Tag Archives: death

Deception’s Role in the Death of Ivan Ilyich

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Deception, or the masking of the truth, is central to “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.” This theme was made clear from the beginning, as characters masked their selfish intentions and thoughts behind actions that were deemed to be polite and “correct.” Ivan himself was considered a master of deception, being that his whole life was a lie – a façade built in order to impress those higher on the social ladder. In his official life, he assumed an impersonal “important air” – the word assumed implying again that it was an act put on to correctly fit the circumstances. In his personal life, Ivan was non-existent since he used “his judicial labours… to hide from him what he wanted them to hide” (Tolstoy 764). He maintained the idea that he led a pleasant life by hiding from the problems that existed at home, such as his failed marriage and lost of several children.

Fittingly, words like ‘deception,’ ‘falsity,’ ‘lies,’ and physical objects made to hide the truth underneath, such as ‘veil’ and ‘screen’ are repeated throughout these later chapters. Although Ivan expresses his contempt for those around him for accepting the lie that he was simply ill with the chance of recovery, he is guilty of doing the same. He continues in a cyclic pattern, shifting from imagining “that desired improvement in the vermiform appendix occurred” (Tolstoy 761) to calling his medicine “all tomfoolery, all deception” (Tolstoy 768) and back again. This indicates that he is grappling with the idea of death, afraid to accept his fate despite that “in the depth of his heart he knew he was dying” (Tolstoy 763). There is a continual web of deception being woven: by Ivan himself as he shies away from the abyss, and by those around Ivan (wife, brother-in-law, and doctors) who refuse to admit the severity of his case.

Deception is the cause of the suffering brought onto Ivan. As he recalls the events in his life, he comes to realize that “none of those best moments of his pleasant life now seemed at all what they had then seemed – none of them except the first recollections of childhood” (Tolstoy 773). His childhood was the only point in his life where he was genuinely driven by his desires and not the ideas imposed by society. At this point, he was described as the “phoenix of the family,” a majestic bird that is characterized as unique (there is only one). However, as he progressed in life, giving up his personal convictions and taking up others, Ivan’s life grew darker. Putting up a façade was the poison to his life force. This is likely why ironically; Ivan develops his illness while designing his house, which he believes, will impress those of high social class. Moreover, it is as putting up drapes – a cloth used to hide the interior of the house from those outside – that he injures himself.

Denial of his illness brings about a mental pain that exceeds his physical suffering. Ivan continually looked for “new screens” to hide the pain and thoughts of death. However the “new screens… immediately fell to pieces or rather became transparent, as It penetrated them and nothing could veil It” (Tolstoy 764). Ivan’s reluctance to face the idea of death pairs with his stubborn unwillingness to see where he went wrong with his life. This state of denial only works to bring more pain, as the pain clings to him, refusing to let go no matter how he tries to distract himself. However, it is only when he accepts the falsity of his social and official interests throughout his life, and truly accepts that his family would be better off without the suffering caused by him that Ivan is set free. For the first time he faces the problems at hand rather than running away. At that moment he asked, “Where are you, pain?” (Tolstoy 778) and had to turn his attention to it. The constant gnawing no longer bothered him, nor did death bring about fear. Instead what he prior considered as the abyss, becomes light and joy.

In this novella filled with artificial characters, Gerasim is a refreshing change from the norm. He is also the only lower class character that is truly explored – indicated by the fact that he is addressed by his first name only as opposed to his full name. He is complimented by Ivan on how “easily and well [he] does it all” (Tolstoy 766). The fondness Ivan regards Gerasim is made more evident by the fact that “health, strength, and vitality in other people were offensive to him, but Gerasim’s strength and vitality did not mortify but soothed him” (Tolstoy 766). This is brought about by the genuine nature of Gerasim – his sincere good-natured roots with the desire to help. Unlike the other characters, Gerasim is comfortable in his social class, without the tainting of the materialistic drive. For this reason, he does not regard Ivan as figure to gain something from, whether it is a promotion or pension. He is described as doing things easily and “stepping lightly” because he does not bear the weight of selfish desire on his shoulders (instead he bears the weight of Ivan’s legs). His actions come easily because he is being true to himself, as opposed to others who put on a façade to impress others.

