The Struggles of Leo Tolstoy and Henry Ibsen and What can be Learned
The only source that should be used is *Norton Anthology of World Literature*
Assignment requirements:
Use can only use the readings listed below to develop your essay.
Your essay should be 600-750 words, five to six paragraphs including an introduction, multiple body paragraphs with evidence from the readings, and a conclusion.
You need to use at least four quotes to develop your essay.
You DO NOT need a works cited page for the final exam essay, but you MUST include the volume and page numbers in parentheses from the *Norton Anthology of World Literature for quotes, summaries, or paraphrases; see example below. *
*You will lose points if you quote from an online source that is different than our course texts or if you do not include the volume and page numbers. *
Example of volume and page number after a quote:
The narrator confesses, "In my misery I drank Lafite and sherry by the glassful" (Dostoyevsky E: 677).
Use only two of the assigned readings for your final essay:
• Tolstoy (E: 678-721)
• Ibsen (E: 721-781)
• Mann (F: 78-132)
• Kafka (F: 201-236)
• Camus (F: 746-754)
• Allende (F: 1133-1141)
• Murakami (no page numbers)
Suggested Outline
I. Introduction
a. Introduce both works, titles, authors' names, and summarize the works
b. Describe the challenges the characters in both works face
c. Argue what you have learned from their challenges
II. Work 1
a. Explain the challenge the character faces in more detail
b. Include quotes from the work related to the challenge
c. Describe what you have learned from the character
III. Work 2
a. Same as work 1
b. ----
c. ----
IV. Conclusion
a. Restate thesis
b. Make a recommendation for something related to the challenges the characters face (a story, book, movie, television show, podcast, music)
Instructor
Course
Date
The Struggles of Leo Tolstoy and Henry Ibsen and What can be Learned
The focus of the essay is Leo Tolstoy (E: 678-721) and Henry Ibsen (E: 721-781). These works discuss the lives and works of Tolstoy and Ibsen respectively. The two were great authors during their time who scaled to international fame due to their works. Tolstoy faced challenges of isolation while growing up when he lost his parents at a tender age. He also had challenges in his marriage. Tolstoy faced criticism from the Russian government and left the Orthodox Church due to his controversial position on political and religious issues. Similarly, Ibsen was disadvantaged due to his Norwegian background, which limited his ability to gain recognition in Europe. This essay explores what can be learned from the struggles of Leo Tolstoy and Henrik Ibsen and what can be learned from their struggles.
Leo Tolstoy had family and personal life challenges and encountered problems with the Orthodox Church due to his political and social activism. Tolstoy had challenges growing up because of losing his parents at a young age. “Having lost his mother at the age of two and his father at nine, he spent his youth in isolation” (Tolstoy 678). His marriage to Sofya Andreyevna Bers made him suffer through a remarkably stormy marriage (Tolstoy 678). Part of the problems were caused by jealousy since the two constantly wrote about each other in their diaries and read each other’s accounts. Moreover, Tolstoy’s criticism of the Russian government and the Orthodox Church led to conflicts with the government and his excommunication from the Church. This caused Tolstoy to enter into “an acute personal and spiritual crisis” which caused him to consider suicide (Tolstoy 680). While Tolstoy faced these challenges, he managed to overcome them. Despite being orphaned from a tender age, Tolstoy chose to remain close to his siblings and together they imaged a perfect world driven by the idea of universal love (Tolstoy 679). Regarding the rejection by the Church, Tolstoy started pursuing his search for God. At the same time, he tried living as the peasants, which gave him meaning in life.
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