"This wound in the side was fatal and he felt that he was dying. Memories and pictures succeeded one another with extraordinary rapidity in his imagination [...] All these images passed through his mind without evoking any feelings within him--neither pity nor anger nor desire: everything seemed so insignificant in comparison with what was beginning, or had already begun, within him" (666-667). I chose this quote because I hadn't really heard of death written about in this way before; I'd seen authors describe characters' lives flash before their eyes, as well as a sense of acceptance, but never the two together. I also found it interesting that Tolstoy uses the word "beginning" in reference to his death. That caught my attention.
ps: yay obama. let's get a no on 8 now.