Abstract
Being a Peasant in the World of l. N. Tolstoy: “Polikushka (Поликушка)”
The Russian Empire has existed as a country that has a wide variety of classes since the day it came into existence. The country, which has an ancient past, has faced many problems in terms of the living conditions of people while dealing with wars abroad since the day it came to the stage of history. The peasants/land slaves, who make up the majority of the country's demagogic structure, are the most problematic issue. This issue, which was frequently handled and criticized by the 19th century Russian literature writers, did not end completely with the abolition of land slavery in 1861. Despite the reform in the tsarist manifesto, the conditions introduced do not lead to a great improvement in the lives of these little people. Despite the reform in the tsarist manifesto, the conditions introduced do not lead to a great improvement in the lives of little man. According to the published statement, people working as slaves in the village have the right to buy land, but since the conditions offered are heavy and the prices are high, they find the solution by going to the cities to work. As a result of this, the slavery that existed in the villages was moved to the cities and these people had to work for a small wage under harsh conditions, and thus the hardship only changed in size and the troubles of the little people continued. The novella was written by Tolstoy in 1863 on the developments experienced in this period. In the work conveyed by the artist with his keen observation power, the troubled conditions of the villagers living in the period, their living conditions, lack of education, and consequently the moral corruption in the society are revealed, even though the slavery of land was abolished. The essence of our work is to deal with the work, which was written by L.N.Tolstoy, who defended the rights and freedoms of the villagers for most of his life, in the context of the structure and theme that allows a literary work to be examined in depth.
Keywords
L.N. Tolstoy, Polikushka, structure and theme, peasants, slavery.