The Death of Ivan Ilych, is a slow, sorrowful story in which not many actions occur. However, the main point that Leo Tolstoy makes in the tale is meaningful lesson that all readers should apply to their daily lives. When thinking back upon this story, I drew the comparison between The Death of Ivan Ilych and a common sloth. Like Tolstoy’s tale, the sloth is a slow and unadventurous animal that does not pursue many actions in the course of its daily life. However, the existence of the slow is vital for the survival of the animal kingdom, making the sloth a necessary and meaningful animal. Like the sloth, The Death of Ivan Ilych is necessary and meaningful story because of the significant life lesson it teaches.
The life lesson that Tolstoy portrays in this story can be summed up in the opening sentence of the second section: “Ivan Ilych’s life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible.” This sentence is an example of one of the many ironic statements throughout the tale. After reading the words “simple” and “ordinary,” the reader expects to find a third word to complete the trio that means basically the same thing. However, Tolstoy throws a curveball at the reader by unexpectedly correlating the ordinary life with the terrible existence.
Tolstoy is not saying that anything ordinary is terrible. He is offering the insight that the things that people think are extremely important at one time will not matter so much later on in life. The things that we think will make us happy now, like wealth or power or a good occupation, will not actually give us a fulfilling life. While the things that are truly important, such as health or friends or family, are the things that are truly significant aspects of life that will eventually give us true fulfillment.
Ivan Ilych is an example of a person who was worried about the wrong aspects of life for too long. His priorities were the features of life that are not lasting and do not bring true fulfillment. Ivan wanted to attend the best school, get the best job, hold a lot of power, and be an admired public figure. He was always wanted to do the ordinary things that the people in aristocratic society do. He married Praskovya not because he loved her but because marrying was the normal thing to do for aristocrats during his time. He chose his job within the court system not because he enjoyed the work but because it was powerful, admirable, and most importantly ordinary job for an aristocrat. Ivan’s main priority was to do the normal thing for an aristocratic man. This way of thinking for Ivan led him to a miserable life.
All this time that Ivan was concerned with leading an ordinary aristocratic life, he was disregarding the aspects of life that are truly significant. Due to his terrible life philosophy, Ivan never made any friends. Although he had many acquaintances throughout his years, Ivan was never able to develop a true friend who cared about him and who he cared about. Ivan was too busy worrying about leading an ordinary aristocratic life. Ivan also never developed good family relationships. He did not marry his wife for love and therefore their relationship was doomed from the start. Ivan neglected his children and never cared about being a good father, ruining his relations with his son and his daughter. The third priority that Ivan should have cared more about was his health. When he first became ill, Ivan neglected the doctor’s advice because he did not like the idea of the doctor having power over him. Ivan showed no concern for family, friends, or his health, three priorities that are necessary for a fulfilling life.
Because Ivan was too concerned with leading an ordinary aristocratic life, he neglected the aspects of life that are truly significant. Ivan’s mixed-up priorities led him to a miserable existence. This fact portrays Tolstoy’s message that to lead a fulfilling life, one must understand the truly important aspects of life. Although this story may have been slow and boring like the sloth, the read was worthwhile due to Tolstoy’s great life lesson. 707 words
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1 comment:
Gary--OK...the sloth, eh? It took me a while to get the hang of that analogy, but I think I finally got there. Especially toward the end of your entry, where you get going on the topic of misplaced priorities and the way Ilych confused the trivial and the important, your writing generates a lot more momentum than that of a sloth. But you never said whether you meant the two-toed or three-toed variety:-)
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