The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Today we spoke about what makes great literature. I believe that an everlasting piece of writing must capture some aspect of human nature. Although I did not enjoy reading this novella, I appreciate Tolstoy’s language and message. What Tolstoy captured in The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the constant struggle of the individual vs. society.

As civilization has advanced, the importance of individualism has risen at the expense of kinship. The industrialized world’s emphasis on individual glory forces many to replace compassion, sympathy, and community with self-interest and ruthless individualism. I am not preaching that there is anything wrong with that, but I believe we have not yet found the golden mean. Traditional societies value kinship above the individual and this attitude fosters a group-effort. However, these societies focus on survival. Our society, well beyond a struggle for survival, searches for monetary and material indulgences. In times of strife, communities come together to support one another and provide for each other. However for the most part, the individual is left to fend for herself. The abrasiveness of society erodes many natural inclinations a person may have towards community and kinship. I believe Tolstoy spoke of this deteriorating effect of society on the person.

Ivan Iliych was a product of society. His major decisions in life were done in order to fit society’s standards. His goal was to improve his social standing. However his energy, time, and effort put into this quest were at best quixotic. The decor of his home, which was intended to look high-class, ended up looking like the homes of those who want to appear high-class but indeed are not. Also, his marriage was a result of how socially “right” their pairing was. This resulted in an unhappy, uncaring, and unloving marriage. He spent his years partying with the elite in order to boost himself in society; however what he gained was a false image of his social standing and false, “so-called” friends to boot.

Just as many monks, devotees, and religiously-inclined individuals do, Iliych found himself through isolation. Because of his illness, he was shut away from society and forced to confront himself—something he had avoided by covering himself with a façade. In this time Ivan learns the importance of the spiritual, inner self as opposed to the physical, materialistic self. His isolation from society allowed him to question his lifestyle and his beliefs. This scene in the novella was a crucial turning point. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Unfortunately for most his life, Ivan did not examine his life. And when he finally realized his wrong-doings and misdirection, it was far too late. Ivan conquered his fear of death and even experienced joy. Taking of the mask society concealed him with, Ivan is relieved of a heavy weight upon his shoulders, and dies a peaceful soul.

Lastly, to contrast with the upper echelon of Russian society, Tolstoy uses the character of Gerasim as a foil. Gerasim is everything society does not offer Ivan. Gerasim, a humble peasant boy, represents compassion, kinship, love, understanding, and acknowledgement. He is the only one who faces the prospect of death as an inevitability and not as something taboo. He is a breath of fresh air in a society that is consumed by falseness and self-interest. Finally, a character who has compassion and empathy relieves Ivan of his daily suffering and helps Iliych understand how happiness and love should consume one’s life not material pleasures.

Count Tolstoy grew up in the upper class of Russian society but spend his last days devoted to Early Christian theology and a simpler way of life. Ivan makes this realization too late in his life; however, he redeems himself through this epiphany.