Death and Deception

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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? 

The man in the mirror.

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On my previous blog post on The death of Ivan Ilyich I touched on how Leo Tolstoy criticized the nature of those from higher class and how Ivan Ilyichs life has changed for the worse in his pursuit of conforming with those of higher social class. The later chapters Leo Tolstoy condemns the choices Ivan has made symbolically after he’s conformed by  showing the difference between how Ivan reacts to his servant (who represents what Ivan once was) and his wife  (who represents what Ivan became) while on his “death bed”.

While Ivan was on his “death bed” Ivan looked at his own reflection and could not recognize the man he was seeing . This was because Ivan was dying and also symbolic because Ivan is not the same man he once was. And even though it was visually apparent that Ivan was dying , his peers still refused to acknowledge him (even his own wife). Gerasim his servant was the only person in Ivans life that came in terms with the fact that Ivan was going to die and the they later on grew a positive relationship . While Ivan was  suffering in despair , Gerasim would provide him with comfort especially when Gerasim would hold his legs but when Gerasim would let go he’d go back to being in pain. This is because Gerasim was a good man , and he represents the goodness that Ivan Ilyich once had. So when Ivan came into contact with Gerasim he was coming into contact with his former self and it reminded him of the  “capable, cheerful, good-nature, and sociable man”(746) he once was.

Tolstoy also mentions the difference in how Ivan viewed Gerasim compared to his peers and his wife. “Health, strength, and vitality in other people were offensive to him, but Gerasims strength and vitality did not mortify but soothed him” (766). Ivan was offended by the “other people” because they represent what Ivan became. Ivan decieved his former self countless times bending his own morals just to conform with the “other people” he now despises. The greatest symbol of his deception to his former self is his own wife, who represents the man he became and everything that went wrong in his life. All the morally wrong choices Ivan has made in his life holds presence in his wife and this makes him more irritable and brings him even more pain . He “hates her with his whole soul. And the thrill of hatred he feels for her makes him suffer from her touch”(769). Ivan hates his wife because he is his wife, she is a reflection of the person he became so at any moment she comes into contact with him, he is constantly reminded of the man he is now and this constant reminder puts him closer and closer to his death.

When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be

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John Keats created a masterful sonnet by making a division of three quatrains and a concluding couplet in order to explain his fears in a list like manner. In the first quatrain it appears that Keats writes about his fear of dying before he can finish all his writing. We can see in line 2, “before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain,” that he has so many thoughts that he wishes to extract from his brain and write down that the chance of passing away feels like an all too real fear for him. He also fears that he will not be able to experience the completed collection of his writings and quite possibly all the writings that he wishes to read, “before high piled books, in charactry, hold like rich garners the full ripen’d grain” (lines 3-4).

Moving on to the second quatrain, this time Keats talks about his fear not being able to witness and experience the beauties of this world after death. He wishes to write about all he experiences and worries that at a certain point, he will not be able to do so as can be seen in lines 7-8, “and think that I may never live to trace their shadows, with the magic hand of chance.” These shadows that he refers to are those of a night sky that he looks up to and experiences awe. When looking at the “huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,” he is imagining all the wonders that he has yet to discover and the possibilities that he can uncover.

In the third quatrain it seems that Keats is talking about a woman that he is probably in love with and is fearing that he will never get the chance to see her again, “and when I feel, fair creature of an hour, that I shall never look upon thee more” (lines 9-10). This feeling that he has shows how he worries that he will never get to enjoy the happiness he gets when he looks at the woman. His “unreflecting love” for the woman states how strongly he feels about her and how his love is far greater than any that can be reciprocated. This love for the woman might be his strongest emotion and could be what he fears the most of losing which is why he mentions it in the final quatrain.

