Final answer:
The question relates to Tolstoy's depiction of the middle class's emotional insincerity. Two key parts highlighting this are the shift in theater reflecting societal changes and characters wearing 'masks,' concealing true emotions in line with social conventions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks us to identify parts of an excerpt from Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich that reflect the author's perspective on the rising middle class's inability to drop their emotional masks. Two parts that exemplify this are the change in theatre to highlight the shift in society from the literate nobility to the middle class, and the concept of the 'mask' or veiled identities within the story. Moreover, the portrayal of characters in Tolstoy's work often reflects a critique of society, where individuals hide their true emotions and identities behind a facade of propriety, reflective of the social conventions and upward mobility aspirations of the middle class.
Additionally, historical context regarding the Russian intelligentsia, the nobility's insularity, the expectations of the middle class readership, and Tolstoy's views on the contributions of the 'general mass of men' in history provides deeper understanding of the theme in question. Tolstoy's insight into the emotional masks worn by his characters serves to illustrate broader societal changes and the emotional costs associated with them.