Ivan Illyach Geraism

No Will to Live Death is upon us all, As Ivan experienced in “The Death of Ivan Illyach” by Leo Tolstoy. Death doesn’t always have to be painful and hard as many perceive it, in some cases, just one person can fault this attitude of death through a physical attraction of being there for one another as Gerasim is for Ivan. Gerasim is a diverse character that is relatively minor as roles of a character goes, but has such a promised impact, who transforms Ivan on his death bed. Tolstoy uses him as a piece of evidence to the theme of living the “right life.” As an overlooked character, Gerasim is still the reason for Ivans uprising on his downfall to death. With the use of morality, impact of death, and family/friends, Tolstoy uses Geraism to foretell Ivans downfall. Gerasim is simply used as a tool to comply what Tolstoy wants to make clear with Ivan and his life of confusion representing the correct life. Morals have a lot to do with how Ivan appears to the reader and how his family and friends affect that. Ivan comes to

The morals Ivan has, is very different from a normal dying man. Usually a man would want to know he is loved and cared for but yet when he kisses his wife he is holding deep anger for her while the action is occurring. Gerasims’ role in this is making his attitude transform into an epiphany. Ivan with Gerasims’ help becomes a changed man when it is most accounted for but it is notable to show he was a happy man as well. For example, “The preparations for marriage and the beginning of married life, with its conjugal caresses, the new furniture, new crockery, and new linen, were very pleasant” (P.89). Besides the morality factor of Ivan and Gerasims’ effect is how the whole idea of death is told. Going under the diagnoses and feeling death come upon one is a hard thing to do especially at Ivan’s social