In the concluding couplet, “of the wide world I stand alone, and think till love and fame to nothingness do sink” (lines 13-14), Keats shows that he is all alone and wonders about will come. He comes to the realization about his fears, he fears that death will take away everything, his love and and fame will sink to nothingness after his passing.

This poem is a classic example of Romanticism as Keats delves into his own emotions and explores his individual self. His emotions of the fear of dying and thoughts of all that he wants to witness come together in order to help not just him but the reader as well figure out what it is that they want and  what is it that they truly enjoy.

John Keats

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John Keats is considered one of the greatest Romantic poets, yet his career as a poet lasted only five short years. Common themes found in Keats’ poetry are aching desire, the dreadful coming of death, and the seductive power of beauty. William Wordsworth, a fellow Romantic poet, had a large influence on Keats and his poetry. Keats paid close attention to structure in his sonnets and his odes, but the complex structures of his works are meant to compliment his meditations on his subject matter.

“When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be” is a Shakespearean sonnet. In this sonnet, Keats discusses his fear of death. Specifically, he talks about his fear of dying before he is done writing all the poetry he is capable of and his fear of dying before having felt “unreflecting love” (Keats 12). Line 13 of the sonnet says “Of the wide world I stand alone,” meaning that Keats feels he is alone in the world; he ends the sonnet by saying he feels love and fame are worthless. “When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be” is a personal fear that Keats has of dying an early death like the other members of his family.

“Ode on a Grecian Urn” begins with Keats addressing an ancient Grecian urn. He focuses on the fact that the figures on the urn are frozen in time; he describes it as “still unravished bride of quietness” and “foster-child of silence and slow time” (Keats 1-2). Keats also repeatedly asks questions about the urn and its origins. Again focusing on the subject of time, Keats opens the second stanza with “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter,” (Keats 11-12) meaning that unheard melodies are sweeter than normal melodies because they are unaffected by time. He focuses on the beauty of being frozen in time and how the beauty in the moments depicted on the urn will never fade away with time.

Bright Star

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In this poem, John Keats wants to be like this steadfast bright star, but at the same time he does not want to be like it. This idea of steadfast describes his life in ways where he does not like to interrupted but, at the same time, he does not want to be lonely and isolated. Then, there are scenes where the bright star encounters as it watches over the land and ocean. This description of this scenery indicates the lonely images the bright star experiences as it is being hung up in the air and how Keats does not want to be like the star in this way. Therefore, there are good qualities for being this bright star as well as bad qualities.

As we move on with the poem, it shows that Keats is resting on his girlfriend’s chest. Although he is resting on her chest, it shows that he likes the idea of steadfast and the desire for love (as mentioned earlier in this poem, he does not want to have the feeling of loneliness). As he lies on her chest, he mentions “awake forever in a sweet unrest”. This indicates that the desire for love keeps him up awake forever and allows him to have different sensations running through him and if he goes to sleep he would lose all these opportunities.

In the end, “And so live ever-or else swoon to death” tells us if Keats is not able to have these moments of steadfast, he would end up being that bright star  that watches over this planet and eventually dies from loneliness. This poem shows the desire and desperation for love is so strong that if he loses it then he will lose everything, even his own life.

This poem also uses the word “still” repetitively as seen in the second half of the poem. He first introduced this word at line 9, “still steadfast, still unchangeable”. It could be clearly seen that the word “still” is using the definition of “same”, or not changing. But at line 13, it gets a little bit more confusing when he uses this word. Which definition pairs with the word “still”? I believe the first “still” is used as the definition of “same”. To look closely into the usage of this word; after the description of the sensation of feeling on line 11 (“to feel forever its soft fall and swell”), it quickly changes to something that has no relation with senses. Therefore, to get back on track with the sensation he was describing, he would start off line 13 with the definition of “still” as “same” to remind readers that the sensations never changed. As for the second “still”, it would seen more clear and appropriate to use it as the definition of “not moving” in order to have that sensation of hearing her breathe.