Ivan Ilych Analysis

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In the story, Ivan Ilych did not die well described by the interview with Myles Sheehan, SJ, and the essay by Lisa Cahill. Ivan Ilych’s lifestyle led him to this death. Ivan had an upset life with his miserable wife, Praskovya. Ivan had friends who weren’t concern with his death but just happy that it wasn’t one of them. Besides Gerasim, Ivan and the relationships he had with other characters were false and in a world built on falsehood. When Ivan faces death, the falsehood he used to live are revealed later in the story.
In the interview with Myles Sheehan, Myles says, “A good death is one where you have the comfort of the sacraments, good pain control, your symptoms are adequately controlled, people who love you are nearby, and-this can …show more content…

Ivan did feel better after receiving communion but it wasn’t till his wife came in and Ivan screamed at her. Ivan doesn’t have any family and friends that really care for him except for Gerasim. Gerasim helps Ivan move around and knows that he needs help because he is sick. Gerasim doesn’t mind at all and Ivan says that he is sorry for putting him through this. Later, Ivan finds Gerasim’s presence to be comforting and desperately doesn’t want him to leave. His wife lacks sympathy for Ivan and is always moody. She blames everything on Ivan and this influences Ivan’s behavior towards death. In the interview, Myles Sheehan is asked what does a worst death scenario look like. He answers, “When doctors don’t do …show more content…

Lisa Cahill says, “A good death is the responsibility for all of us, a good for which we depend on others”. Nobody depends on Ivan and Ivan didn’t depend on anyone. Ivan’s wife blamed everything on him during his illness and he had one friend who truly cared for him. His brother checked up on Ivan but was talking more to his wife instead. Besides Ivan not having loving people around him, he wasn’t faithful at all. He never prayed but just kept asking God why his illness was happening to him. He didn’t depend on God because he believed God wasn’t present since the beginning of his illness. Ivan Ilych believed life was terrible and wrong and that he didn’t live as he should have lived. Ivan thought he messed up and he disregarded God. Every time he thought that his life could have possible gone wrong, he dismissed it. There was no community within Ivan. He was isolated from everyone and nobody cared for him. Ivan didn’t have human presence around him. Lisa Cahill says, “Happiness in life and death is found in faith, love, and community”.
Myles Sheehan’s interview and Lisa Cahill’s essay describes a “good death” differently than the way Ivan’s death happened. Myles and Lisa describe a good death as love ones surrounding the person dying and the medicine alleviating the pain. Family members didn’t surround Ivan and the medicine he took didn’t alleviate the pain. Ivan’s