The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Essay by moon_eyes_katCollege, UndergraduateA, October 2004

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We are at a turning point in the book where Ivan realizes that his life wasn't morally fulfilled, and death, success, and happiness should have been emphasized a little more.And also in turn Ivan starts to wonder whether or not he served his purpose in life, and if not what was done wrong, could it be he lived his entire life the wrong way.

Through the entire book Ivan lives in a box, which I do myself only in Ivans sense it's a little more extreme. Life is supposed to be pleasant, fulfilling, easy going, and carefree. For each person each one of those characteristics means something different. In my case success is to be well off financially, to have a happy home, and a job I love. Well it seems everybody wants in some sense just that, but most people end up making a sacrifice then another and another until eventually you find years have gone by and you realize that your life isn't what it was supposed to be.

In Ivan's case that is exactly what happened only it took death for him to realize it. The problem is how can you notice your life isn't going the way it should. I feel that if something is wrong you'd have an idea, but most people don't question why? For example, Ivan knows something is lacking but he "quickly dismisses it" and continues in his daily life keeping busy.

Ivan starts thinking about everybody's motive behind being successful in his or her sense. He realizes materialism, and assuming to do what everyone else is doing wasn't right. I feel as though its ok to draw character from others, only put your personal identity into what it is you are doing, and remember only you know what your...