Analysis of "The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Tolstoy
Analysis of "The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Tolstoy
"The Death of Ivan Ilych," by Leo Tolstoy, is a story about the life and death of a man called Ivan Ilych. The story begins with a couple of Ivan’s friends discussing his death during a recess in a court trial. When Ivan’s friends hear the news of his death all they can think about is who is going to be promoted to Ivan’s position. Even Ivan’s wife does not seem disturbed by her husband’s death. All she is concerned about is how she could obtain a grant of money from the government on the occasion of her husband’s death, and how much money the government will give her out of his pension. After the funeral is discussed in detail, Tolstoy goes on to describe Ivan’s life.
Ivan was the middle child of two other siblings. His two brothers were totally opposite of him. The oldest followed in his father’s footsteps and the youngest was a failure. Ivan fit in the middle of his two brothers perfectly. He was not as uptight and pushy as his older brother, nor as unruly as his younger brother. As a young man Ivan decided to become a lawyer. Because he saw how lawyers were twisted and lied to get what they wanted he had doubts about pursuing a career in that field. But, he became agreeable with this profession after seeing it was acceptable in the eyes of society.
Later in life Ivan got married, not for love but for personal satisfaction and at the same time it was considered the right thing by the most highly placed of his associates. Soon after his marriage he had children because again it was considered the right thing among society. He continued to live in modest means, but in his own mind, he was in the upper class. While trying to prepare his house for his family Ivan fell and hit his side. Instead of feeling pain, he felt like he was fifteen years younger not knowing that he had just taken a fatal blow. Soon he became irritable, and more withdrawn than before. The doctors and specialists he saw would never give him a straight answer on what the problem was, and he never did know whether or not it was life threatening, until it finally took him...