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?
17 thoughts on “Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich”
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The attitude towards death we see in Ivan IIyich’s family and social milieu to that of our own society is quite similar. In that of our own society people usually don’t enjoy speaking nor thinking about death and illness. We typically try to stray away from the conversation. Once we see illness and death in those around use we usual like to think positive and optimistic. Similarly, Ivan’s family and wife’s reaction towards his coming of illness. She always tried to avoid the subject and went through life as if Ivan really wasn’t ill and going to die soon.
He starts off by announcing the death of Ivan to make the story look more realistic. As the death is most integral part of life and it makes the story which gives the reader to interpret the situation. It exposes the reactions of his wife and coworkers after they find out about his death which shows the selfishness of society.
When Ivan’s family hears of his illness, they are not feeling any kind of sorrow but feel as if hell be fine. This is unfortunate, because your family is suppose to be by your side at all times, especially when a family member is feeling ill. The most prominent example that shows how his family feel towards him, is when not a single family member comes to his burial. This shows that his family did not have any appreciation for the father this whole time.
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?
In Ivan Ilyich’s family and in our own society there is a denial of death. When people hear of a loved one about to die there is a phase of denial. People often over look illness and don’t fathom the thought of losing the person. They often counsel them selfs that the person will get better and that it isn’t possible for them to die. When in fact death is something no one can escape. Ivan’s Wife did not what to talk about it as wouldnt any other wife in our own society.
Why do you think Tolstoy begins his story with the announcement of Ivan Ilyich’s death, rather than organizing it chronologically?
There can be many reasons why Tolstoy began his story with the announcement of Ivan Ilyich’s death. It makes the story more realistic, people finding out about a death. It shines a light on selfishness of society or Ivan’s coworkers. It also exposes his coworkers reactions to his death-social critique. This also gives the reader more of a reason to continue the story to found out how his death occurred.
How does Ivan Ilyich’s family react to his illness? What do their reactions tell us about them?
Ivan Ilych’s family is in denial of his demise. They realize the severity of his illness but try to pretend that everything will get better. His family tries not to overwhelm him with his dire condition and goes on with their lives as if he will eventually recover. It’s actually quite similar to how we act in this day and age when someone who’s close to us is sick. Even after his death, his wife refused to talk about Ivan Ilyich because it was a big loss for herself and her family.
1. Why do you think Tolstoy begins his story with the announcement of Ivan Ilyich’s death, rather than organizing it chronologically?
I think Tolstoy begins his story with the announcement of Ivan’s death to show the reaction of all the people that were supposed to be his close friends. Even at the funeral, nobody seems devastated by the loss, which gives us an understanding of how little his life truly meant to everyone around him. The story then continues from the beginning, telling the story of his life and everything that led up to his death. While ill, he questions how he has lived his life, his mortality, and if he lived his life properly. In his last moments before death he realized how his death would benefit those around him, and as we saw at his funeral, everybody was content and nobody was suffering because the life he lived was artificial. The order of the story also supports the inevitability of death. Throughout the story, Ivan has different feelings towards death, but when he finally accepts that his death is coming he is happy. Instead of reading the story in chronological order, wondering is Ivan going to live or die, we understand from the beginning that his death has already happened and it should be expected.
1. Why do you think Tolstoy begins his story with the announcement of Ivan Ilyich’s death, rather than organizing it chronologically?
I believe that if you know how the story ends you will be more inclined on the details regarding to why it ended they way it did. In a way there is no surprise waiting for the reader, which gives room for reflection during the reading process. With this reflection the reader can uncover how Ivan’s life played out and connect it to how it turned out once he passed away.
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?
While confronting the illness and death, almost all the people in our society would suffer a feeling of deep distress and grief. However, instead of the great sorrow, Ivan’s family member and coworker hold the different mind toward his illness and death. They do not think his death is nothing beneficial to them. For his wife, she would inherit and require abundant of money and property after his death and she would live better because she would get rid of the disabled husband. For his coworkers, they would obtain the opportunity to be promoted and get his occupational position after his death.
