The Meaning Of Death In A Confession By Lev Tolstoy

At one point or another in our lives, almost everyone will begin to question the purpose of our lives, on whether it has a meaning. Some of us manage to string together a meaning through accomplishments, but as we get older the thought of death begins to creep into our mind. The thought of dying one day makes us question whether our accomplishments will mean anything at all. The same troubled Lev Tolstoy, a Russian novelist. In his late middle age, Tolstoy began to question the meaning of his life. He claimed in his book, A Confession, that the inevitability of death means all human accomplishment is in vain. In this paper, I will argue that Tolstoy is wrong because while death is inevitable, human achievements are celebrated beyond our death …show more content…
At the height of his life, despite having a good wife, good children, large amount of wealth, and great health, Tolstoy saw nothing in his future but suffering, death, and destruction. He sees his current life is simply an attempt to stall the death, Tolstoy concludes that “[s]ooner or later, my affairs, whatever they may be, will be forgotten,” and he can’t go on living knowing that eventually his achievement will be gone when he dies (Tolstoy). To get a better understanding his reasoning, I will analyze the Eastern fable he tells in parable with his …show more content…
To this I argue that the fear of not being remembered by other should be a great motivational tool to work harder, until satisfying result is achieved. Tolstoy is a perfect example, while during his life he feared that he would be forgotten, over a hundred years after his death, his work is still being read by thousands of people all over the world, leaving a lasting impact on our