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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 6 page essay that contrasts and compares Dostoyevsky's Notes from the Underground and Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych. The writer argues that in these works one finds characters that dramatically illustrate how the whole thrust of a life can go awry. While these protagonists are very different, they also share similarities that point to the common theme that is shared by both works. Each of these men is clearly spiritually lost and emotionally immature. This cripples both men in regards to any fulfilling relationships or experience of true intimacy. However, while Dostoyevsky's narrative ends with the Underground Man retreating from life and failing to learn from his experience, Ivan Ilych finds redemption at literally the last moment of life, which makes his death meaningful. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khtdumii.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Dostoyevsky in Notes from the Underground and Tolstoy in The Death of Ivan Ilych formulate characters that dramatically illustrate how the whole thrust of a life can go awry.
While Dostoyevskys "Underground Man" (he remains unnamed throughout the narrative) and Tolstoys Ivan Ilych are very different, they also share similarities that point to the common theme that is
shared by both works. Each of these men is clearly spiritually lost and emotionally immature. This cripples both men in regards to any fulfilling relationships or experience of true
intimacy. However, while Dostoyevskys narrative ends with the Underground Man retreating from life and failing to learn from his experience, Ivan Ilych finds redemption at literally the last moment
of life, which makes his death meaningful. The Underground Man confesses to Liza that he never had a proper home, with a loving mother and father. He states that
"If I had a home from childhood, I shouldnt be what I am now" (Dostoyevsky 65). As this suggests, from the beginning of the novel, the Underground Man reveals
himself to be a tortured individual. The opening sentence of his diary reads, "I am a sick man. . .I am a spiteful man" (Dostoyevsky 1). Typically, after revealing
quite a bit about himself, he insists that he is lying. There is no point in this narrative in which the Underground Man becomes a sympathetic character. He constantly
alienates the reader, as he does everyone else in his environment. Alienated and never fully a part of society, the name of the work comes from the fact that the
man feels like he has been "under the floorboards" looking up at what life is like for everyone but him. While this sounds as if the Underground Man is
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