Analyzing Life and Death through Ivan and Gerasim

Type :

School essay

Pages :

2 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

10/02/2007

Category :

Philosophy & literature

Sub category :

Literature

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Summary :

Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych tells the story of a man's untimely illness that ultimately leads to his demise.
Questioning why his kidney is now floating about inside his body, he now begins to ponder the extent of his illness and the prospect of death
Things would soon become worse for Ivan.
The character of Gerasim is just as important as Ivan Ilych in this story as far as justifying death through life.
Ivan Ilych's life is marked with materialism, selfishness, and shallowness.
Following Ivan's death, comes the question of whether or not he actually lived his life the right way or not.
Moments before he finally dies, he realizes that he can die in peace, knowing his faults and acknowledging them, and embracing his life in the next world.

Abstract

Leo Tolstoy's The death of ivan Ilych tells the story of a man's untimely illness that ultimately leads to his demise. It is a story views one man's analysis and questioning of the way he has lived up until the point where he realizes he will die. "ivan Ilych's life had been most simple and most ordinary, and most terrible"(102). The process of Ilych's death is defined through his recollections, regrets, and doubts about his life. Until the end, his life has centered around work and the desire for "more." A man that only lived to be forty-five, ivan will find himself questioning whether or not he has lived his life, which is about to end, truly and fittingly.