What Is Left After Death

Could there possibly be a reward on earth after death? In The Death of Ivan Ilych, the author, Leo Tolstoy, introduces the book with Ivan being dead after three days of agony from a simple injury. The story proceeds into his adolescence and his life in law school. He marries and starts a family, having a daughter and son. Within a year of their marriage, his wife becomes demanding and irritable following the hardest years of his life. His salary is not enough to support them and he is forgotten by everyone. Ivan later finds work in Petersburg, purchases a house, and moves his family there. He began decorating the house by hanging curtains and bruises his side. He ignores the injury until it begins to disturb him. Ivan Ilych becomes ill-natured and quarrelous, thus the relationship between wife and husband grows worse. He realizes that everyone is lying to him saying he is only ill when truly he is dying. Instead of fearing death as he once did, he accepts its reality. Three days before his death, in the midst of his screaming, his son walks in his room and comforts him. This made Ivan see that a good legacy is the only reward in death. Leo Tolstoy’s perspective on life, animated characters, and valuable life lessons make The Death of Ivan Ilych a wonderful literary work.

Leo Tolstoy had a very interesting perspective on life that impacted his work. He was a Russian aristocrat who served in the army and ran his family estate. Not wanting to associate with aristocracy, he left his possessions to live and work among the peasants.The story is greatly influenced by the peasants' lifestyle and shows the many injustices they suffered because of the rich and powerful. This aspect of Tolstoy’s work sets a strong tone for ordinary people. Because of this, plenty of Tolstoy’s tales are about people in poor or working classes and how they live. In The Death of Ivan Ilych the author tells the story of a working class man, Ivan Ilych. He acquires debts because of lack of money and a nagging wife. He goes from job to job in search of a better salary. He usually spends more time at work than with family. Therefore, the way Tolstoy saw life shone through in his writing.

Because of a hands on experience with people, the author makes an exceptional presentation of his animated characters. Each character mentioned in the book is symbolic to an aspect of life or a human quality. Ivan’s wife personifies a complaining spirit showing the damage created through an ungrateful and selfish woman. Also Leo Tolstoy uses death as a personification by naming death as “It”. The author describes how Ivan would be face to face with “It” and how nothing could be done except to fear “It.” To insure the realness of his characters, the author uses vivid words to describe the individuals. He uses phrases such as “strangely arched eyebrows” to illustrate the face of an old lady and depicts how the temples of the face thrust up on a dead man. Each character teaches and represents a lesson or virtue. Gerasim, one of Ivan’s servant, demonstrates compassion to his sick master by comforting and easing his pain. Gerasim stands by him when on one does and stays up all night to support him. Due to the author’s talent in descriptive writing, the characters are realistic.

The author includes three valuable life lessons that are stressed throughout the novel. The significance of having a happy, functional family is confronted several times in the book by using indirect method. The author makes this obvious with dramatic and argumentative dialogues between Ivan and his wife. In one instance, his wife calls him “a fool and an imbecile,” and he threatens to divorce her. Another emphasised part of the tale is hard work will help you get far in a career based life. Ivan focuses an ample amount of time and effort to succeed in law school. This being the case, he was able to become a decorated examining magistrate. Leaving a worthy legacy after death is the book’s greatest lesson. Before Ivan Ilych died, his schoolboy son came to him to comfort his father. During this he realizes that he will leave a weak legacy behind when he dies. Ivan accepts this reality and the author states, “In place of death there was light.” This means that death is the beginning of something greater and could be interpreted as a legacy. These nuggets of truth are priceless and applicable to situations in everyday life.

The perspective on life, animated characters, and priceless lessons make Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilych a wondrous piece of art. This story will continue to entertain people through the relatable traits it emphasises. The author’s wonderful writing style makes this a vivid way to ponder on the artistic side of literature.