Clarence Budington Kelland once said “My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it” (Fletcher). Both The Death of Ivan Ilyich and The Metamorphosis end with the main character dying a tragic death. When examining the cause of death for both Ivan Ilyich and Gregor Samsa, there are different factors that play roles into bringing about their deaths. Ivan was sick physically, but the cause of him becoming sick is unknown. In a similar way, Gregor could have died from some damage to his physical insect body and starvation, but the cause of him becoming an insect in the first place is unknown. These unknowns that caused the scenarios that led to their deaths are possibly emotional and spiritual matters. Emotional and
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Ivan’s daughter is introduced in the story while the family is getting ready to go to a show together (Tolstoy 834). Ivan is still very sick and not able to move much. Lisa acts similar to her parents in that she avoids things that are not happy and upbeat. This is understandable because Ivan led the family in a strictly professional manner, avoiding emotions and conflict. In one example, Ivan is trying to tell a story to his wife and daughter but they do not care to listen to him. “She listened, but in the middle of his account his daughter came in with her hat on, ready to go out with her mother. She sat down reluctantly to listen to this tedious story, but could not stand it long, and her mother too did not hear him to the end” (Tolstoy 829). Lisa avoids and does not acknowledge Ivan’s sickness because it does not fit in to the category of things that are professional, attractive, and non-emotional. Analyzing Grete Samsa in The Metamorphosis brings about a tragic character development and change of relationship. Grete Samsa starts out in the story as Gregor’s only form of solace from the absurd transformation, or metamorphosis, that has occurred. She is the one that cares enough for Gregor to try and find out what he wants to eat and take care of his room and space needs (Kafka 1214-15). However, by the end of the story it is Grete that has experienced the …show more content…
Ivan’s marriage to Praskovya was doomed to fail from the beginning simply because of the reason they got married. Tolstoy states that “She fell in love with him. Ivan Ilyich had at first no definite intention of marrying, but when the girl fell in love with him he said to himself: ‘Really, why shouldn't I marry?’” (Tolstoy 821). Once the marriage settled in though, Praskovya began to change. “As his wife grows more and more irritable towards Ivan, Ivan turns his entire concentration and interest on his work. He turns out to be a workaholic and ambitious. According to him the conveniences like home, wife, bed and dinner at table seem to have meaning in marriage, rather than the intricate relationship of husband and wife” (Mathivanan). Praskovya becomes more and more like her husband as he leads the family in the ways of professionalism and emotionlessness. Throughout Ivan’s sickness she seems sympathetic and vaguely caring for Ivan but for the most part she avoids the sadness and refuses to acknowledge Ivan’s condition. In the previously quoted scene with Lisa, Praskovya acts like nothing is wrong and instead cares more about going out with Lisa than for caring for her sick husband. She compares to the mother in The Metamorphosis in that they both follow after what the husband leads. Gregor’s mother is more emotional than harsh or negative but she does not take
Ivan’s daughter is introduced in the story while the family is getting ready to go to a show together (Tolstoy 834). Ivan is still very sick and not able to move much. Lisa acts similar to her parents in that she avoids things that are not happy and upbeat. This is understandable because Ivan led the family in a strictly professional manner, avoiding emotions and conflict. In one example, Ivan is trying to tell a story to his wife and daughter but they do not care to listen to him. “She listened, but in the middle of his account his daughter came in with her hat on, ready to go out with her mother. She sat down reluctantly to listen to this tedious story, but could not stand it long, and her mother too did not hear him to the end” (Tolstoy 829). Lisa avoids and does not acknowledge Ivan’s sickness because it does not fit in to the category of things that are professional, attractive, and non-emotional. Analyzing Grete Samsa in The Metamorphosis brings about a tragic character development and change of relationship. Grete Samsa starts out in the story as Gregor’s only form of solace from the absurd transformation, or metamorphosis, that has occurred. She is the one that cares enough for Gregor to try and find out what he wants to eat and take care of his room and space needs (Kafka 1214-15). However, by the end of the story it is Grete that has experienced the …show more content…
Ivan’s marriage to Praskovya was doomed to fail from the beginning simply because of the reason they got married. Tolstoy states that “She fell in love with him. Ivan Ilyich had at first no definite intention of marrying, but when the girl fell in love with him he said to himself: ‘Really, why shouldn't I marry?’” (Tolstoy 821). Once the marriage settled in though, Praskovya began to change. “As his wife grows more and more irritable towards Ivan, Ivan turns his entire concentration and interest on his work. He turns out to be a workaholic and ambitious. According to him the conveniences like home, wife, bed and dinner at table seem to have meaning in marriage, rather than the intricate relationship of husband and wife” (Mathivanan). Praskovya becomes more and more like her husband as he leads the family in the ways of professionalism and emotionlessness. Throughout Ivan’s sickness she seems sympathetic and vaguely caring for Ivan but for the most part she avoids the sadness and refuses to acknowledge Ivan’s condition. In the previously quoted scene with Lisa, Praskovya acts like nothing is wrong and instead cares more about going out with Lisa than for caring for her sick husband. She compares to the mother in The Metamorphosis in that they both follow after what the husband leads. Gregor’s mother is more emotional than harsh or negative but she does not take