Tolstoy

different decades by parents who have different beliefs and who also has different child rearing practices and, to do it successfully, is highly improbable, but the only thing that I can think of is the opening line of the book “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Which to me accurately describes both of the non fiction excerpts “Complexion” (from Hunger of Memory) by Richard Rodriguez and “Notes of a Native Son” by James…

illustrates the lives of many characters. A compelling novel, Tolstoy maintains the characters’ verisimilitude through the use of body language and conflicts. The lives of Prince Andrei and Pierre -- two foil characters -- parallel each other as they embark on their journey towards a deeper self-understanding. Through the use of details, interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts, and the subtle juxtaposition of Prince Andrei and Pierre, Leo Tolstoy is able to effectively depict in War and Peace…

philosophical movement to modify the old traditional beliefs with modern society. Modern literary writers often represent the world as a fragmented and chaotic place that has lost the faith the previous generations once had. Two such modern authors are Leo Tolstoy who wrote The Death of Ivan Ilych and Joseph Conrad who wrote Heart of Darkness. It may seem that these two novels have a lot of differences, but they are more similar than some would think. The Death of Ivan Ilych and Heart of…

retrospect of the life of Leo Tolstoy, writers have analyzed his relations with the peasants of Russia, but few understand the deep spiritual connection he shared with them (Tolstoy 150). His religious reputation and his fame as a “social prophet” obtained the conflicted attention of those who followed the Russian Orthodox Church, especially the Russian government. Noted for his ingenuity and pardoned for his contributed efforts against terrorism at the time, Tolstoy continued to support his…

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…

annoyance with the mundane of daily life, and in the case of literature, the eventual need to significantly improve said situation. Ennui, in many variations, is found in works such as Madame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert, “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” by Leo Tolstoy, and the poem “To the Reader” by Charles Baudelaire from The Flowers of Evil. I will be discussing the prevalence of ennui within these stories and the importance of the subject in literature. In Madame Bovary, the tale goes as such: boy…

Based on several of his works, Liev Tolstoy appears to hold some level of bias regarding whether there is a natural or right way to die versus an unnatural or wrong way to die. I find Tolstoy’s concept of a right and wrong death are based upon the following two factors: the way in which the person or character dies and what choices they made or accomplishments did they achieve with time they were given. An example of the right kind of death would be dying to save a brother in arms or passing of…

Two books, The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, give insight two men’s consequences of leading a specific life when faced with the thought of death. Their deaths mean more than just passing off from the mortal world, it reflects and questions their morals and behaviors in their lifetimes. Although Ivan realizes how meaningless the pursuits of his life have been in his final moments before death while Willy dies still delusional and dwelling in…

most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible” (Tolstoy 102). Although he was striving for contentment and following all of society’s rules, Ivan Ilych was most unhappy. After falling ill he began to realize that the life he had lead and everything he thought he had achieved was worthless because he was never truly happy. “Maybe I did not live as I ought to have done, but how could that be, when I did everything properly?” (Tolstoy 148). The life and death of Ivan Ilych displays the…

My Confession Leo Tolstoy (1882) When we were first given this assignment I knew I would have a hard time choosing a novel. This wasn’t because of a lack of great authors to choose from it was just the product of a lack of general knowledge. I, therefore, chose the one author I was most familiar with Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy. My only real experience with any of his works were naturally two of his most well-known. War and Peace wrote in 1869 and Anna Karenina in 1877. I found myself drawn into…