Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy. Specifically it will contain an analysis of alienation and the city in the short novella. Most people think Tolstoy is analyzing life and death in this story, but there are references to other aspects of society, as well. Tolstoy's use of symbolism in the story indicates how alienated Ivan really is from the world, and how alienated bourgeois society is from each other.

From the very opening of this short story, Tolstoy uses imagery to convey the idea of alienation and isolation. He uses the image of a stark coffin-lid, standing alone in an entryway, to give the reader a feeling of how isolated and alone Ivan was throughout his life. He writes, "Leaning against the wall in the hall downstairs near the cloak-stand was a coffin-lid covered with cloth of gold, ornamented with gold cord and tassels, that had been polished up...
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