The Death of Ivan Ilyich: How to Live Your Life

8/29/19


“It occurred to him that what had seemed utterly inconceivable before- that he had not lived the kind of life he should have-might in fact be true. It occurred to him that those scarcely perceptible impulses of his to protest what people of high rank considered good, vague impulses which he had always suppressed, might have been precisely what mattered, and all the rest not been the real thing.”
This quote speaks to me because it concisely portrays the message that Tolstoy was trying to get across. Ivan Ilyich was a man who was successful, but because he did things that did not make him happy, eventually regretted his life.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich: How to Live Your Life

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is an 1886 short story by the famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Reading this story was a very good decision on my part. The book is about the idea of death (hence the name) and how one should live their life. The book deals with Ivan Ilyich, a legal official, and his eventual acceptance of his impending death.

From the very beginning of the book, it is obvious to any reader just how skilled of a writer Tolstoy is. The Death of Ivan Ilyich begins with Ilyich’s peers and friends learning of his death. While many writers may begin a story like this from the chronological beginning, Tolstoy utilizes an unconventional yet effective structure. The reason I believe this structure works so well is because of how it compliments later themes in the book. The latter half of the book centers around Ilyich’s acceptance of his death which he knows will happen at almost any moment. With the news of Ilyich’s death being placed at the beginning of the story, the reader knows exactly what is happening, and is, like Ilyich, awaiting an event which they know is inevitable.

The next portion of the book gives a summary of the entire life of Ivan Ilyich prior to his death. Ivan Ilyich is a complex and interesting character. It is evident from the description of him that, while Ivan Ilyich was a hard worker and a relatively successful man, he did not always do the things that he himself wanted to. Ivan Ilyich, as a young man, and even as an adult conformed to what the highest members of society were doing; no matter whether it pleased him, or whether it felt correct. “As a student he had done things which, at the time… made him feel disgusted with himself; but later, seeing that people of high standing had no qualms about doing these things… managed to dismiss them and not feel the least bit perturbed when he recalled them.” Ivan Ilyich is even so restricted by societal standards that he not only married because it brought him pleasure but also because it was “what people of the highest standing considered correct.” Even his marriage is filled with conflict and turbulence, but he never makes a substantial effort to fix this problem.

After a series of events, Ilyich ends up working a new job in a new location. Through this, he and his family decides to move into a new apartment. This apartment is so grand, that he and his wife, who had been in a marriage with a fair share of arguments, momentarily fall in love again. Ilyich wants this apartment to be so perfect for his wife and kids that he takes it upon himself to decorate it. While showing the upholsterer how he wanted his curtains hung, he slipped and bruised his side on the ladder. There seems to be no problems though. Ivan Ilyich quickly recovers and everything seems to be going fine. However, there seems to always be a dull nagging pain in his side where he was bruised.


The pain doesn’t stop, and seemingly worsens. Ivan checks in with several doctors and due to the fact that none of them give him a straight answer, he is left wondering about the severity of his injury. Unfortunately, the injury is very severe. Ilyich’s pain worsens. He again checks in with a doctor who prescribes him a new medicine. He takes this treatment and at first it seems to work. But even after this, his pain never subsides and continues. This leads Ivan Ilyich to believe that he is certainly dying.

Ilyich tells colleagues, friends, and family that he has a serious problem but almost everyone is convinced that it is a minor illness. Ilyich becomes irritable and irritated. He is angered that his friends and family can carry on with their lives happily without caring about him, without realizing that one day the same would happen to them. The only one who seems to care about him is Gerasim, a pantry boy.

Weeks pass by and Ilyich is nearing his final breath. Although he knows his death is inevitable, he is still somewhat scared. He is in constant agony and simply stares at the wall. On his deathbed, not only is he in physical agony but is in constant mental agony as well. Ilyich when reflecting upon his life, realizes that it was a failure. He was successful, he had a family and a good job and yet he felt unfulfilled. He never did what he wanted to do. He lived a mundane life, conforming to societal standards, and was never truly free. He knows that if he had a chance to live he would change his life, but is far too late for him, and death is imminent. For three days Ilyich screams in horror of the pain until his eventual death. With his death, Tolstoy advises the reader how to live. Ilyich’s death serves a lesson: to do what you want, and live a happy life than simply conforming to societal standards. That isn’t to say that being successful is bad. I believe the message the book tries to convey is that when you look back at your life on your deathbed, you should feel content and fulfilled with the life your lived.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a well written book with a lasting message that anyone would enjoy reading.