3. How does Ivan Ilyich’s family react to his illness? What do their reactions tell us about them?
Ilyich’s family does not understand Ilyich’s illness except for Vasya. They all treated him as if he was just sick, instead of dying. This irritates Ivan greatly – them not understanding / choosing to believe the truth. This is shown when Lisa, her fiance, Praskovya and Vasya visits him before going to the theater. It’s clear that the visit was out of proprietary reasons, and not out of genuine concern. However, Vasya had the look of fear and pity – he was the only one who understood Ivan and how ill his father was.
The attitude toward death in the story The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the same as our attitude as a society today Within the story, it is clear the family and Ivan’s wife constantly avoid the subject of death. Especially when it came to Ivan’s wife, she constantly wished to push death aside and never came to the realization that Ivan was going to die soon. Similarly, in our society, death is a subject that all people wish to push aside and not speak about.
How does Ivan Ilyich’s family react to his illness? What do their reactions tell us about them?
Ivan Ilyich’s family see his illness as a burden on their daily lives as they have to care for him and live with the thought of losing their lifestyle provider. We can tell his family is detached emotionally from Ivan Ilyich which is his fault as well since he focused primarily on official work rather than a personal lifestyle. This ties into a view of falseness and acting on the families part since they do not really care for him, but rather want to put on an act of caring as it is appropriate for a family in regards to propriety. In addition to seeing his illness as a burden, the family expresses the suffering they are going through rather than acknowledging the fact that Ivan Ilyich may be in a worse position.
How does Ivan Ilyich’s family react to his illness? What do their reactions tell us about them?
Ivan’ family cares more about his salary instead of his physical health. After he was sick, they just remind him to see the doctor and take the medicine on time. There is no one ask him what does the doctor said or how does him feel. Ivan’s wife and daughter go to the dance prom as always. Ivan seems like a stranger to them. Ivan is suffering from both physical pains and psychological lonliness. It is hard for Ivan to face the reality that none of the members in the family really understand him. He can trust nobody in his own house except the younger son. The wife and daughter are ruthless they forget who brings them the comfortable and decent life that they have lived in. Their behavior also reflects the true portrayal of life in that time. That is once you becomes a burden to your family then you will be abandon forever.
The reason it starts out with his death is because that is how it happens in the real world.The text is all about realism and more times then not we miss out on crucial moments of other people lives that we care about. There is no perfect setting where the sun slowly dims and you are able to hear their last words, no, death jumps out on you when you least expect it and for the reader it was the introduction.
1. Why do you think Tolstoy begins his story with the announcement of Ivan Ilyich’s death, rather than organizing it chronologically?
This is a great way to start a story about a character who will die that thinks he is loved by everyone. His wife few words and act at the funeral was a hint that someone so close can act so fake. The story revolves around society wanting Ivan to act a certain manner like everyone else, rather than being emotionless, be anti-emotion. If the story starts out in chronological order, it would not unravel as it did, the story would just be told and we would not be in suspense.
The death of Ivan Ilyich is the first thing mentioned by the author in the story so that the readers can see how important Ivan thought his death would be. This is done so death can be looked at and actually thought and talked about. Today, people try to avoid it and say itll be okay and similarly that happens in the story. Even his family’s reaction to his death shows how much they truly cared about him, and how little people truly care about others in today’s society.
How does Ivan Ilyich’s family react to his illness? What do their reactions tell us about them?
His family waves it off as if it’s just something that is happening in passing; like a cold that’ll disappear in a few days, or pain that’ll subside in the next hours. His wife and daughter share similar reactions: They’re indifferent to his suffering, complaining about his whining and how it’s made them miserable to withstand it. They are concerned more about their self-interest, rather than Ivan. Ivan’s son, however, is still young, so he’s more empathetic to Ivan’s condition. He is aware that something is wrong, and that it is critical.