What is cugoano’s purpose in this excerpt?

What is the meaning of the word checking as it is used in this sentence from the second paragraph of the passage?

Choose the best paraphrase of bashes haiku an old silent pond a frog jumps into the pond splash silence again a. the pond was silent until the frog jumped in splashing now alternates with quiet b. a pond will never be silent after one frog jumps into it and starts splashing around c. a frog jumps into a quiet pond there is a splash then all is quiet once more d. there was once an accident body of water that a frog splashed into and died

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. a. ivan ilyich’s shallow lifestyle b. ivan ilyich’s troubled conscience c. ivan ilyich’s murky past d. ivan ilyich’s approaching death