Death of Ivan Ilich by Tolstoy

Running head : LIVING WHILE DYING

Living while Dying

The Death of Ivan Ilych ' by Leo Tolstoy

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12 August 2010

Living while Dying

The Death of Ivan Ilych ' by Leo Tolstoy

The Death of Ivan Ilych (1886 ) by Leo Tolstoy compels readers to analyze what death and dying truthfully mean . Oftentimes , when people visit the dead , they try to detach themselves from the idea of dying such as what Peter Ivanovich and Schwartz did when they attended Ilych 's funeral . They seek to preserve the

illusion of living forever , because deep inside , they fear the process of dying more so , they fear death The Death of Ivan Ilych ' depicts that people should not be afraid of death and dying , if they have lived a full life . The problem is that Ilych did not live the life that he wanted , but the life others expected of him . Still , in the process of dying , no matter how painful it has been for Ilych , he has regained a new perspective about living and dying . It is a perspective that enabled him to live , truly live , at the moments of his impending death . If Ilych could write a post-death essay he would advice everyone to live as if they see and value themselves and others intrinsically (I-Thou , instead of squandering time using people as instruments (I-it , because only through choosing an intrinsic approach to life can they live a full ' life

Ilych had moments of darkness during his death , but he also...