This week, rather than posting a list of questions for you to reflect on, I’d like you to do the following:
Choose a line or passage from the”The Death of Ivan Ilyich” that seems to you to be particularly interesting and important and share it in a comment on this post.
Once you’ve shared your quotation (and identified the page on which it appears), please do the following:
- Provide the context for your quotation. This means sharing where this passage fits into the larger narrative. What’s happening when this line appears?
- Share its meaning. What do you think this quotation means?
- Discuss its significance. Why do you think this is an important quotation? How is it related to the larger themes of “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”?
Please post your responses no later than Wednesday, November 8th at 2 pm.
“Ivan Ilyich’s life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible”(746)
This quote is the first line of chapter two, where the author begins to discuss the overview of the life of Ivan Ilyich. The quote signifies that not that he was a simple man who lived a nice ordinary life but it means quite the contrary. It really meant that Ivan Ilyich was a conformist to society and the people around him. Furthermore, at each step of his life, he would focus more on his work while pleasing societal views and was unable to face the fact that he was unhappy in life. This then led to his life being terrible because all the things he had done in life until that point and all the relationships he had made had all lacked authenticity. The significance of this important quote is that it relates to the larger theme of the book which highlights the falsehood of people conforming to society and its standards which actually leads them to depression.
The opening paragraph in Chapter 3 (p751) is the one that stands out to me the most. In the beginning of this chapter, the author is displaying IIyich’s life after marriage. In this paragraph, it is mentioned how Ivan llyich declined several job opportunities from other people, as he was waiting for more desirable post in his current workplace. However, the opportunity never came to him, as he was passed up in favor of other people. IIyich didn’t take this lightly, as he made it known to his bosses that he felt like he should have been the one that got the job, not everybody else. As a result of this, his bosses started to become colder to him, and passed llyich up numerous times when another position became available. This would become the hardest year of IIyich’s life, as he soon realized he couldn’t live off the current wage was working under. I think this is significant because it shows how greed and jealously can be the downfall of a person. If IIyich never made a comment about it, it is very possible that he could have been in a better situation than where he finds himself now.
The quote that stands out to me is “Ivan Ilyich possessed this capacity to seperate his real life from the offical side of affairs and not mix the two, in the highest degree, and by long practice and natural aptitude had brought it to such a pitch that sometimes, in the manner of a virtuoso, he would even allow himself to let the human and official relations mingle. He let himself do this just because he felt that he could at any time he chose resume the strictly official attitude again and drop the human relation” (Pg 754). This quote appears in the description of Ivan’s day-to-day life in the time when things were going well for him in that everything at work and at home was done properly and to his liking. By noticing this detail, we are further able to characterize Ivan Ilyich as someone who does things the way everyone expects them to be done and even if a risk is taken, he is always able to go back to the status quo. What is interesting to notice however, is that the way he treats his employees at work is very similar to how doctors treat him later on in the text, and he does not like to be on the receiving end. Once he realizes this, we see that his perception does not change but he merely accepts that this is the “normal” way of doing things and goes on living in misery.
“Only Gerasim recognized and pitied him. And so Ivan Ilyich felt at ease only with him” pg.767, paragraph 1.
In this text, It’s shown that his family members and colleagues all view him as an annoyance with little left to give, often ignored and left in the room. The only person who tends to him with enduring care is his butler’s young assistant, Gerasim. Ivan felt more comfortable with a complete stranger than with his own family. He worked tirelessly. He wanted to provide and live up to the idea of living among the high-class order full of rich taste and rich relationships in which seemed to have been his downfall. The very people he tried very hard to impress backstabbed him and pitied him from his perspective. Some were waiting for his passing to occur sooner rather than later for some sort of monetary gain. In the end, the only person who truly cared for Ivan Ilyich was a peasant named Gerasim, who worked under his roof. Gerasim Understood the cycle of life and knew the inevitable death was also in his distant future as it was part of being a mortal being. So, he treated his master with the most respect because it’s the way he would want to be treated himself when his time comes. This is an idea that the wealthy don’t seem to comprehend: death is inevitable, and focusing only on the materialistic world won’t prevent the inevitable from happening. I just find it very interesting that Ivan tried very hard to play a character of high status socializing only with the wealthy to feel a connection with a simple, hardworking man who’s socially deemed a peasant who, under normal circumstances, would have possibly ignored if not in this case of desperate need.
