Lesson 22: The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy pp. 1418-1460 & 1071-1079
I am including a supplementary study guide by Mr. Joe Carson for The Death of Ivan Ilych . I am sure you will find them extremely helpful as you read the novella.
Vocabulary
Be sure to become familiar with the terminology listed under the vocabulary sections.
- Novella:
- a short prose piece, not quite long enough to be called a novel.
- Realism:
- Literature whose goal is to represent life as it is seen and heard, accurately and objectively. (Obviously, the ugly details of Ivan’s suffering are an excellent example of the use of realism by a writer to achieve his goals.)
- Symbolism:
- Simply, using one thing to suggest another, or an image to suggest an idea;
- Parable:
- A story which is intended to teach a lesson to mankind.
Paper Topics
The following is a list of topic choices for the third essay. Select one to develop in a 500+ word essay. Or, choose a topic from lesson 18 or lesson 23. Be sure to review the guidelines for writing an essay and don't forget to add a Works Cited sheet to your essay. Check important dates for due date to avoid late penalties.
- Discuss how Ivan is imprisoned by role-playing.
- Ivan Ilyich is the Russian equivalent of “John Doe.” What qualities does Tolstoy stress characterizing this representative of ordinary humanity?
- Discuss the following: “Its tone is rather that of a parable: ‘Ivan Ilyich’s life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible’”(1427).
- Professor Lynch claims that Ivan Ilyich and Praskovya Fedorovna have a terrible marriage, and some students on the program attacked the wife’s character. Put yourself in her shoes and write a defense of her life. Begin or end with a reference to Ivan’s final feelings for her. How can you explain his final feelings? Do not write this in first person.
- Use Faust and The Death of Ivan Ilyich to illustrate how some events in the plots are more appropriate for literature labeled romantic and others for literature labeled realistic.
- The role of Gerasim in the story; the roles of Ivan’s wife and daughter.
Last Updated:
January 5, 2007
|