Analysis of Death of Ivan Ilych Essay -- essays research papers

allow Pain BeTo many individuals the word progress has a optimistic meaning shadow it. It suggests improvement, someaffair humans oblige been obsessed with since the dawn of confederacy. How constantly, if tight examined, progress sewer also relieve oneself a negative connotation as well. opus bringing improvement, progress can simultaneously coruscation submission, dep eat upency, and the obsession of saint within the individuals caught in its midst. It is this aspect of progress within redbrick community that negatively affects Ivan Ilych, Leo Tolstoys main citation in The shoemakers oddment of Ivan Ilych. Ivans attempt to conform to upstart confederacys pile of flawlessness takes a expressive style his bearing long in the beginning he dies. Furthermore, his consternation of death and reactions towards it reflects modern societys unfitness to cope with the ever stick in reminder that humans still set about and die, despite every last(predicate) attempt s to make animateness offendless, perfect, and immortal. Although we as a society have travel and made peoples lives easier, our mental damage is as present as ever, due to our incessant need to have everything perfect. We seem to go away that the fascination of hold comes from the imperfect and the unexpected. In her quiz On the awe of conclusion Elisabeth Kubler-Ross suggests that the modern age, while increasing disembodied spirit span and locomote of life, has at the same time given way to a procession number of emotional problems, amongst the living (Ross 407). She also suggests that because of modern societys progress, there has been an increased anxiety towards death. While Ross is report for twentieth hundred society her ideas apply to the nineteenth century as well, when Tolstoy wrote The Death of Ivan Ilych. Ivan Ilych is living during the industrial revolution, a time of technological advancement, that in general advances the upper class, which he is apart o f. Ivans number one precedence in life is to be comfortable and to do the correct thing at totally times. Every decision he makes, including who he chooses to connect, is with the intent that it does not slander his easy, agreeable, and always decorous character of his life, (Tolstoy 213). Ivan is convinced that the best way to have an easy and agreeable life is to be wealthy, marry a cleaning lady from his own class, and live in a dramatic art full of modern conveniences and luxury. Ironically, it... ...roduction of Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 44 it is stated that Ivan Ilychs passage from life to death also entails a passage from untruth to truth (326). genius could also look at this in a different light. From a physical perspective Ivan does go from life to death, from flawlessness to im nonesuch, but from a spiritual perspective it is actually the opposite. It takes the death of Ivans physical self-importance to lowestly see what is important, his spiritu ality, his divine spark. This, he finally realizes, is what true perfection is. Hence, Ivan is able to see past the falseness of conformity in the end and no longer fear death.In his last moments of life, Ivan sees light or else of death. His final audible words are What wallow despite the pain he feels. This epiphany that he has happens in a wiz moment and in a sense makes him finally come alive. Thus, rightfulness before his final breath Ivan is able to say to himself Death is finished, it is no more Death no longer has a hold on him because the quest of perfection no longer does. Ivan has finally decided, after a lifetime of denying it, to allow the pain be. Analysis of Death of Ivan Ilych Essay -- essays research papers Letting Pain BeTo many individuals the word progress has a positive meaning behind it. It suggests improvement, something humans have been obsessed with since the dawn of society. However, if closely examined, progress can also have a negati ve connotation as well. While bringing improvement, progress can simultaneously spark conformity, dependency, and the obsession of perfection within the individuals caught in its midst. It is this aspect of progress within modern society that negatively affects Ivan Ilych, Leo Tolstoys main character in The Death of Ivan Ilych. Ivans attempt to conform to modern societys view of perfection takes away his life long before he dies. Furthermore, his fear of death and reactions towards it reflects modern societys inability to cope with the ever present reminder that humans still suffer and die, despite all attempts to make life painless, perfect, and immortal. Although we as a society have advanced and made peoples lives easier, our mental suffering is as present as ever, due to our incessant need to have everything perfect. We seem to forget that the fascination of living comes from the imperfect and the unexpected. In her essay On the Fear of Death Elisabeth Kubler-Ross suggests that the modern age, while increasing life span and ease of life, has at the same time given way to a rising number of emotional problems, amongst the living (Ross 407). She also suggests that because of modern societys progress, there has been an increased anxiety towards death. While Ross is writing for twentieth century society her ideas apply to the nineteenth century as well, when Tolstoy wrote The Death of Ivan Ilych. Ivan Ilych is living during the industrial revolution, a time of technological advancement, that mainly advances the upper class, which he is apart of. Ivans number one priority in life is to be comfortable and to do the correct thing at all times. Every decision he makes, including who he chooses to marry, is with the intent that it does not damage his easy, agreeable, and always decorous character of his life, (Tolstoy 213). Ivan is convinced that the best way to have an easy and agreeable life is to be wealthy, marry a woman from his own class, and live in a house full of modern conveniences and luxury. Ironically, it... ...roduction of Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol. 44 it is stated that Ivan Ilychs passage from life to death also entails a passage from falseness to truth (326). One could also look at this in a different light. From a physical perspective Ivan does go from life to death, from perfection to imperfection, but from a spiritual perspective it is actually the opposite. It takes the death of Ivans physical self to finally see what is important, his spirituality, his divine spark. This, he finally realizes, is what true perfection is. Hence, Ivan is able to see past the falseness of conformity in the end and no longer fear death.In his last moments of life, Ivan sees light instead of death. His final audible words are What joy despite the pain he feels. This epiphany that he has happens in a single moment and in a sense makes him finally come alive. Thus, right before his final breath Ivan is able to say to himself Deat h is finished, it is no more Death no longer has a hold on him because the quest of perfection no longer does. Ivan has finally decided, after a lifetime of denying it, to let the pain be.