Essay on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina

Tolstoy talks about a sort of scholarly emergency that he endured late in his life, and his recuperation from it. In spite of the fact that Tolstoy appreciated what might conventionally be viewed as a successful and agreeable life, he started feeling tormented by worries of unimportance. Specifically, he reports starting to question why he should think about things that he once thought about, or why he should do the things that he would choose to do. At last, he discovered it inconceivably hard to give answers to these inquiries. The outcome, he reports, is feeling as though his life were a doltish, pointless trap played someone has bestowed upon him. He felt as though every individual task he attempted, and also his life in its totality, were without importance.

In The Death of Ivan Ilych Leo Tolstoy conveys the psychological importance of the last, pivotal scene through the use of diction, symbolism, irony. As Ivan Ilych suffers through his last moments on earth, Tolstoy narrates this man's struggle to evolve and to ultimately realize his life was not perfect. Using symbols Tolstoy creates a vivid image pertaining to a topic few people can even start to comprehend- the reexamination of one's life while on the brink of death. In using symbols and irony Tolstoy vividly conveys the manner in which Ilych views death as darkness unto his last moments of life when he finally admits imperfection.

Gurov, dissatisfied with his monotonous life, goes to Anna because he needs the scandal to relieve a numbness that has taken effect, not because he loves her. She merely reciprocates his affection, not out of love, but to escape the entrapment she feels from her marriage. In a subtle climax during his return home to Moscow, Gurov feels the agonizing absence of anyone he can talk to meaningfully about the personal secrecies of his life, specifically Anna. This intolerable sensation sends him to “S—,“ to find her. Only when Gurov is standing outside Anna’s house does he actually relate to her situation and form some genuine connection. “Just opposite the house stretched a long grey fence adorned with nails…One would run away from a fence like that," thought Gurov, looking from the fence to the windows of the house and back again…He loathed the grey fence more and more, and by now he thought irritably that Anna Sergeyevna had forgotten him, and was perhaps already amusing herself with some one else, and that that was very natural in a young woman who had nothing to look at from morning till night but that confounded fence” (p.230). With Gurov’s realization, he actually escapes his fenced in world and partially enters her miserable one. In sharing a connection, their emotions and psychological needs start to blend together and they become entrapped by the same fence, where inside, the two of them are alone and vulnerable in a shared arena. This isolation

A story, of any type, is greatly affected by the characters’ outlook on life. A bright, hopeful main character will give the narrative a more lighthearted feel, and cause the reader to feel encouraged and satisfied. If the character has a negative perspective, however, it can elicit sadness, pity, or even irritation from the reader. In Voltaire’s Candide and Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyich, two characters with very different worldviews are displayed. The lighthearted Candide maintained an attitude of cheerfulness and perseverance even through the hardships of his life, which stems from his deep love and care for others, while the coldhearted despair of Ivan Ilyich is only intensified into anger by the feigned optimism of those around him.

Tolstoy’s emphasizes deeply with the Chechen people as he details their suffering at the hands of the

Tolstoy's emphasizes deeply with the Chechen people as he details their suffering at the hands of

According to Tolstoy, society

There is the life of approval, which is those who live to get others approval or attention. In which people like Ivan and majority of everyone in Ivan's society hope to obtain. Tolstoy believed the other life to be the authentic life which is represented by Gerasim, who enjoy life and sees it for what it is. The people in who live similar to Ivan are, self-centered, unable to have relationships with substance and too interested in material things. It becomes clear that the life of approval doesn't offer any reality nor probability when concerning the way things happen in life. Overall, deceives the mind and creates a different meaning of life. Those who live life similar to Gerasim is completely opposite of those similar to Ivan life. They show compassion and feeling sorrow. The feelings of others are actually considered. People are viewed as just beings approaching the end. Everyone is different and able to express their wants and dreams.

Previous works in Slavic literature, particularly Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, portrayed as a moral conundrum in which the perpetrators of infidelity were morally torn by their actions. In comparison, neither Anna nor Gurov demonstrated guilt about cheating on their respective partners. After Anna became upset over their sexual encounter, she lamented that “It’s not my husband I’ve deceived but my own self!” and that “I’ve become a trite, trashy woman, whom anyone can despise.” This demonstrated she was only upset about cheapening her social and self-worth and cared little over how her husband felt about the matter.

“The death of Ivan Ilych”, one of the widely celebrated piece of literature written by Leo Tolstoy, talks about a delusional man whose life seems to come to an end as he approaches the reality. It is a convincing story in which a person struggles to see the reality in the falsity he had created. The novella discusses a bitter and disturbing truth of human reality: the morale choices a person makes in his lifetime and the consequences he faces in his deathbed because of his choices.

After the reading the book of the “The Death of Ivan Ilych” by Leo Tolstoy the reader can conclude that not everyone lives a happy life. People can go from being happy to sad in just an instant. This story teaches the reader that not everyone is going to be there in the hard moments, only those who truly appreciate and understand the person in pain will be there supporting. Leo Tolstoy was very up forward on his stories. He usually did not watch what he said. Many people might say his theme and characters role are affected by the life he lived. Every character has their own role and meaning. For example, those who have read any background of Tolstoy can say that he is very similar to Ivan Ilych. Tolstoy lived tough life his parents past away

Popular descriptions of Alexei Karenin label him as a cold and passionless government official who doesn’t care about his wife or family. Indeed, he is viewed as the awful husband who is holding Anna hostage in a loveless marriage. However, this is a highly exaggerated description, if not completely false, analysis of Karenin. Upon careful analysis of Karenin’s character and his actions, it is clear that he is not the person Anna makes him out to be. In fact, with thorough examination of the passage on pages 384 and 385 of Anna Karenina, it is clear that Alexei Karenin can be considered the hidden tragic hero of the novel.

One of the themes of Tolstoy’s story of The Death of Ivan Ilych is detachment from life, considering that all material things can substitute the true meaning of life: compassion and care for others. “Everywhere in the novel, Tolstoy speaks of Iván Ilych's desire for propriety, decorous living, and pleasantness all while making this his first and most important priority. This motivation is a poor

In reimagining Chekhov’s story through her own eyes, Oates has allowed her Anna room for a development that Chekhov’s Anna does not have, therefore making her the more psychologically complex of the two women. Prone to making mistakes, Chekhov’s and Oates’ characters are sometimes vicious and not particularly heroic; but it is their humanity which makes readers identify with them as they mature and change over time.

Many times in life we are caught between what is expected of us and what we desire. In Tolstoy’s War and Peace Natasha Rostov faces an internal conflict between her passion for love and the social role she plays in society as a member of the wealthy Rostov family. Throughout the novel the Rostov family is portrayed as a loving, friendly, and high-class family, Natasha, the youngest girl in the family, is expected to live up to a set of social standards as she courts with other members of the community, but she becomes troubled as she goes out to find herself. As Natasha transitions from a child to a young lady she has to decide between whether she will live her life devoted to her passion for love or her responsibilities within society.