Develop an essay arguing whether or not you believe Max’s depiction of Antonina. Does the plot of this novel evolve, primarily, through the journal entries and memoirs of Antonina? Is Antonina the protagonist of this novel? Is she simply a housewife as Jan states or does she transcend that role?…
● Ivan was a lonely kid who was for the most part neglected by his family, who were busy…
His assistance Ivan is dangerous is to because the general let’s Ivan torture you if you don’t escape and win the general. The general is dangerous because he plays dangerous games like let you have three hours to run away then the next day hes going to come and hunt you down and kill you. He the general is dangerous by letting his pack of dogs chase you and hunt you down.”You have killed my best dog but now i’m going to use all of my dogs”.…
(Thompson, 2012, p.63). After being orphaned at the age of eight, it is reasonable to say that Ivan IV went through difficulties that he may not have encountered had his parents survived. This sad beginning to his childhood was only the start and the years…
Dashkova was born to an aristocratic family in St. Petersburg in 1744. Her mother passed away when she was only two years old. Her uncle, the Grand Chancellor, adopted her into his family when she turned four. In her memoir, Dashkova shared her unpleasant upbringing in her uncle’s household: “sharing the same room, the same masters, even dresses cut from the same cloth” with her cousin, Countess Stroganova. According to Dashkova, her “uncle had no time and her aunt had neither the ability nor the inclination” to impose knowledge or compassion in her heart and mind at all (pg. 32). Dashkova also shared that, as a kid, she craved attention and was often left feeling lonely. All these misfortunes along with her determination to overcome her gender role stereotypes motivated her to achieve the accomplishments she made in her lifetime.…
Tolstoy has never been concerned with rules. Whether it is with the structure of the novel, revered thought on established topics, or even his own past writing, Tolstoy disregards all of them in pursuit of his elusive hero. This constant, intense search for truth fills Tolstoy’s works with the uncanny lifelike quality that has immortalized him. But it can also fill them with contradictions and frustratingly radical conclusions. Tolstoy’s attitude towards his female characters is a prime example of this simultaneous beauty and confusion. He treats them with tender care and breaths such life into them that readers can’t help but fall in love. Yet he is also quick to send them off the stage, or even conclude their stories in ways that seem dangerously…
Something that stuck with me was the fact that both fathers have people that want to write the letter for them. Ivankov’s son wants to write the…
Firstly, vanity takes over his life, and unreasonable beliefs, as well as, envy overcome his life, which makes him believe that his position in life is not smart enough. This makes him sad, and he never enjoys life even when he succeeds. Secondly, Ivan and his wife use much time and energy to impress their fake friends by buying expensive crap, rather than working on their dysfunctional marriage that make them live a life of mutual hatred, “Ivan lives a formal life towards his marriage” (Tosley 12). Thirdly, Ivan has no interest in loving anyone apart from himself, although sometimes he wishes to be loved by his colleagues. Moreover, Ivan’s world is full of insecurity since he does not understand his motivations and this makes compulsions of his unconscious impulses to control him, “depressed and dissatisfied with his lifestyle he looks for the best job, with an aim of punishing those who do not appreciate his work” (Tosley 235). Ivan denies death because the assumed consensus strengthens this denial, “Ivan is aware that he is dying, but he is not able to grasp implications of his death” (Tosley 235). He tries hard “to create screens in order to block death’s thoughts from his mind, but the thoughts haunt his mind ceaselessly” (Tosley…
Throughout his life, Ivan was convinced that a successful life was measured by adapting to, and meeting, the expectations of the bourgeois society in which he lived. Tolstoy described the standards that the society expected one to adhere to as “proper” and “decorous”. Ivan pursued those standards with blind ignorance much “as a moth is to light” (44). Rather than looking to his inner self, developing his own set of values and living a moral life according to those values, Ivan lived a hollow life detached from emotional ties, always doing what he thought others would accept as being the right conduct. His interpersonal relationships, including his marriage, were perfunctory and served merely to advance his social status or promote his own agenda. As a result, the relationships were superficial, self-serving, and materialistic and towards the end of his life, resulted in Ivan being isolated, terrified and in great despair at a time when he needed compassion and true friendship the most. Ivan did not realize until his death was imminent that in order to live a fulfilled and right life, he should have shunned material things and superficial relationships, and instead, he should have embraced love, compassion, and spirituality throughout his…
