Posted by sd on September 10, 19100 at 03:35:31:
In Reply to: The death of Ivan Ilyich posted by Thien Nguyen on September 01, 19100 at 10:06:01:
Hi Thien,
I'm Russian and I'm Tolstoy's fan (as well as Chekhov's fan), so I'm trying to answer your questions.
First I must tell you that your questions are not easy at all. These are eternal problems: life, death, and love, and greatest writers tried to solve (at least to discuss) these problems.
Strictly speaking, problem like life and death can never be solved completely and satisfactorily (I talk here about people who are not very religious: religion treats these problems in other ways). It is unlikely that even greatest writer in the world can explain you how to live, how to accept inevitable death, etc. The best thing writers can do is to make you think about all this yourself and to look for your own answers to the above questions.
Also I think that there is nothing dangerous in the fact that you "never understand fully" the story by Tolstoy. On the contrary, it's good: one can "fully understand" only those stories, novels, and plays which are not very deep. Literary works which are created by great writers can and must be re-read many times; each time you will find something new, and will never "understand fully". In this way we can say that a great story, novel or play is like the life itself: it can never be understood fully (literary critics say that great writers can create their own worlds and their own Lifes which resemble owr world and life and perhaps are even more interesting: there is the Tolstoy's world, Chekhov's world, Shakespear's world, etc.).
Well, finally I suggest you to read the story by Chekhov whih is called "Boring Story" about the illness and death of an old person. It treats the same problems as Tolstoy in his story, and, from my point of view, it is even more interesting than Tolstoy's story (Chekhov's short story about old person is absolutely ingenieous: it was written 2 years after The Deth of Ivan Il'ich, like a polemics with Tolstoy, and Chekhov was only 28 years old when he wrote it).
Sincerely, Serguei Dobrovolski
: The death of this ordinary man leads us to an ultimate question: How should a person live? Does Tolstoy's story suggest an answer? Are there any characters or ways of life which seem capable of affirming the meaning and value of life in the face of death?
: I was told by many people that this is a great story by Leo Tolstoy. I've read several times but never understand it fully. So please help me with any of your ideas and thoughts regarding the questions above. I'll be very grateful.
READ THE GREAT BOOKS
TERM PAPERS, RESEARCH PAPERS, ESSAYS
DR. ELLIOT'S NORTH AMERICAN GREAT BOOKS TOUR--COMING TO A BOOK
STORE NEAR YOU
[Shakespeare Forums]
[Bible Forums]