance of God in our lives….

ABOUT THE STORY

It is a story of a cobbler, Simon who had neither house nor land of his own… He lived with

his wife and children in a peasant’s hut and earned his living by work… He had only one

sheepskin coat for winter and that was also torn to tatter… As they wanted to buy another

sheepskin coat, Simon went to his creditors to collect the money…. But he gets very little

money so he spent all the money which he had in alcohol… When he was returning home

he sees a naked man near the shrine…. He thought to help him but he thought that he could

be a thief so he tried to ignore him… So the shoe maker hurried on leaving behind the man

but his conscience stopped him and he went back to help that man….

He looked that man and that one look was enough to make Simon fond of the man…. He

gave his coat to the naked man and takes him to his home…. At home his wife was waiting

for him and when she sees that he had not bought the coat instead brings a stranger with
him she got angry…. She refused to give him and Simon food… But when she looked him she

also became fond of him…. She gave him food and that was the first time that man smiled…

They asked his name and whereabouts…. He told them that his was Michael and he was

punished by god…. Simon and Matrena did not understand him when he says that god has

punished him but they did not say anything…. Simon told him to work with him and he

learnt all the work from Simon….

A year was passed and in that one year Michael hardly talked…. One day a tall gentleman

came to Simon hut and ordered for the boots…. He told him that boots should last for a year

and if it loosened his shape or size than he would put him in the prison… Simon looked at

Michael and accepts the order…. That was the second time Michel smiled…. Gentleman

leave the premises after placing the order and giving him leather…. Simon gave the leather

to Michael and told him to make the boots…. Michael started his work and made slippers

instead of boots…. Simon was shocked when he sees slippers and shouts at Michael for not

making boots… At time only a servant comes and inform them they did not need boots

instead they need slippers… He informed them about the death of the gentleman…. Michael

handover the slippers to the servant and the servant leave the premises…. Simon was

shocked that how Michael knew that no longer need the boots but he did not ask anything…

It was almost 6 years that Michael was living with Simon and his family…. One day he was

looking outside the window and sees a lady was coming with her two daughters….Michael

smiled when he sees the girls… She asked Simon to make boots for them… Matrena asked

the lady about lame child… She replied that her mother crushed her leg when she was

born…. The lady told them that she was not the real mother of the girls… In fact she was not

the relative also… Their mother was died after giving them birth… Villagers told her to feed
them as she had also nursing her child… Her son died after few months so she adopted

these girls and now they became her life…. To this Matrena reply ‘that one can live without

mother or father but not without god….’ After the lady leaves Michel says to Simon that

‘farewell masters… God has forgiven me….’

They saw that a light shone from Michael… When Simon sees this he understood that

Michael was not a common man and asked him who he was?? Michael told them that he

was an angel in heaven and he disobeyed god… God sent him to earth to take the soul of a

lady but the lady told him not to take away her soul as her husband had already died and

she had no one to look after her children... She requested him to give her some time so that

she feed her children and make them stand on their feet… Listening to all this he went to

heaven without taking her soul and ask god not to take her soul…God told him to take away

the lady soul and learn the three truth of life and when Michael will learn all the three truth

he can return to heaven… Michael went back to that lady and takes away her soul which

resulted that she crushed one of her daughter’s legs … This was the reason why God sent

him to earth to learn the three truths of life…. Simon asked him about the three truths…

Michael says that the first truth he learnt is ‘What dwells in man’ is that ‘Love’ … When

Matrena gives him food he sees god in her… Second time when Michael smiled, he sees an

angel of death near that gentleman…. And he learnt his second truth ‘what is not given to

man’ is that he doesn’t know his own needs… Third time Michael smiled when he sees that

the girls and he recognized the girls and learnt how they had been kept alive… Having heard

the story he learnt that a child can live without mother and father but not without god….

Hereby he had learnt his last truth ‘what men live by’ that is love…. And he had learnt all the

truths so god has forgiven him and he had to go back to heaven….

 THEME OF THE STORY
The theme of the story is quite simple and easy to understand…. The theme of the story is

‘Love’…. In this story a cobbler unknowingly brings an angel of god …. He doesn’t recognize

Michael true identity yet treats him very well…. In other stories the family can serve him

well and uses him for their monetary purposes… But in Tolstoy’s story he unknowingly

treats him very well……

LITERATURE REVIEW
According to the story, what did Michael learn from three truths of life? And also what did

we learn from three truths of life? First truth is what dwells in man? And the answer is

love… When Simon saw the man he tried to avoid him and same with Matrena she also tried

avoid him but sometimes our heart over power our mind and that’s what exactly happened

with Simon and Matrena.... When they saw him they realize their mistake and helped him…

Death no longer seems to his face instead he saw love on their face which is originated by

god…. This shows that god has created humans with different emotions like love, happiness,

care, sorrow, jealously etc…. And this act of Simon and Matrena shows the emotion of love,

care….

Second truth is what is not given to man? And the answer is his own needs… In the story a

gentleman came to Simon’s hut to order for the boots which lasts for one year but he did

not know that he will be going to be die in the next moment…. And this thing was known to

Michael as he had seen the angel of death near him so he made slippers instead of boots…

This shows that humans make thousands of plans for their future but they did not know
what was going to happen in the next moment….. May be what people plan for their futures

will never happened as god has some other plans which makes their life more beautiful….

Third truth is what men live by? And the answer is love…. In the story when Michael sees

that the two orphan girls were nursed by a stranger he learned the third truth..... For these

children only Michael disobeyed god and refuses to take their mother soul….And this shows

that every humans have god in him….. And the idea `He who has love in god and god is in

him, for god is love’ is alien in Islam …. And some one has rightly said that ‘a person can live

without mother and father but cannot live without god’….. Everyone has goals in their lives

and after completing their goals the ultimate destination which everyone has to reach is to

god….

CONCLUSION

I find this story very entertaining…. This story has a powerful impact on everyone lives…..

The meaning of the story is applicable to everyone’s lives because the truths mentioned by

Leo Tolstoy in the story are based on humanity, truthfulness etc…. This story is very easy to

read…. Leo Tolstoy used a very simple language to interact with the readers….

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I have read this story from the book ‘HUES – AN ANTHOLOGY OF SHORT STORIES’…..This

book contains many of the short stories of the famous novelist….