Death of Ivan Ilych

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The Death of Ivan Ilych – Reflective Writing Assignment The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy recounts the story of the life, suffering and eventual demise of Ivan Ilych. Ivan is described as a well-educated individual who, after graduating from law school, worked his way up in the ranks of the legal world. Ivan would be considered a rather ordinary individual, with a wife, who he may or may not love and two children. Ivan however thinks of himself in a much higher regard. Ivan felt slighted when he was passed over a promotion at work that he was expecting to get. At the age of 40, he set out to find a new job in a new city as well as a new place to live. He finds a passion in decorating his new home and is extremely happy. Unfortunately, he encounters a terrible fall that left him in a really bad state. When Ivan became ill he could do nothing but deny the inevitability of his death. He did not understand how this could happen to him as though he was invincible. Thoughts about his death brought on the ideas that his whole life seemed to have no purpose, that every milestone he encountered was meaningless. He starts to second guess every decision in his life and whether or not he could have lived them differently or made different choices along the way. These thoughts take over and consume Ivan. He becomes more anxious at the realization that death is a very real possibility. Ivan began to isolate himself from the world around him; he pushed himself away from all his loved ones, even blaming them for his suffering as he tried to avoid the truth. At one point, it would appear that Ivan wanted the acknowledgement and compassion from his family but in his distorted thinking, he assumed that his family did not care. As Ivan confronts death and acknowledges its certainty, he starts to question death, suggesting that maybe his soul is already dead and
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