This critical essay is about the sureness of death as illustrated by Tolstoy in The Death of Ivan Ilych. This literary masterpiece was written in 1886 by the now famous Leo Tolstoy. It is considered by many as the greatest fictional work written by Leo Tolstoy. Even though at the time it was not well received. This work was authored by Tolstoy after his conversion, hence his religious philosophy serves as a background to the fiction story of The Death of Ivan Ilych. It is a founding work in realism. According to the Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica: "The Death of Ivan Ilyich, a novella by Leo Tolstoy, published in Russian as Smert Ivana Ilyicha in 1886, considered a masterpiece of psychological realism." (Britannica) This novella has …show more content…
Yet if one reads this work in depth there is also the theme of how to live. Two types of lives are contrasted in the book: the artificial life which is represented by Ivan old self, Praskovya his wife, Peter, and nearly everyone in Ivan's society. The authentic life is represented by Gerasim and Ivan's son. The artificial life is characterized by superficial relationships, selfishness, and materialism. It is also vain and shallow, not fulfilling, and incapable of answering the critical questions in life. The artificial life is a deception that hides life's true meaning and leaves one terrified and alone at the moment of death. Alternatively, the authentic life is characterized by pity and compassion. The authentic life promotes reciprocally affirming human relationships that ends isolation and allows for true interpersonal contact. While the artificial life leaves one unaccompanied and empty, the authentic life embraces strength through unity and relieve through empathy. Thus it creates bonds and gets one read to meet …show more content…
The artificial life is characterized by superficial relationships, self-interest, and materialism. Alternatively, the authentic life is characterized by pity, promotes reciprocally affirming of human relationships and compassion. According to the inevitability of death, it is not true that accepting death and the identification of the right unpredictable nature of life allows for peace, confidence and sometimes joy at death point. Finally, Tolstoy portrays human existence as a conflict between the inner and the outer, the spiritual and the physical in both the artificial and authentic life which is not true since they are dual things. Bibliography Beard, Mary. https://www.newyorker.com. 5 November 2013. website. 25 january 2018. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopædia. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Death-of-Ivan-Ilyich. 13 January 2016. website. 25 January 2018. Tolstoy, Leo. A Confession . Moscow: Общественное достояние, 1882. Book. —. The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Mascow: Penguin Classics; Penguin Classics edition , 2008. Book. References Beard, Mary. https://www.newyorker.com. 5 November 2013. website. 25 january 2018. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopædia. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Death-of-Ivan-Ilyich. 13 January 2016. website. 25 January