Which two sentences in this excerpt from Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich reflect the author's belief that Russia's rising middle class was unable to express genuine emotion?
After that Ivan Ilyich would sometimes call Gerasim and get him to hold his legs on his shoulders, and he liked talking to him. Gerasim did it all easily, willingly, simply, and with a good nature that touched Ivan Ilyich. Health, strength, and vitality in other people were offensive to him, but Gerasim's strength and vitality did not mortify but soothed him.
…The awful, terrible act of his dying was, he could see, reduced by those about him to the level of a casual, unpleasant, and almost indecorous incident (as if someone entered a drawing room defusing an unpleasant odour) and this was done by that very decorum which he had served all his life long. He saw that no one felt for him, because no one even wished to grasp his position. Only Gerasim recognized it and pitied him. And so Ivan Ilyich felt at ease only with him. He felt comforted when Gerasim supported his legs (sometimes all night long) and refused to go to bed, saying: "Don't you worry, Ivan Ilyich. I'll get sleep enough later on," or when he suddenly became familiar and exclaimed: "If you weren't sick it would be another matter, but as it is, why should I grudge a little trouble?" Gerasim alone did not lie; everything showed that he alone understood the facts of the case and did not consider it necessary to disguise them, but simply felt sorry for his emaciated and enfeebled master.
… He longed to be petted and comforted. he knew he was an important functionary, that he had a beard turning grey, and that therefore what he longed for was impossible, but still he longed for it and in Gerasim's attitude towards him there was something akin to what he wished for, and so that attitude comforted him. Ivan Ilyich wanted to weep, wanted to be petted and cried over, and then his colleague Shebek would come, and instead of weeping and being petted, Ivan Ilyich would assume a serious, severe, and profound air, and by force of habit would express his opinion on a decision of the Court of Cassation and would stubbornly insist on that view.

Respuesta :

The two sentences in the above excerpt from Leo Tolstoy's “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” which reflects the author's belief that Russia's rising middle class was unable to express genuine emotion are:

1. Ivan Ilyich wanted to weep, wanted to be petted and cried over, and then his colleague Shebek would come, and instead of weeping and being petted, Ivan Ilyich would assume a serious, severe, and profound air.

2. "This falsity around him and within him did more than anything else to poison his last days

From the story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” Tolstoy wants to convey his thoughts about the types of lives. According to him, there are two types of lives, one is the artificial life and the other is the authentic life. Characters like Ivan, his wife Praskovya and Peter in the story are leading a life of artificial while Gerasim is the only one living an authentic life. Shallow relationships, materialism, and self-interests are the characteristics of an artificial life. Praskovya and Ivan's relationship is seen to be shallow and self-centered in the story.  


Answer:

1. Ivan Ilyich wanted to weep, wanted to be petted and cried over, and then his colleague Shebek would come, and instead of weeping and being petted, Ivan Ilyich would assume a serious, severe, and profound air.

2. "This falsity around him and within him did more than anything else to poison his last days

Explanation: