One of the Themes evident in the "Death of Ivan llyich" by Leo Tolstoy is that of Destiny: each person in the worlds these authors have created faces his or her destiny in ways peculiar to the individual. Look at the elements. Select a character, and identify the character's destiny. Does the universe created by the author feel any sense of obligation to that character? Does the character accept the destiny or fight it? Does the universe created for the story by the author care? Write about the concept of destiny and how it applies to the character? Answer all the questions with substance no fluffers. Use everything you know about the way the elements work to support your Controlling Idea.

This essay will require analysis. Don't bother retelling the story: your readers have read it. Instead, take the story apart to see how the pieces interact. Show us cause-and-effect relationships, the causes being the elements, the effects being the readers' reactions, and the relationships being the means by which the reactions were evoked. Identify the general effect in a Thesis Statement (or Statement of the Controlling Idea).