Leo Tolstoy's 'The Death Of Ivan Ilyich'
English 228
April 3, 2013
In his novel, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Leo Tolstoy expresses his opinions regarding the abstract idea of “family”. Tolstoy seems to be looking at what it is to be a family through somewhat biased eyes. He never really had a solid family of his own, having at a young age experienced both his parents passing, which leads me to believe that not all of Tolstoy’s lessons should be taken as verbatim. It is obvious through his previous publications that Tolstoy has always harbored a somewhat pessimistic outlook on the idea as a whole, and he continues to stress this point by describing the life and hardships of one Ivan Ilyich. The famous quote from his previous novel, Anna Karenina, gives us an insight into Leo Tolstoy’s overall outlook on what it is to be a family. He doesn’t seem to understand the merit of a traditional familial system as he regards all healthy familial relationships as …show more content…
Ivan Ilyich was always a working man, often choosing his profession over his family. He would “distance himself…while cultivating the best circles among the judiciary and wealthy gentry of the town”(Tolstoy 169). Tolstoy explains how Ivan’s incessant pursuit of success eventually leads him down a road of misery and loneliness. At first Ivan’s motive was to earn money in order to live a comfortable, happy life with his family, but this changed when his quest for power overtook him. He completely shut out his family and focused solely on advancing in his profession. Ivan Ilyich simply traded one family for another. His love for his actual family had faded and was reincarnated into a love for success. By showing the grim result of Ivan’s choices, Tolstoy gives his readers a good idea of what can happen if they were to follow the same
April 3, 2013
In his novel, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Leo Tolstoy expresses his opinions regarding the abstract idea of “family”. Tolstoy seems to be looking at what it is to be a family through somewhat biased eyes. He never really had a solid family of his own, having at a young age experienced both his parents passing, which leads me to believe that not all of Tolstoy’s lessons should be taken as verbatim. It is obvious through his previous publications that Tolstoy has always harbored a somewhat pessimistic outlook on the idea as a whole, and he continues to stress this point by describing the life and hardships of one Ivan Ilyich. The famous quote from his previous novel, Anna Karenina, gives us an insight into Leo Tolstoy’s overall outlook on what it is to be a family. He doesn’t seem to understand the merit of a traditional familial system as he regards all healthy familial relationships as …show more content…
Ivan Ilyich was always a working man, often choosing his profession over his family. He would “distance himself…while cultivating the best circles among the judiciary and wealthy gentry of the town”(Tolstoy 169). Tolstoy explains how Ivan’s incessant pursuit of success eventually leads him down a road of misery and loneliness. At first Ivan’s motive was to earn money in order to live a comfortable, happy life with his family, but this changed when his quest for power overtook him. He completely shut out his family and focused solely on advancing in his profession. Ivan Ilyich simply traded one family for another. His love for his actual family had faded and was reincarnated into a love for success. By showing the grim result of Ivan’s choices, Tolstoy gives his readers a good idea of what can happen if they were to follow the same