As Rainsford sat down for breakfast, he asked Ivan to fetch the general. He felt almost sorry for Ivan, and he wondered how it must feel to be deaf-mute, to never have your own life and to always live it under someone else’s control. But Rainsford did not have long to pity Ivan, as the general walked in. Rainsford studied his long, wiry black beard and his unnerving dark black eyes which showed no emotion. A night of sleeping with the dogs had proved very damaging on his appearance, as he had big black bags under his eyes and seemed even more exhausted than what was humanly possible. “Thank you for coming up to breakfast” said Rainsford, trying to keep his voice blank. “Thank you for inviting me” replied the general, his Russian accent thick and emotionless, his black eyes studying Rainsford unnervingly, as though he was studying a rare animal he was about to pounce on. Rainsford refused to be un-nerved by the general, as he knew that he must stand his ground in order for the general to take his proposal seriously. “How was your night?” Rainsford asked, trying to build up conversation. “I have had better nights”,…
Tolstoy uses” The Death of Ivan Ilyich” to illustrate to his readers the undesirable consequences of living a life as Ivan Ilyich did. The theme of the story is lies and deceit. Ivan Ilyich made decisions centered on the thoughts and perceptions of what others thought. He also placed much emphasis on monetary benefits during making decisions. The closer Ilyich becomes with his own mortality, he grasps that he had wasted everything that was pure and meaningful in his life for acceptance, work, and money. The theme of lies and deceit is portrayed throughout the book. “Ivan Ilych wanted to weep, wanted to be petted and cried over, and then his colleague Shebek would come, and instead of weeping and being petted, Ivan Ilyich would assume a serious, severe, and profound air, and by force of habit would express his opinion on a decision of the Court of Cassation and would stubbornly insist on that view. This falsity around him and within him did more than anything else to poison his last days” (Tolstoy 760). Leo Tolstoy’s use of point of view and imagery in ‘The Death of Ivan Ilych’ illustrates inner turmoil between living for their own satisfaction and living for the approval of others…
Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich shares the often scary and sudden subject of death and its relation to life. Tolstoy goes about this topic by sharing the life and death of Ivan Ilyich. Ivan finds himself in physical and psychological agony as his last days wane away. Throughout his sickness, he experiences realizations that make him question his entire life and previous goals. The story of the Ivan’s death are riddled with messages about life and happiness. The three major messages are the important of time, life continuing after death, and possessions and social rank in relation to quality of life.…
In “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” the author Leo Tolstoy attempts to describe the social status of Russia in the 19th century. Tolstoy uses realistic writing techniques to vividly and profoundly depict the inner feeling of a dying man by describing the protagonist’s words and behavior. Through narrating the death of one ordinary official, he exposed hypocrisy, indifference, and lack of faith between man and man. Tolstoy shows that people always pursue decorum and propriety, but they reject the idea of death and avoid talking other bad things which be identified as impolite. Everywhere in this story, the reader can see that all the characters except Gerasim spent their time running after fame and money. Ivan Ilyich also desires for decorum, propriety, and pleasantness during his whole life. One image that…
terrible” (1458). His life ends up being a total waste with no real friends, no happiness and lots of regret. It is not until Ivan is on his death bed in his final moments that he realizes that the personal relationships we forge are more important in life than who we are or what we own. But by then it’s too…
The events of the book vividly portray that Eugene Onegin deserves his fate rejecting Tatiana’s love and killing Lensky. A dandy, deprived strict moral values and norms, he goes on the booze. Through this character, Pushkin depicts the gap between expected, traditional, usual things and reality people try to escape. He shows that perception of the world was limited by traditions and values imposed by their society. “Tatyana leaves Onegin kneeling, / looks at him with a steady gaze” (Pushkin). This remark shows that Tatyana is deeply hurt by Onegin who ruins her life and Olga’s happiness. The surface of her story is limpidly clear and beguilingly placid, but Pushkin’s use of it is to enforce by close logic an impossible and often very shocking proposition driven with distinct and startling imagery. Onegin deserves his fate because his desire to possess love of Tatiana is nothing more than dissatisfaction of the past that resulted in losses and hopelessness.…