1. Why do you think Tolstoy begins his story with the announcement of Ivan Ilyich’s death, rather than organizing it chronologically?
2. “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” is full of French words. What purpose do they serve?
3. How does Ivan Ilyich’s family react to his illness? What do their reactions tell us about them?
4. On his deathbed, Ivan asks, “Why, and for what purpose, is there all this horror?” Does the text provide an answer to this weighty question?
5. Compare the attitude toward death we see in Ivan Ilyich’s family and social milieu to that of our own society. How do we treat illness and death?
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2. “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” is full of French words. What purpose do they serve?
The French words are a symbol of status.
During the 19th century, French was the unofficial language in Russia, where only the aristocracy, members of the high classes were speaking French fluently.
3. How does Ivan Ilyich’s family react to his illness? What do their reactions tell us about them?
His family reacts by not really inquiring on the specifics of his illness. All they say is that “oh if you take our medicine you’ll be fine”. They shrug off the importance of the situation. Their reactions tell us that they lack empathy. This may be a product of the time and state of the setting but this does not justify their lack of empathy/sympathy.
Ivans family did not really so any care when he was dying. one thing that they kept saying was that if he takes his medicine he will be fine. because they reacted this way this could show us a few things about them and people in general. one thing that this tells us is that they have no care for him. also this could mean that they care for him but don’t show it to make him feel bad. people often mask that emotion they feel and show the ones they don’t feel in times like this because it is very emotionally jarring.
2. “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” is full of French words. What purpose do they serve?
The use of French words in the novel is to represent the high education of Russian aristocracy, and the use of French words is to make the vocabulary more convenient to understand.
Tolstoy begins his short story with the death of Ivan Ilyich to add a dramatic effect to his audience. By doing so, Tolstoy arises questions with his readers, and intrigues them into the text. The reader is also able to make accusations to why certain people reacted a specific way to the death of Ivan Ilyich.
2. “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” is full of French words. What purpose do they serve?
French was the language in Russia that the higher class understood and spoke. Thus, the use of French words shows the high status of Tolstoy and having high class people read his work.
I think that the story began with his death rather than at the chronological start of the story to demonstrate the effect of his life. The reaction of his coworkers and his family around him shows that he was not truly cared for and the selfishness that came with his death. Upon hearing of his death, his coworkers response was to be trilled of the opening postition and his wife’s response was to seek out information about how to receive the most pension. I think that this helps us understand the mentality of Ivan as his illness progressed and helps us place ourselfs in his mindset.