In this story by this world famous Russian writer who do you feel is speaking to a reader

- the author or the story's protagonist, Holstomer? Why does Tolstoy make a horse - and
not a human being - the main character? Do you think that the author's artistic choice
limits him in his ability to describe what or who he wants to describe, or does it not?
What makes one feel sorry for Holstomer? Why? What moral dilemmas does
Tolstoy elaborate upon in Holstomer and the events in his life? Why is the world so cruel
to Holstomer? Why do we, as readers, need to know about this cruelty and to ponder it's
existence in the world? Finally, which author, in your opinion, is more convincing in
portraying violence - Tolstoy or Dostoevsky?
I feel that the author speaks himself, but through the stories
protagonist, Tolstoy makes Holstomer, a horse, the main character
because the horse is seen as different from the others, he is an
castaway because he is gelded, which is another word for castrated,
the horse was constantly mistreated, but Holstomer has various
explanations as to why he is the outsider to the younger horses. An
example of this can be seen in the following quote:
But after all, was the skewbald gelding to blame for being old, skinny,
and disfigured... It would seem not. In the horses opinion, however, he
was to blame, [] those whose every muscle quivered and whose tails
rose up like stakes with unnecessary exertions. Perhaps the skewbald
gelding himself understood this and in calm moments agreed that he
was to blame to have already lived out his life and that he had to pay
for that life; but just the same he was a horse, and often, looking at
these youngsters who were punishing them for something they would
all be subject to at the end of their lives, he could not help but feel
insulted, sad, and indignant (375)
Through this, we can see that there is a large age gap that is portrayed
through in this quote, which leads to a difference in paradigm between
these 2 generations of horses, which can also be related to humans,
such that there will always be a difference in attitude and respect
between 2 different generations.
The cruelty that Holstomer goes through in Tolstoys story needs to be understood
so that we as humans can look upon ourselves and our surroundings and change for the
better, to become more compassionate people, especially in this day and age with the
technology, that makes us almost blind to one another. I personally feel that Tolstoy takes
on a more physical interpretation of pain, versus, Dostoyevsky, who plays on the
emotional aspect of pain, (heartbreak through loss of loved on) such that he really does
not display any physical hurting in A meek Women, rather, he plays on ideas such as
manipulation and disrespect. In total, I feel that Tolstoys interpretation of pain is more
affecting, because everyone has gone through some sort of physical pain in their lives and
that this idea resonates in us all in one form or another.
Furthermore, I would like to provide a final interpretation as to why
Tolstoy uses animals as his characters versus humans: we as humans
are sometimes immune to one anothers pains and inconveniences
because it is human nature to want to look at for one self, however,

most people would agree that animals, in their weaker stance in nature
and the environment, cannot necessarily always look out for
themselves, so as an intelligent tactic, Tolstoy understands that
readers will be more soft hearted towards the pains of animals, which
generally gets his message across to his readers.