Theme of Meaninglessness in “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”
In the Tolstoys story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” he scrutinizes the life of Ivan Ilyich, a gentleman whose life has become an entanglement of loneliness and utter hatred towards his life. Tolstoy never fails to pinpoint the discomfort Ivan has in his own marriage and the constant pressure he feels from society. Ivan’s life is in shambles by the time he is about to die, but accepts it because he feels his life has no purpose and is only to torture others. Tolstoy examines the theme of meaninglessness in Ivan Ilyich’s life, and the reason why Ivan is discontent with the way he lives by paying close attention to Ivan’s social interactions and pressure to live up to society’s expectations.
Tolstoy describes Ivan as someone with "no light" in his eyes and a dead man because Ivan believes his life has no purpose to it, and is starting to make the people around him have no meaning in their life either (67). Ivan sees no purpose in his own life because no one seems to show compassion towards him. "His face was more handsome, above all more significant, than it had been in the living man," this solidifies how Tolstoy describes Ivan as being more lifeless after death than when he was alive (42). Ivan believes "it will be better for them when I die," because he realizes that he is more meaningful to people once he’s dead, then when he is alive (90). No one can dull his pain and make him forget about it, he is lonely and is constantly dwelling in his own self-pity. It is like he’s already dead and watching everybody from a distance, and that’s when he realizes no one cares about him. Tolstoy expresses that as a reader you need to look at your own life by "look[ing] it straight in the ey...
... middle of paper ...
... his life and questions ""Maybe [he] did not live as [he] should have?" (91). Ivan is "liv[ing] only in the imaginings of his life" because he wishes he could change the past, but realizes it’s too late (88). As Ivan ages from his pleasant childhood to his adult years his life becomes worse and worse, and its "painful for Ivan Ilyich" to think about the good memories of his childhood because he knows that’s the only good memories he has. Tolstoy implies that Ivans "more goodness in life" was when he was younger when he wasn't worried about money and the pressure to impress society. Ivan realizes that he can't go back and redo the many years he wasted trying to please society.
Works Cited
Tolstoy, Leo, Trans. By Pevear and Volokhonsky. The Death of Ivan Ilych. Collected Shorter Fiction. New York: First Vintage Classics Eidtion, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy tells the story of Ivan Ilyich, a man who deals with a mysterious illness through introspection. Until his illness, he lived the life he thought he was supposed to live. Like Candide, he was living in blind optimism. He assumed that what he was doing was the right thing because he was told as much. He had a respectable job and a family. Happiness, if it did occur to him, was fulfilling his duties as a husband and father. It was his sudden illness that allowed him to reflect on his choices, concluding that those choices did not make him happy. “Maybe I have lived not as I should have… But how so when I did everything in the proper way” (Tolstoy 1474)? Ilyich had been in a bubble for his entire life, the bubble only popping when he realizes his own mortality. This puts his marriage, his career, and his life choices into perspective. Realizing that he does not get to redo these choices, he distances himself from his old life: his wife, his children, and his career. All that is left is to reflect. This reflection is his personal enlightenment. He had been living in the dark, blind to his true feelings for his entire life. Mortality creates a space in which he can question himself as to why he made the choices he made, and how those choices created the unsatisfactory life he finds himself in
However, through the enlightenment provided by Tolstoy, and the lessons taught, I now see that I am less satisfied with my existence and more deceivingly complacent with it. To expand on this, I have not done anything of true significance and have lived only to appear content, fooling even myself, while hiding behind a stoic facade. I have lived in an inauthentic way, preoccupied with my superficial social portrayal instead of true inner delineation. Just as I did, I feel as though the protagonist, Ivan Ilyich, would have claimed to have been happy, genuinely believing himself. I see a lot of myself in Ivan, and it makes me fearful. I would seek only what was pleasant and shy away from what is unpleasant. I now see I must be willing to accept my own transience and live genuinely if I want to live a blissful
People usually believe following society is the “right” way of living. In Leo Tolstoy’s novel, Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy uses a recurring theme of conformity. He illustrates Ivan Ilyich, the protagonist, a middle class man as a modern day conformist. His character lives for society’s approval and in doing so, distracts himself from seeking true happiness. Throughout the novel, Leo Tolstoy uses satire to expose the upper-middle class people as conformists. Tolstoy portrays the damaging effects propriety has on an individual when the individual chooses to disregard compassion and fulfillment in favor of society’s norms.
