Synthesized answer
Nikita's portrayal as an "habitual drunkard" who is sober during the fete and "not a manager" suggests a complex internal state. His sobriety stems from a recent vow, broken after a severe drinking bout where he pawned his clothing [1, 4]. This indicates a struggle with addiction and a desire for self-improvement, perhaps driven by his son's future [4]. Being "not a manager" means he is not a thrifty head of household but lives away from home as a laborer, suggesting a lack of stable domesticity and possibly an escape from domestic turmoil [1, 3].
This contrasts with Vasili Andreevich's perceived control and self-interest. Vasili Andreevich manipulates Nikita, paying him significantly less than he's worth and often in goods at inflated prices, while convincing both Nikita and others that he is a benefactor [2, 3]. Vasili Andreevich's actions highlight a deliberate exploitation of Nikita's circumstances and perhaps his simple, honest nature [1, 2]. The passages do not explicitly detail Vasili's internal state beyond his conviction of being a benefactor, nor do they directly contrast his perceived control with Nikita's internal state beyond their immediate interactions.
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
te to start. Nikita, the only one of Vasili Andreevich's labourers who was not drunk that day, ran to harness the horse. Nikita, though an habitual drunkard, was not drunk that day because since the last day before the fast, when he had drunk his coat and leather boots, he had sworn off drink and had kept his vow for two months, and was still keeping it despite the temptation of the vodka that had been drunk everywhere during the first two days of the feast. Nikita was a peasant of about fifty from a neighbouring village, 'not a manager' as the peasants said of him, meaning that he was not…
her undergarments and dresses to bits. All the wages Nikita earned went to his wife, and he raised no objection to that. So now, two days before the holiday, Martha had been twice to see Vasili Andreevich and had got from him wheat flour, tea, sugar, and a quart of vodka, the lot costing three rubles, and also five rubles in cash, for which she thanked him as for a special favour, though he owed Nikita at least twenty rubles. 'What agreement did we ever draw up with you?' said Vasili Andreevich to Nikita. 'If you need anything, take it; you will work it off. I'm not like others to keep you…
mes, but had afterwards taken him back again—valuing his honesty, his kindness to animals, and especially his cheapness. Vasili Andreevich did not pay Nikita the eighty rubles a year such a man was worth, but only about forty, which he gave him haphazard, in small sums, and even that mostly not in cash but in goods from his own shop and at high prices. Nikita's wife Martha, who had once been a handsome vigorous woman, managed the homestead with the help of her son and two daughters, and did not urge Nikita to live at home: first because she had been living for some twenty years already with a…
l covered with hoar-frost, old fellow!' said the eldest brother, looking at Nikita's snow-covered face, eyes, and beard. Nikita took off his coat, shook it again, hung it up beside the oven, and came up to the table. He too was offered vodka. He went through a moment of painful hesitation and nearly took up the glass and emptied the clear fragrant liquid down his throat, but he glanced at Vasili Andreevich, remembered his oath and the boots that he had sold for drink, recalled the cooper, remembered his son for whom he had promised to buy a horse by spring, sighed, and declined it. 'I don't…
hildren could be seen in the top bunks and on the top of the oven. A woman sat on a lower bunk with a cradle beside her. The old housewife, her face covered with wrinkles which wrinkled even her lips, was waiting on Vasili Andreevich. As Nikita entered the house she was offering her guest a small tumbler of thick glass which she had just filled with vodka. 'Don't refuse, Vasili Andreevich, you mustn't! Wish us a merry feast. Drink it, dear!' she said. The sight and smell of vodka, especially now when he was chilled through and tired out, much disturbed Nikita's mind. He frowned, and having…
More questions about this book
- Vasili Andreevich aims to acquire a grove for 7,000 rubles, significantly below its real value, yet he takes only 3,000 rubles (partially church money) for the journey. How do these financial discrepancies and his willingness to use church funds illuminate his character, his understanding of value, and the morality he operates under?
- The opening sets the scene "in the 'seventies in winter, on the day after St. Nicholas's Day." How do these specific temporal and environmental details immediately establish an atmosphere, hint at potential challenges, or foreshadow the emotional or physical journey of the characters?
- Vasili is driven by the fear that "buyers from the town might forestall him." What does this specific motivation reveal about the competitive economic landscape of the time, and how does it potentially contribute to his ethical compromises?
- Considering the story's title, "Master and Man," how do the initial interactions and descriptions of Vasili and Nikita set up the core themes or power dynamics that Tolstoy likely intends to explore throughout the narrative?