Philosophy Essay on The Death of Ivan Ilych
Written by Leo Tolstoy in 1886, “The Death of Ivan Ilych” chronicles how the stories’ protagonist comes to grips with impending mortality. After spending his life constantly avoiding the subject, Ivan Ilych is forced to try and accept his death at the last possible minute and does so poorly. It is months after learning his health is on a continual decline, on his deathbed, when Ivan is finally able to accept the fact that “his life had not been what it should have been. ... ” Because Ivan is taught by society to avoid the pain that confronting his fears will give him, Ivan does not gain consciousness until the moment before he dies. ... After accepting that his life wasn’t lived properly Ilych wonders whether there is a possibility of rectifying his error. ... The reason death was so impossible for him to face and accept is because he never truly lived.