Ivan Ilych

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Recommended: Money cant bring happiness

We often believe that any amount of money or valuables will solve our problems. When I was little and I was in trouble, I would try to bribe my mom with fake money so I would be let out of my timeout. What I soon found out, was that no matter what, money did not matter and I would have to endure the punishment I deserved. Leo Tolstoy describes in his story, “The Death of Ivan Ilych,” how death is often inevitable and no matter how much money one owns, money does not make us happy. By describing the thoughts of Ivan Ilych and the peers surrounding him, Leo Tolstoy describes how one is often so immersed in personal valuables that one’s mood and way of life is changed in a negative way. By delving into the thoughts of Ivan Ilych throughout his life and on his deathbed, …show more content…

Death comes upon all people and no matter how hard one tries to buy their way out, one cannot change fate. The world’s emotions are not determined by the amount of money one owns. Tolstoy perfectly captures the mind of a man who is concerned with tangible items instead of joy and family. In his story, “The Death of Ivan Ilych,” Tolstoy shows how ivan is not happy unless he is treated as a man worth a lot of money when he states, “Ivan Ilych felt himself abandoned by everyone, and that they regarded his position with a salary of 3,500 rubles as quite normal and even fortunate” (Tolstoy). Through this statement, readers notice the insignificance Ivan Ilych feels when people disregard his position and income as normal. Tolstoy also captures the moment of a sense of greed and satisfaction in goods when he explains, “…giving him five thousand rubles salary and three thousand five hundred rubles for expenses connected with his removal. All his ill humour towards his former enemies and he whole department vanis, and Ivan Ilych is happy” (Tolstoy). As readers can see, the

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