“Thanks to this change of personnel, Ivan Ilyich has unexpectedly obtained an appointment in his former ministry which placed him two stages above his former colleagues besides giving him five thousand rubles salary and thousand five hundred rubles for expenses connected with his removal.” (752)
After Ivan Ilyich had a leave of absence due to the fact that he did not get the promotion that he desired, he unexpectedly got a promotion. This promotion was what Ilyich wanted and made him very happy. After reading the whole story this felt like the turning point. This promotion felt too good to be true in a way. This promotion was also what caused Ilyich to move and look for a house ultimately leading him to get sick and die. The sickness leads Ilyick to understand the true nature of the people around him and question whether he has lived his life correctly.
Essentially this is the point where Ilyich feels the most accomplished but also the start of his downfall.
“ “So that’s what it is!” he suddenly exclaimed aloud. “What joy!”” (P.778)
I think this quote serves as the most significant line in the death of Ivan Ilyich because it connects to the central theme of the story, which is knowing and accepting the inevitability of death. When Ivan face his impending death, he initially struggles to accept the reality and experienced an extreme emotional breakdown. However, as he approaches death, he begins to ponder the meaning of life and the real purpose of his existence. He realizes that the pursuits of social status and wealth are ultimately meaningless. In this realization, Ivan begins to accept the inevitability of death. This acceptance allows him to find a sense of peace and meaning in the last moments of his life.
” It’s not a question of appendix or kidney, but of life and death. Yes, life was there and now it is going and I cannot stop it. why deceive myself?….( PG:761-762)
This quote portrays shame and regret. Ivan lived his whole life not making his life choices. He lived a life of approval, pleasing others, and chasing status. However after laying in his own sick bed he faces reality, that the life that he was yearning for was not really important at the end and its the driving force of all the trauma and downfall he faced in his deathbed.
“But if that’s so. I am quitting this life with the consciousness that I have ruined everything that was given me, and it is impossible to rectify it, what then?” pg. 88
This quote comes from Tolstoy as he’s lying on his deathbed, reflecting on his life. He realizes he has lived an unfurling, false life and it’s too late to fix it because he is dying. The quote questions the point of carrying regrets, and according to Tolstoy, he questions what is next. In reality, there’s no redemption, especially on your deathbed. Tolstoy is saying, “What’s the point?” What do you do when you’ve done all you could in your life, but it’s left you feeling empty? It’s a thought-provoking quote because Tolstoy seems to be realizing that the end of his life is, in a way, a fresh start. He can start over in the next life.
“The progress of his disease was so gradual that he could deceive himself when comparing one day with another, the difference was so slight. But when he consulted the doctors it seemed to him that he was getting worse, and even rapidly. Yet despite this he was continually consulting them.” pg.758
This quote shows how Ivan been a living a life that was acceptable and prestigious to society. He was a high court judge who married a woman name Praskovya Fyodorovna and had children living in a nice house. However, this marked the beginning of his downfall when he started feeling ill that he didn’t want to accept that he was going to die. It shows how he deceives himself by ignoring the gradual progress of his disease but it didn’t work out for him as different doctors couldn’t find ways to cure his illness. This quote is significant as he started to question the life he been living as he never been truly happy with the way he lived. He has only been living according to society standards and not his own life. This was what he regret when he knew he was about to die. He questioned the meaning of life and it shows the inevitability of death.
Page 778 .””He sought his old accustomed fear of death and did not find it. ‘Where is it? What death?’ There was no fear because there was no death.”
This quote appears towards the end of the text when Ivan Ilyich is nearing death. He has gone through intense physical suffering and emotional turmoil, but as he approaches the final moments of his life, he experiences a profound spiritual awakening. This quote also signifies the moment when Ivan confronts the idea of death and realizes that the fear he had throughout his life was based on a misunderstanding. He comes to understand that death is not the end he had feared but rather a transition. The absence of fear signifies his acceptance of mortality and the possibility of a more profound understanding of life and death.
