The Falsehood in Life and the Clarity of Death
“Everything progressed until it began to approach the ideal he had set himself” (56). Ivan Ilyich lives his entire life according to the exact ideas and specifications that he expects of others and thinks others expect of him. He does everything, from marrying his wife to having children to decorating his house, the way that others have done in order to keep up the appearance of a happy, normal life. Ivan’s obsession with the way he appears to society is reflected in his many choices that are clearly motivated by the way others live their lives and his constant comparing of his life to theirs. This comparison results in a competition of wealth; who has the nicest house, who has the prettiest wife, …show more content…
Ivan Ilyich began to moan” (94). When decorating his house, Ivan puts a lot of time and money into what it should look like and how expensive everything should be, again complying with everything expected of him and his family. But as Ivan becomes sicker, he is unable to leave this room, the room where he relieved the injury that caused his poor health, and he becomes a part of the decor. Ivan measures his life in material wealth, so it only makes sense that the way Tolstoy illustrates Ivan’s true pain is through connecting it to this room and the material objects inside, objects Ivan hand picked to represent him well to society. Creating a list of all the things Ivan put in the room, then continuing it to include Ivan himself, shows how completely engrossed Ivan is in his materialism. Ivan has been dying for so long surrounded by those things, not just dying from his sickness, but suffering an emotional death since the day he decorated that room. A death he never noticed until his physical death, a death of never experiencing life but simply living as others have told him is proper. This wandering through life, simply following the motions, is the real death that Ivan experiences, it is the regret of never living that causes Ivan’s pain. He continues to suffer, but now his room and decor are suffering with him. Just as Ivan lived his life without …show more content…
Beginning the novel with the cold, impersonal obituary announcement in the newspaper, rather than a heartfelt discussion or letter, shows the type of detached society that Ivan Ilyich has been entangled in. Ivan’s closest friends learn about his death through the newspaper, and their first reaction is to discuss how that will affect their job positions. Ivan is part of a society focused on doing what is expected and securing one’s own personal gain. People like Ivan and his friends form superficial friendships because they work together, they are supposed to be friendly and go over to each other’s houses. Everyone places so much importance on how much money they have and if they are spending it on the right things, that they lose sight of interpersonal relationships and the idea that you can be friends with someone or marry someone because you genuinely enjoy their company rather than because society is telling you that you have to. Ivan appears to be heartless and disconnected from everyone in his life, but, upon further examination, it can be seen that everyone in this society lives the same way, his wife despises Ivan, his children barely know him and do not seem to want to, and his friends see Ivan as a
“Everything progressed until it began to approach the ideal he had set himself” (56). Ivan Ilyich lives his entire life according to the exact ideas and specifications that he expects of others and thinks others expect of him. He does everything, from marrying his wife to having children to decorating his house, the way that others have done in order to keep up the appearance of a happy, normal life. Ivan’s obsession with the way he appears to society is reflected in his many choices that are clearly motivated by the way others live their lives and his constant comparing of his life to theirs. This comparison results in a competition of wealth; who has the nicest house, who has the prettiest wife, …show more content…
Ivan Ilyich began to moan” (94). When decorating his house, Ivan puts a lot of time and money into what it should look like and how expensive everything should be, again complying with everything expected of him and his family. But as Ivan becomes sicker, he is unable to leave this room, the room where he relieved the injury that caused his poor health, and he becomes a part of the decor. Ivan measures his life in material wealth, so it only makes sense that the way Tolstoy illustrates Ivan’s true pain is through connecting it to this room and the material objects inside, objects Ivan hand picked to represent him well to society. Creating a list of all the things Ivan put in the room, then continuing it to include Ivan himself, shows how completely engrossed Ivan is in his materialism. Ivan has been dying for so long surrounded by those things, not just dying from his sickness, but suffering an emotional death since the day he decorated that room. A death he never noticed until his physical death, a death of never experiencing life but simply living as others have told him is proper. This wandering through life, simply following the motions, is the real death that Ivan experiences, it is the regret of never living that causes Ivan’s pain. He continues to suffer, but now his room and decor are suffering with him. Just as Ivan lived his life without …show more content…
Beginning the novel with the cold, impersonal obituary announcement in the newspaper, rather than a heartfelt discussion or letter, shows the type of detached society that Ivan Ilyich has been entangled in. Ivan’s closest friends learn about his death through the newspaper, and their first reaction is to discuss how that will affect their job positions. Ivan is part of a society focused on doing what is expected and securing one’s own personal gain. People like Ivan and his friends form superficial friendships because they work together, they are supposed to be friendly and go over to each other’s houses. Everyone places so much importance on how much money they have and if they are spending it on the right things, that they lose sight of interpersonal relationships and the idea that you can be friends with someone or marry someone because you genuinely enjoy their company rather than because society is telling you that you have to. Ivan appears to be heartless and disconnected from everyone in his life, but, upon further examination, it can be seen that everyone in this society lives the same way, his wife despises Ivan, his children barely know him and do not seem to want to, and his friends see Ivan as a