Comparing Ivan Ilyich And The Metamorphosis

1.

Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” and Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” both deal with characters who are alienated from their respective families. In addition, this alienation came long before either Ivan Ilyich’s or Gregor Samsa’s illnesses. These characters are incredibly similar, both serving as their family’s sole provider up until their sickness. After they can no longer do their job, they are further ostracized from their families. Both men served as means to an end, both wholly taken advantage of. Ivan’s wife does not want him to die because “then his salary would cease” (Tolstoy 828). Gregor worked for a family which later proved to be fully capable to support themselves. In a word, families just serve to use and abuse you in both works. 3. The acceptance of death encapsulates the ends of both Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” and Mann’s “Death in Venice.” Faced with the end of their lives, Aschenbach and Ivan reflect on their lives and long for youth. However, while death serves as a mirror, the moments leading up to it serve as a prison. With his illness trapping him, Ivan must live in a decaying body, a shadow of his former self. Likewise,

With the exception of Frederick Douglass, each character is an utterly unimpressive man. Ivan Ilyich is “most simple and most ordinary” (Tolstoy 818), living an incredibly dull life. He dies with little to no impact on society. Comparatively, Gustav Aschenbach lives a structured, dull life until he latches on to the young Tadzio. A man who creeps on a child, dying without impacting the lives of others could seldom be described as a hero. Just like the others, Gregor Samsa lived a work heavy life, but was used as a tool by his family. Notably, Gregor becomes more of a villain to his family, impeding them from living normal lives. His death serves as a boon to his family. In the final analysis, romantic heroes do not exist in the real