The Death of Ivan Ilych
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In Leo TolstoyÆs The Death of Ivan Ilych, the novella revolves around the theme of death. At the beginning of the story, Peter Ivanovich exclaims while reading The Gazette, ôGentlemanàIvan Ilych has died!ö (Tolstoy http://www.classicallibrary.org/tolstoy/ivan/1.htm). A Member of the Court of Justice, Ivan has led a common life of superficiality, little recognizing that his life is empty of meaning or purpose until he is confronted with his death. Others around Ivan, including his family members and co-workers, are apathetic toward IvanÆs predicament. TolstoyÆs purpose in revealing IvanÆs recognition on his deathbed that he has not really lived and the apathy of others toward his death is twofold. On the one hand, he is showing how Russians had to suppress real feelings and expression to get along in an oppressive society. On the other hand, the apathy of others toward death and even IvanÆs lack of awareness of his own mortality are meant to show how people living in a culture of death often remain concerned only about themselves and remain terrified of death. When Peter Ivanovich views IvanÆs corpse and thinks about the suffering and pain he experienced while dying, he becomes terrified: ôThree days of frightful suffering and the death! Why, that might suddenly, at any time, happen to me,ö he thought, and fnr a moment felt terrified. But ù he did not himself know how ù the customary reflection at once occurred to him that thi
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ficialö public opinion. We see that Ivan does not recognize how much this robs the individual of identity and meaning, living in a realm of superficial poses and attitudes. As Ivan recognizes, ôI was going up in public opinion, but to the same extent life was ebbing away from me,ö (Tolstoy http://www.classicallibrary.org/tolstoy/ivan/9.htm). We see that IvanÆs coworkers are more concerned about their promotions now that he is dead than any heartfelt sympathy toward the deceased. We see that in such a society where to voice original ideas or expression is verboten, individual become crass and callous toward the death all around them. So long as they are not in jeopardy, such deaths are viewed apathetically. As Hustis argues ôWhereas GerasimÆs æWe shall allÆ stresses unity in the fact of human suffering, the æbetter-him-than-meÆ mentality of Ivan IlychÆs coworkers is a manifestation of their unwillingness to perceive human experience in terms other than those of æselfÆ versus æotherÆö (263).
We see that Peter Ivanovich even views IvanÆr corpseÆs exprersion as some kind of stern warning to the living, but he does not believe that it applies to him. Living in a repression regime, Russians often worried only about their own live
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Approximate Word count = 1680
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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