Ivan Ilyichs Legacy and Salvation - Essay Example

Ivan Ilyich’s Legacy and Salvation

Describing the Reaction of Coworkers and Family Members to Ivan’s death

When the death of Ivan is announced, fellow coworkers and family members react in different ways to the announcement. Upon being informed of Ivan’s death, the coworkers start to discuss the vacancy that has been occasioned by Ivan’s demise (Tolstoy, 2010). The coworkers discuss what changes in the company will be created by the death of Ivan. The coworkers discuss about which persons among themselves or among their acquaintances will be promoted as a result of the death. The talk about promotions and changes in the workplace is surprising since Ivan was well liked among his colleagues. The coworkers mull over how they will make a visit to Ivan’s home to see his family. The coworkers are discouraged by the notion of visiting Ivan’s family because his house is located on a different part of the city far from their places of residence. The coworkers talk about how distraught Ivan’s widow will be and how they will hate to see her in that state (Tolstoy, 2010). About his funeral, the coworkers feel that the service will be boring and they will have to endure sitting through all of it.

Ivan’s family members and coworkers are relieved that they are alive. The family members and coworkers are relieved by the thought that death passed them by and instead befell Ivan. The reactions to Ivan’s death manifest a lack of compassion, disinterest and a high level of selfishness among coworkers and family members. Ivan’s wife, Praskovya Fedorovna displays little grief regarding her husband’s demise (Tolstoy, 2010). Praskovya only cries after her shawl, which was caught by the edge of a table, is finally disentangled. She is unsympathetic and disinterested about matters regarding the death of her husband. The widow seeks advice and information about what she could get from the governmentas a result of her husband’s death. When Peter Ivanovich, Ivan’s coworker, and Praskovya meet, they both try to feign compassion and grief about Ivan’s death. Praskovya is clearly disappointed when she realized that Peter has minimal knowledge about how she can squeeze money from the government. When he goes to view the body of his dead colleague, Peter has no idea what kind of respect he has to pay thereby settling upon a combination of bows and crosses (Tolstoy, 2010).

Peter talks to his wife about how Ivan’s death has created a vacancy that could be filled by one of his wife’s relatives. Peter is more concerned about attending a card game with his friend Schwartz. The thought of Ivan’s suffering and death instill fear in peter but the light spirits of Schwartz lightens his heart and reassures him and erodes his fear of dying. Immediately the funeral service is over, Peter heads off to play the card game as a way of getting his spirits up after the boring funeral (Tolstoy, 2010). The peasant servant Gerasim, who attended to the ailing Ivan, reacts to the death of his former master by acknowledging the inevitability of death.

What Does This Reveal About Ivan’s Character?

The reactions of his coworkers and family members reveals that Ivan had entrenched himself in the aristocratic lifestyle. Ivan like his colleagues was concerned about the etiquette and mannerisms of a person of his class and stature (Tolstoy, 2010). Ivan pursued the recognition and admiration that arose from his social class. Ivan and his wife were concerned with money and material possessions. Being an aristocrat, Ivan was involved in the material pursuits as befitting his social status.This is revealed in the way his wife seeks to get money from the government after her husband’s death. Ivan is materialistic and his purchases were meant to impress his colleagues and coworkers. Praskovya shows little compassion and grief after her husband’s death which is a revelation about the state of their marriage. Her actions reveal that Ivan and Praskovya had a difficult marriage (Tolstoy, 2010). As such, Ivan had little affection for his wife and their interactions were based on the fact they were married and status required them to stay together. It can also be inferred that Ivan had isolated and detached himself from his wife and family life.

