Meaning is out there, but how does one find it? Many search for meaning in friendship, but become slaves to the pressures of the inner circle. In a speech titled “The Inner Circle,” C.S. Lewis argues that there is nothing at the center of the inner circle. In fact, Lewis believes that a life driven by the “inner circle” is unhealthy. In The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy, Ivan lives a life of convention. He spends a great deal of time trying to fit in with the elite, high class members of society. This unhealthy lifestyle makes it so that when Ivan was faces his own death, he has no sense of meaning or purpose. He marries his wife because it makes sense, not because he loves her. He chooses his job because his father respects judges, not
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Ivan is not an obsequious person, but Tolstoy states that “from early youth (Ivan) was by nature attracted to people of high station as a fly is drawn to the light, assimilating their ways and views of life and establishing friendly relations with them.” C.S. Lewis would argue that this fact in itself is not immoral. In fact, it is almost inevitable. However, this lifestyle becomes dangerous if the desire to fit in overtakes an individual’s own passion or self-worth. Ivan’s obsession with this social standing becomes unhealthy, because his intentions are not genuine. Tolstoy states that even Ivan’s marriage is influenced by his desire to please those around him “Ivan was doing what was agreeable for himself in securing such a wife, and at the same time doing what persons of higher standing looked upon as the correct thing.” (100) Maryann Felps argues that “In reading Ivan’s story, students learn the consequences when one does not make wise decisions. Ivan does not choose prudently; he lives as his circle of friends live-- doing what is expected, but not what is in his or his family’s best interests.” The rest of Ivan’s life is not much different from his marriage. He peels back the layers of the onion, as he enters new circles. He never truly escapes the pressures of the inner circle. Ivan’s fatal injury occurs while he is decorating his house in a fashion that Tolstoy describes as “just
Ivan is not an obsequious person, but Tolstoy states that “from early youth (Ivan) was by nature attracted to people of high station as a fly is drawn to the light, assimilating their ways and views of life and establishing friendly relations with them.” C.S. Lewis would argue that this fact in itself is not immoral. In fact, it is almost inevitable. However, this lifestyle becomes dangerous if the desire to fit in overtakes an individual’s own passion or self-worth. Ivan’s obsession with this social standing becomes unhealthy, because his intentions are not genuine. Tolstoy states that even Ivan’s marriage is influenced by his desire to please those around him “Ivan was doing what was agreeable for himself in securing such a wife, and at the same time doing what persons of higher standing looked upon as the correct thing.” (100) Maryann Felps argues that “In reading Ivan’s story, students learn the consequences when one does not make wise decisions. Ivan does not choose prudently; he lives as his circle of friends live-- doing what is expected, but not what is in his or his family’s best interests.” The rest of Ivan’s life is not much different from his marriage. He peels back the layers of the onion, as he enters new circles. He never truly escapes the pressures of the inner circle. Ivan’s fatal injury occurs while he is decorating his house in a fashion that Tolstoy describes as “just