In the short story "The Death of Ivan Ilych," written by Leo Tolstoy, the reader meets Ivan Ilych. Ivan leads a shallow life, never venturing outside his societal boundaries. Ivan is an unfeeling attorney who treats people of lower station with kindly disdain. Ivan systematically seeks to join the higher echelons of society, at the expense of all real emotion. Finally, at death's door, Ivan sees the cold reality of his wasted life. The story of Ivan Ilych is a timeless tale with a moral to be heeded even in the 21st Century. One should live to pursue what brings real happiness not to meet the expectations of false acquaintances.

In the story, Ivan and his crowd lead selfish lives with little or no regard for the feelings and suffering of others. Ivan surrounds himself with people who can never express true feelings and change their shallow lives. He embraces the philosophy that his duty is what society dictates, "...a capable, cheerful, good-natured, and sociable man, though strict in the fulfillment of what he considered to be his dut

Unfortunately, the decorating scheme backfires when Ivan falls and permanently injures himself in the process. Ivan falls gravely ill and pursues the advice of doctor after doctor, only to be given many conflicting diagnoses. The doctors and those around him begin treating Ivan Ilych with cruel indifference, just as Ivan had treated so many in his own career. In his mind, his social status should place him above their other patients and reap more preferential treatment of his illness.

y: and he considered his duty to be what was so considered by those in authority" (1292). Ivan lives only to fulfill his duties and to engage in selfish activities.

Finally, the falsity of his friends becomes clear with the death announcement to Ivan's colleagues. "...the first thought of each of the gentlemen in that private room was of the changes and promotions it might occasion among themselves or their acquaintances" (1286). The story exemplifies how this society, whose values he so cherished, cruelly abandons Ivan in his darkest hour. The true compassion of genuine friends and loving f

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Approximate Word count = 734
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)