Tolstoy immediately absorbs you into the novel by beginning with Ivan’s death. The actual death scene is saved until the end of the novel, but he shows you the reaction of some of Ivan’s colleagues as they hear the news of Ivan’s death. You are almost disgusted at the nonchalant manner that Ivan’s “friends” take his death. They are surprised by his death, but immediately think of how his death will affect their own lives, but more importantly, their careers. “The first though that occurred to each of the gentlemen in the office, learning of Ivan Ilyich’s death, was what effect it would have on their own transfers and promotions.” (pg 32) As a reader, you have to wonder how Ivan must have had to live in order for people close to him to feel no sadness towards the loss or even pity for his wife. In fact, these gentlemen are exactly like Ivan. The purpose of their lives was to gain as much power as possible with n...
Ivan has a strong disconnect with his family and begins feel like he is always suffering, while beginning to question if his life has been a lie. An example of this for prompt number three is when we are giving the quote "Ivan Ilych's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible." Leo Tolstoy implies through the quote that even though he lives an ordinary
...t is . What really accentuated the story's realness was the cold-harsh fact that no one is exempt from death. This was given when Gerasim said to Ivan that everyone dies (p135). As the last book Tolstoy made before his conversion to Christianity: this book, delving deep into death, could reveal some clues about what the bible is trying to tell us about the truth of death. Is death the end, the process, or...the beginning? Who knows? One thing for certain is that every individual goes through the grief process a bit differently, and Tolstoy has proven that through his main character, Ivan Illych.
Love and Death in Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie and Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych
It is important that everyone lives their lives according to God’s purpose for them. Many people in today’s society fear death. Those who fear death have little to no knowledge about what God has planned for all of his children. On the other hand, some people fear death because they feel as though they have not fully completed their life’s purpose; or lived accordingly. This work brings about many real-life situations. There will always be people who use others to advance their own lives. Then there will be people who want the best for others. Continuing a study of this work will allow readers to make a connection to his or her current society. The Death of Ivan Ilyich is an easy read, that will automatically catch the reader’s
Tolstoy establishes his satire instantly after the death of Ivan through the cruel and selfish reactions of his friends. The death of a friend would normally conjure feelings of grief and compassion, yet for Ivan’s close associates, thoughts of their futures drowned out any thoughts of death. “So on receiving the news of Ivan Ilych's death the first thought of each of the gentlemen in ...
Merriman, C.D.. "Leo Tolstoy." - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online . Discuss.. Jalic INC., 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 16 May 2014. .
Tolstoy, however, has a fatalistic approach to the subject. In The Death of Ivan Ilych, the chronological end of the story is placed at the beginning. From the very beginning, the reader is aware of the title character’s fate. The story then tells of the long and grueling battle with death that Ivan Ilych faces.
The story of In "The Death of Ivan Ilych", was written by Leo Tolstoy around who examines the life of a man, Ivan Ilyich, who would seem to have lived an exemplary life with moderate wealth, high station, and family. By story's end, however, Ivan's life will be shown to be devoid of passion -- a life of duties, responsibilities, respect, work, and cold objectivity to everything and everyone around Ivan. It is not until Ivan is on his death bed in his final moments that he realizes that materialism had brought to his life only envy, possessiveness, and non-generosity and that the personal relationships we forge are more important than who we are or what we own.
To many individuals the word “progress” has a positive meaning behind it. It suggests improvement, something humans have been obsessed with since the dawn of society. However, if closely examined, progress can also have a negative connotation as well. While bringing improvement, progress can simultaneously spark conformity, dependency, and the obsession of perfection within the individuals caught in its midst. It is this aspect of progress within modern society that negatively affects Ivan Ilych, Leo Tolstoy’s main character in The Death of Ivan Ilych. Ivan’s attempt to conform to modern society’s view of perfection takes away his life long before he dies. Furthermore, his fear of death and reactions towards it reflects modern society’s inability to cope with the ever present reminder that humans still suffer and die, despite all attempts to make life painless, perfect, and immortal.
Tolstoy, Leo. “The Devil”. The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories.Trans. Richard Peaver and Larissa Volokhonsky. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Print.
A. The Epic of Russian Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1950. 309-346. Tolstoy, Leo. "