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The Three Questions By Leo Tolstoy Analysis

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The short story The Three Questions is considered as a piece of wisdom written by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) who is well known for his master piece novels: Anna Karenina and War and Peace.
Tolstoy also achieves world renown as a moral and religious teacher. His idea of morality spreads throughout the nation and makes him the most influential writer of his time. His works have inspired many important figures, including Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Many moral values are implemented in his works of literature. For Tolstoy , art doesn’t defined in terms of its ability to express form and beauty, but instead it is defined in terms of its ability to communicate concepts of morality. His short …show more content…

Tolstoy puts another value of being hard-worker at the beginning of the story. When he received unconvincing answers for his questions, he doesn’t give up and continue his search. He decides to visit an old hermit in the mountains to get the answers. When he reaches the old hermit, he notices that he is frail and breathes heavily while spading his garden. He takes the spade and start digging in the garden. He also appears kind in trying to help the old hermit. When the wounded man comes out of the woods, the king helps him although the man is the king 's "sworn enemy" because the king "executed his brother and seized his property." (Tolstoy, par 23). The king "not only forgave the man but promised to return all the man’s property and to send his own physician and servants to wait on the man until he was completely healed" (Tolstoy, par 24). Up to this scene of the story, Tolstoy clearly reveals the real challenge one must overcome in doing God’s commandment to love one’s enemies and do good to them. Tolstoy wants to teach the reader about his idea of moral values mainly in this part. According to Christianity, loving one’s enemy is the right action one can take instead of taking revenge for their wrong doings. At the end of the story , the king obtains the answers of his questions. Also these answers have a moral significance . The

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