The Death of Ivan Lynch does not start off like your traditional reading. Instead of starting from chronological order (from beginning to end) the author Leo Tolstoy opens up by telling the reader the outcome (Ivan Illyichs funeral) at the beginning then gives you the biography of Ivan Illyichs life in chronological order that led up to that point. Leo Tolstoy criticizes human nature, specifically those of higher social class in the story by showing the outcome of Ivan Illyichs life, the nature of those of higher class, and how Ivan Illyich has changed for the worse in the pursuit of climbing higher up the social ladder.

The story begins in the building of the Law courts where members and the public prosecutor met to discuss whether or not they had jurisdiction over a case. Peter Ivanovich reads the Gazette and finds out one of his close friends Ivan Illyich had died. The newspaperr was headlined “Proskovya Fedorovna Golovina, with profound sorrow, informs relatives and friends of the demise of her beloved husband Ivan Illyich Golovin” (740) Peter then informs the members and the prosecutor of Ivan Illyichs death. Instead of expressing grief after being informed of Ivan Illyachs death , the members appear to be thinking of only themselves “the first thought of the gentleman in that private room was of the changes and promotions it might occasion among themselves or acquaintances”. The author makes sure to let the reader know that these people were “his so-called friends” (741) and that these “so-called friends” only attended the funeral due to the “tiresome demands of propriety” (741). When Peter arrives at the funeral he is approached by Proskovya Fedorovna Golovina who appears to be distraught about her husband’s death, she mentions her sorrow of her husband’s death multiple times to Peter then asks Peter “how she can obtain a grant of money from the government on the occasion of her husband’s death”(745) . Peter than became aware that Ms.Golovina was never in any real anguish, she was only concerned with how she could profit from her husband’s death.

Tolstoy opens up the second chapter by telling us Ivan Illyich lived a terrible life and shows us by telling who Ivan once was and who he was becoming. Ivan Illyich was once a “capable, cheerful, good-natured, and sociable man” who was the middle child of two brothers. His downfall came because he was beguiled by those who were of higher class and as he aged he began to become just like them. He often compromised his own ethics and became disgusted with himself at times for the horrible things he’d done. Once he graduated law school  the start of a new life began. To celebrate, Ivan purchased a medallion with the word respice finem which is Latin for “Regard for the end” (747). This medallion is symbolic to the first chapter of the book because the first chapter of the book is about the “end” of Ivan Illyichs life, and later on shows how he got there in the later chapters.

As Ivan Illyich continues to climb up the social ladder many problems arise from  from doing so. Ivan who was once a “good natured” man began to change. He had an affair with a lady in his time as a lawyer and multiple flings. This must have been common for people of social class since the author mentions that this is what in french would be called “Il faut que jeunesse se passe”(747) which means “Youth must have its fling”. The author uses  French in the text because french was a language spoken by the higher class at this time period in Russia. As Ivan Illyich climbed higher up the ladder he changed more and more, becoming a “new man”(747). Ivan became very self-absorbed with his own success as he climbed, “his social pleasures [became] those of vanity”(755) .