Question

In chapter 7 of The Death of Ivan llyich ,Tolstoy expresses the following idea about his protagonist: What tormented Ivan Ilyich most was the deception, the lie, which for some reason they all accepted, that he was not dying but was simply ill, and he only need keep quiet and undergo a treatment and then something very good would result. Why do you think ivan llyichs bigest torment is the pretense of his family and friends that he is not dying? What is the bigger message that Tolstoy is giving readers in the excerpt? Follow the prewriting steps covered in the lesson for this essay topic.

Answer 1

Answer: The first step in the prewriting stage is to gather relevant information to support the topic. Then organize the information. Create an outline for the essay that clearly shows its different sections or subtopics.

Your essay outline should be similar to this one:

I. Thesis

Ivan Ilyich’s biggest torment is the pretense of his family and friends because he realizes that he very much has been a part of their shallow society.

II. Tolstoy’s larger message to readers in the excerpt

Through Ivan Ilyich and his friends, Tolstoy portrays the loss of moral values in the Russian middle class during the nineteenth century. The excerpt also shows that their lives had not prepared them to face death.

III. Textual evidence in support of thesis

Ivan Ilyich is distressed by the deception of his friends and family in several ways:

his interaction with his wife

his interaction with his children

the insincere attitude of his doctors

IV. Explanation of Tolstoy's larger message

Tolstoy had a spiritual experience in the period before writing this novella, owing to which its key theme is mortality versus morality. Tolstoy’s larger message is the importance of living an authentic life.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

The first step in the prewriting stage is to gather relevant information to support the topic. Then organize the information. Create an outline for the essay that clearly shows its different sections or subtopics.

Your essay outline should be similar to this one:

I. Thesis

Ivan Ilyich’s biggest torment is the pretense of his family and friends because he realizes that he very much has been a part of their shallow society.

II. Tolstoy’s larger message to readers in the excerpt

Through Ivan Ilyich and his friends, Tolstoy portrays the loss of moral values in the Russian middle class during the nineteenth century. The excerpt also shows that their lives had not prepared them to face death.

III. Textual evidence in support of thesis

Ivan Ilyich is distressed by the deception of his friends and family in several ways:

his interaction with his wife

his interaction with his children

the insincere attitude of his doctors

IV. Explanation of Tolstoy's larger message

Tolstoy had a spiritual experience in the period before writing this novella, owing to which its key theme is mortality versus morality. Tolstoy’s larger message is the importance of living an authentic life.