Paper Topic:
The Death of Ivan Ilych
The Meaning of Life and Death in Leo Tolstoy 's The Death of Ivan Ilych Leo Tolstoy 's (1886 ) fiction novel entitled `The Death of Ivan Ilych talks about life and death , and how each of these has the power to have an effect on the other . As Ivan Ilych lay on his bed with the most imaginable pain and suffering that there is , he too undergoes intellectual and spiritual struggles , wondering why he should suffer the greatest when he lived his life the most simple and ordinary manner Meditating upon his life
, he realizes that the `most ordinary ' appear to be the most worldly , materialistic way of life . Having been conventional to the trends of the seasons , his actions depended on what would give him the fame , the honor , the wealth , the superiority , and the acceptance of the world . Social ranks and position appeared to be the most important thing in his past . His actions spelled whatever was expected of him to do . He lived along with the ways and turns of the world
When the inevitability of death led to its arrival on his doorstep Ilych grasps that mortality is mainly a visitor in each living being Pain and death arrives too unexpectedly , and the only comfort that he can find is a mere peasant boy named Gerasim , his only friend , who does not fear pain and death . Seeing that Gerasim is utterly poor yet spiritually rich , Ilych sees that being alive in the physical , worldly sense but dead in the spiritual , intellectual sense makes a person dead all the same . On the other hand , to be dead in the physical , worldly sense but alive in the spiritual , intellectual sense makes a person joyfully alive
The meaning of life and death can be found in the main intellect of a person - with him /her being able to understand deeply what it is to have a `living soul ' and an `unrestrained mind . Liberation appears to have a deeper meaning than the worldly aspects of it , which Ilych used to correlate it with . By living an artificial life , people tend to fear the coming of death , but with the help of Gerasim , Ilych comprehends in the end that to live an authentic life should be the basic principle of all living beings . Life is the liberation of the soul and the mind death , on the other hand , points to their captivity and internment
Name 20-Nov-07...
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