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The Death Of Ivan Ilyich Critical Analysis

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The main message of the author for the readers is rethinking of life and "awakening" of the soul for a better life in the last moment of existence. In the novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy refers to the theme of sin, repentance and rethinking of life. In the late period of his work, Tolstoy experienced a second spiritual birth. He reexamines his life, and this reexamination is reflected in his work. I will show the true values of life, what Ivan Ilyich’s sin was, his realization of wrong living and what the truth of life is.
The problem of sin and repentance is solved through the death of the protagonist, Ivan Illyich. He was the social man, who has lived unexamined life. The basic idea of the story is human’s insight and examination of the meaning of his life. The main character’s sin was his whole life, which was unenlightened by the light of the highest truth. Only before his death, Ivan Ilyich realizes all the meaninglessness of his life. Tolstoy shows us a crisis of views and a crisis of conscience, whatever it was caused, it is a morally normal state of a person. This is what a human needs in order to open his eyes to the world around him and to himself. This is what allows him to know the truth and lies, which are ultimately help a human becomes a true human. The awareness of closeness of the death makes Ivan Ilyich realize the truth and meaning of life. Only now, he begins to understand, how bad his life was, how deprived it was of human content. Much of the

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