“The expression on the face said that was necessary had been accomplished, and accomplished rightly. Besides this there was that expression a reproach and a warning to the living” -Leo Tolstoy ” (page 742). The Novella from Tolstoy “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” portrays the critique of the deceased as it alauds to the lesson we learn from the dead. This passage suggests that on his deathbed, Ivan Ilyich’s face reflects an essence of mortality. The phrase “reproach of warning” adds to the notion that Ivans facial expression communicates on the remarks of our own inauthentic existence. As the reader we become encapsulated on the central idea of the narrative throughout the book, our lives only have meaning by dying. This overall message is important because it gets to the heart of the book, and what we take away from our own death. Ivan’s life is constantly filled with fake friendships and chasing what society thinks is important instead of living a life filled with real experiences and emotions. Now that he is dead his face acts as a mirror to the characters and teaches us how we should be living our life. This excerpt and overall book challenge the ways that society tells us to live, by showing that sometimes people only realize what is important when their in Ivans’s position.
″‘Maybe I did not live as I ought to have done,’ it suddenly occurred to him. ‘But how could that be, when I did everything properly?’ he replied”. (773)
This quote comes when Ivan Ilyich is suffering with the realization that he is dying and that he cannot escape it. He is in deep pain, and feels lonely and helpless. Ivan is realizing that he regrets the way in which he went about his life. Although he had an overall pleasant life, he still feels like he didn’t “do his life right”. This quote is important to the story because it is when Ivan realizes that although his life was ordinary and pleasant, it was not as good as it could have been. He realizes that he regrets certain things and there is nothing he can do about it now.
“But there was in him from a young age the chacreristic of being drawn to people of high station like a fly toward the light; he adopted their habits and their views on life.”(page 746)
In act 2 of the narrative, Ivans life around him is being looked at. All of Ivans relatives and siblings characteristic’s are being pointed out such as cheerful, clever, and law school educated. This is crucial leading up to the quote as it creates a sense of contrast to Ivan’s characteristic’s. In the overall view of the story, Ivan lives a simple ordinary life all the way to his death which occurs in a slow manner at home. Thus in the quote it emphasizes his whole life story by demonstrating his originality to life to come from others of high class and not having any of his own thoughts to create a sense of fulfillment.
When reading this story, there is a part that I found interesting. “At tea that evening, when Praskovya Fedorovna among other things asked him about his fall, he laughed, and show them how he had gone flying and had frightened the upholsterer. “It’s a good thing I’m a bit of an athlete. Another man might have been killed, but I merely knocked myself, just here; it hurts when it’s touched, but it’s passing off already-it’s only a bruise.” He was laughing at his own falling, not caring about the injury, and is a little confident that he’s a bit of an athlete, but later on in the story, he begins to feel sick and uncomfortable with his body. This overconfidence and not caring for his own body would lead to a worse problem. This is an important quote and related to the theme of ” The Death of Ivan Ilyich” because this quote shows that if someone not caring that much for their own health and is overconfident about the problem it will lead to a bigger problem, in the story the bigger problem that Ivan have is the death, and because of his conceited he think that he won’t die from this little injury, just like other people think that death is something that can happen to others but not to themselves.People should realize that death is inevitable for human beings and will have to face it sooner or later. Everyone should live in a life that they like instead of being affected by social status and money and wealth and living in a tortured life.
quote(753-754)
This is interesting. I like your suggestion that Ivan’s carelessness here or disregard for his body contributes to his demise.
Chapter XII, Page 778: “Death is Finished’, he said to himself. “It is no more!”.This quotation presents a metamorphosing view of mortality. It challenges the idea that death is a finality by implying that people can be freed from agony and suffering. Ivan’s fear of dying vanishes as he accepts his own mortality and works to relieve his family of their pain; instead, light and joy—which represent a fresh start or ultimate liberation—replace it. This highlights that the most important thing is to build relationships with people and cherish them in the face of death, which is unavoidable(death). Ivan’s life becomes a single, timeless moment, and he sighs peacefully to his eternal rest.
“He suffered terribly the last few days.”
“Did he?” said Peter Ivanovich.
