M7 – Discourse I: Life Transformations: Tolstoy and Augustine

In The Death of Ivan Ilych, Leo Tolstoy portrays a sudden, unanticipated transformation in the life of one man. Tolstoy wrote this story after his own conversion to Christianity.

Compare Tolstoy’s portrayal of Ivan Ilych’s transformation to St. Augustine’s portrayal of his transformation.
Do you agree with Tolstoy’s understanding of the way human beings work?
Finally, choose one small part of The Death of Ivan Ilych that you think is especially interesting and discuss it (You might address the following questions or come up with your own directions: Why is it interesting to you? How does it fit in with some of the other texts we have read this semester? How does Tolstoy use the art of fiction (character development, foreshadowing, plot twists, imagery/symbolism, etc) to convey his message? Does the style of writing (literature versus non-fiction essay) affect the message of the story?)