Tolstoy starts off chapter V with a more personal view. Prior to this chapter, Tolstoy talked about the events that follow Ivan Ilyich’s death and how others viewed him. However, this chapter marks the turning point and the beginning where readers are given access to his thoughts and internal struggles of accepting death. In previous chapters, we only get an image of Ilyich as an aristocrat who maintained his superficial appearance with great efforts but these chapters shows us his internal thoughts and fears about death as a human being. For example, he says, “ Can this be dying? No, I don’t want to!” followed by “What’s the use? It makes no difference,” “It is impossible that all men have been doomed to suffer this awful horror!,” and lastly, “Can it really by death!” (Tolstoy 762). This gives us the first glimpse of him being in denial that he is succumbing to death and his beginning thoughts before he processes and accepts the fact that he is, in fact, dying.

Deception is one of the main themes within these chapters. In fact, the word “deceiving” or “deception” has been repeated throughout the chapters. In chapter V, when he was confronted with the truth and struggled to come to terms with the fact that he was dying, he thought to himself, “Why deceive myself? Isn’t it obvious to everyone but me that I’m dying..” (Tolstoy 762). The theme of deception and dying goes hand in hand. Tolstoy implied that the characters feared death and didn’t want to accept that everyone would die eventually, preferring to avoid the idea completely. In here, we get an image that he was deceiving himself, especially since this thought takes place after he tried to ignore the pain from the illness and to pretend everything was fine but failed to do so. When speaking to Peter in chapter VIII, he says, “No, it won’t help. It’s all tomfoolery, all deception,” while referring to the medication (Tolstoy 768). This shows that he is beginning to acknowledge the fact that he is dying and that he knows that medication won’t truly cure him but still takes it because some part of him and others still want to deceive themselves into thinking that he would get better if he takes his medication. During the doctor’s visit, Ilyich comments that he “…knows quite well and definitely that all this is nonsense and pure deception…” (Tolstoy 769). In this line, he is referring to the doctor visiting him to examine him. We get the feeling that the doctor is coming to see him just for the sake of it and not because he honestly thinks he can make Ilyich better. The themes of deception and death are intertwined in this story. Ilyich is deceiving himself just as the others are deceiving themselves into believing that he is not dying because they fear death and do not want to confront it, even if it may not be them that is dying.

Another word that stood out during the reading of chapter VI was “It”. Tolstoy writes, “He would go to his study, lie down, and again be alone with It: face to face with It. And nothing could be done with It except to look at it and shudder” (Tolstoy 764). What is Tolstoy referring to when he writes “It”? Why is it a pronoun and what does it symbolize? Does it represent the fast approaching death that is looming over him? Or does it represent the pain that is confusing him constantly reminding him that death is coming for him?