“Oh, terribly! He screamed unceasingly, not for minutes but for hours. For the last three days, he screamed incessantly. It was unendurable. I cannot understand how I bore it; you could hear him three rooms off. Oh, what I have suffered!” (744)
IIn the quote above, Ivan’s wife is talking about her suffering due to the constant pain that he was enduring; all the screaming was making her stressed, which, in my opinion, was incredibly selfish of her to say. This shows how much pain he was indeed in, screaming for hours upon hours, and then the one person who should be by his side in sickness and in health is complaining about what she had to “endure.” it also provides how his final moments were full of pain. This quote is crucial to the story because his family didn’t believe he could die and just kept saying he was ill and to get treated, so it shows the harsh reality that this faith he faced, which is death is the only thing that we are guaranteed.
“Ivan Ilyich was le phenix de la famille as people said. He was neither as cold and formal as his elder brother nor as wild as the younger but was a happy mean between them–an intelligent, polished, lively and agreeable man.” (Pg 746)
In chapter 2 it starts off by describing the lives of his father and his 3 sons which Ivan was the second. The elder son was known to be in the same route as his father following his father footsteps. However, the youngest son was known to be a failure and not as successful and gad ruined his prospect in multiple ways. Despite this Ivan was described as the perfect child in my opinion. Ivan was described as having personally that was just perfect. He was told that he was smart person and a agreeable man which perhaps a unique personality that his brothers did not have and allowed him to stand out among both. This is very significant because it is something important to keep in mind especially as we are learning the person he was before his death. It helps readers imagine the person Ivan was and helps the readers understand the life of Ivan event deeper.
“In reality it was just what is usually seen in the houses of other people of moderate means who want to appear rich and therefore succeed only in resembling others like themselves- there were damasks, dark wood, plants , rugs and dull and polished bronzes… his house was so like the others it would never have been notice, but to him it all seemed quite exceptional.” (pg 753)
This quote is taken from chapter 3 in which Ivan ha brought the house of his dreams for him and his family. He becomes fixated on decorating it. He begins to find all of the right furnishing and wallpapers, then he starts to day dream of how he will style his home even while at work. He admits to himself although he likes his job he finds more satisfaction in designing his home. The quote means that he worked so hard to his house unique however it turned out to be a copy of anyone’s house. This is significant because one of the themes in the book is conformity and how although he tried to be different he ended up achieving the same ascetic as everyone else of his stature. This is a fundamental assspect of his character.
Yes! Exactly!
“Having come to the conclusion that her husband had a dreadful temper and made her life miserable, she began to feel sorry for herself, and the more she pitted herself the more she hated her husband. She began to wish he would die; yet she did not want him to die because then his salary would cease” (756).
This quote is from the beginning of chapter IV were the relationship of Ivan Ilyich and his wife Praskovya Fëdorovna is being described as a turning point from a content and healthy marriage to an ill marriage that results in conflicts and a dreadful attitude from her husband, Ivan Ilyich. This quotation to me represents the number of people who are in miserable situations where they constantly want to escape but always choses to live with commodity over happiness. Praskovya Fëdorovna is a character that conforms to social status and values more materialistic things over the stuff that truly matters, which is our internal peace and happiness. In these lines we can see some of the important topics Leo Tolstoy focuses on, which is how some people live their life on the hands of receiving validation from society and maintaining their social status that they never get to experience any true connections to themselves.
Yes, I also think her self-pity is important here!
Text Detail: “Ivan prioritizes his work over his family, often working late into the night and neglecting his responsibilities at home.” (Page 18)
Context: Throughout the story Ivan explains that his work is of utmost importance and that he gets more fulfillment in it than spending time with his family. Ivan is preoccupied with increasing his social status and believes it is the only thing that will give him respect and attention he deserves. In believing this he throws himself into his work distancing himself from his family.
Meaning: The meaning of this quote is that Ivan rather go to work then spend time with his family as he believes it is more important that’s why he throws himself into his work to gain a higher social status.
Significance: This quote is of great importance since it paints Ivan’s true character. His role as a husband and father is absent while his role in the work environment rises. Maybe if he had spent more time with his family he wouldn’t be resented by them and if he had spent more time with his family he’s new found passion which he finds at the end of the story would have come to his realization earlier. All of these are possibilities that could have happened only if he had not given his soul up to gain money and status. But because of that he grew ill and only near death did he find his true purpose in life which was that all external success was meaningless and that living true to oneself and connecting with others is more important.