Question

What does the candle symbolize in this excerpt from Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich? “When I am not, what will there be? There will be nothing. Then where shall I be when I am no more? Can this be dying? No, I don’t want to!” He jumped up and tried to light the candle, felt for it with trembling hands, dropped candle and candlestick on the floor, and fell back on his pillow. Ivan Ilyich’s shallow lifestyle Ivan Ilyich’s troubled conscience Ivan Ilyich’s murky past Ivan Ilyich’s approaching death

Answer 1

In this excerpt the candle symbolizes Ivan Illyich's approaching death.

Ivan is thinking about his death and what will happen to him afterwards. This is reflected in the candle falling to the floor. Because once there was light from the candle, and since it falls that light is no more. The burning out of the candle symbolizes death.