Summary The Death of Ivan Ilyich

A detailed Summary of Summary The Death of Ivan Ilyich

The short story, "The Death of Ivan Ilych", written by Leo Tolstoy, is about the reactions of a man and his friends to his suffering and death. Everyone who knows Ivan including Ivan himself has led a life of total disconcern for the feelings and sufferings of others. They all lead shallow lives not daring to probe into the feelings deep down inside for fear of stepping outside the lines of propriety. That is the biggest rule that people of that society follow. Do not say or show what you are thinking.

Ivan Ilych's attitude toward life is the same all the way up to his death. He was as the author put it, "...a capable, good-natured, and social man, though strict in the fulfillment of what he considered his duty: and he considered his duty to be what was so considered by those in authority." (p. 1088) That quote states that Ivan was solely concerned with his duties and his advancement in position by following the orders of his authorities.

Ivan was son of a successful man who held many positions in many departments. That man, Ilya Epimovich Golovin, had three sons. The oldest followed his father's example and was a success. The youngest son was a total failure. He had blown many opportunities a

No one really felt sympathy for Ivan. The people whom he called his friends treated him the same as he treated them in his life, with total indifference. Even Ivan's own wife treated his illness as a burden and a trouble. He begins to realize how everyone is treating him. All that he wants is pity and there is no one there to give him it besides his servant Gerasim. Ivan shows spots of beginning to realize how he treated life. He treated life with the utmost propriety and tried his very best not to let his emotions get in the way of how he acted and performed his duty. This shows when Ivan says, "What if my whole life has really been wrong?"(p. 1117) Ivan says this while looking at Gerasim peacefully sleeping at his side, the only one who shows the slightest bit of pity and sorrow for him.

Ivan's career grew steadily. In a short time, he eventually obtained the position of examining magistrate. Ivan did very well in this position. He excelled in the separation of the personal duties in his life and the official duties to which he was totally dedicated. This taste of power which came with his new position was very appealing to Ivan. The idea that writing a few words or giving a simple command sent people into motion made Ivan very happy.

Upon moving to a new town to take up the position of examining magistrate, Ivan met his future wife, Praskovya Fedorovna Mikhel. Ivan saw her as a "...well connected, and was a sweet, pretty, and thoroughly correct young woman." The view that she was so within the lines of propriety was the most attractive feature which this young woman possessed in Ivan's view. At first the marriage which Ivan thought couldn't hurt his pleasure-seeking life didn't, then according to Ivan she began to disturb the pleasure and propriety of his life. This ordeal only worsened when his wife became pregnant. She became unbearable to him, overly jeal

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Approximate Word count = 1266
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English