The coworkers admit that they liked Ivan even though their reactions to his death show a lack of compassion and sympathy. It can be deduced that Ivan has a likable person and highly agreeable towards his friends (Tolstoy, 2010). The reactions of his coworkers at his unreal reveal that just like them, Ivan was minimally spiritual. Ivan and his colleagues gained more comfort from playing card games rather than from any spiritual pursuits. The reaction of his coworkers reveals that Ivan led a simple and unremarkable life. As a result of his simple life, the coworkers have little sympathy and sorrow after his death. Ivan pursued little humanly connection with other people especially his coworkers and close family members. As such, even after death, few people have genuine grief for the deceased Ivan (Tolstoy, 2010). The hollow reactions of his coworkers could also be a pointer to the pretentious nature of Ivan who had similar character traits as his aristocratic friends. Ivan’s colleagues display one emotion while experiencing a wholly different emotion inside.

What Was the “Moral Agony” That Ivan Suffered From?

Ivan had led an ordinary and unpleasant life, which lacked any spirituality. During his final days, the doctor noted that his moral agony was more dreadful when compared to his physical agony. Most of Ivan’s choices were geared towards keeping appearances that were conversant with his aristocratic lifestyle. His moral agony arose from the act that all through his life, Ivan was expected to follow a specific style of life as befitting his social class(Tolstoy, 2010). As such, Ivan could not lead his life as he would have wanted to because it would have affected his standing among colleagues. Most of the time, Ivan had personal intuitions that he had to subdue because the rest of his class would not approve of his differing actions. This inability to act upon his intuitions and principles was a source of painful moral agony to Ivan. Ivan comes to realize that following the expectations of the society was the reason why he was in his current dreadful state because he falls and becomes ill when setting curtains.

Ivan’s moral agony is partly due to the realization that most of his life was not real. He realizes that while he tried to fulfill conventional expectations, he failed to have a real and extraordinary life (Tolstoy, 2010). Ivan’s need to conform to the needs of society compels him to isolate himself from others. His lack of strong interpersonal connections with other people is a source of moral agony for Ivan. Ivan avoids most of the unpleasant situations he meets by detaching himself from the moments and avoiding them entirely. He detaches himself from reality and instead retreats to his work. He also plays card games as a way of injecting some joy into his life and forgetting the bad situations he encounters. Ivan fails to correct the situations he encounters which he later blames for his suffering. During his final days, his colleagues desert him and leave him and condemn him (Tolstoy, 2010). As his colleagues desert him, Ivan becomes desperate and depressed which increases his moral agony. The moral agony forces Ivan to realize that he should take responsibility for his actions.

Describing the Soul Search That Led to Ivan’s Salvation in His Final Moments

During his suffering, Ivan comes to recognize and embrace the inevitability of death. At first Ivan had tried to ignore and deny the certainty of death but his soul search makes his change his attitude. Unlike his previous problems and unpleasant situations, Ivan realizes that death is not something he can avoid or detach from his fate. Ivan realizes that with each passing moment, he was approaching the end of his life and that brought his great dread. Ivan explores his past and realizes that most of his life was a sham and deception, which only founded on the need to conform to the social conventions of his class (Tolstoy, 2010). Ivan explores his relations and realizes that the deception of the people he interacted with was one among many reasons for his suffering.

Ivan searches his soul for the fear of death that he had harbored for so long and realizes that it has departed him. Instead of fear, Ivan notices that instead of death there was a light. The soul search helps Ivan to gain a sense of spirituality. Ivan realizes that his physical suffering will help in the birth of his spiritual self. Ivan undertakes the soul search by exploring the moments in his life that were most pleasant (Tolstoy, 2010). Ivan realizes that as he deviated from his childhood, his life became meaningless and worthless. Ivan realizes that as he tried to keep appearances as an aristocrat, his life lost meaning. Connecting with his son during his final moments helps Ivan to realize the importance of interpersonal connections. Ivan also prays to God as he tries to gain understanding and to atone for the way he lived his life.

What Is the Real Thing?

As he nears his death, Ivan realizes that the way he led his life was not the real thing. By the real thing, Ivan was referring to a life where he did not have to conform to the conventions and norms of his aristocratic life. A real life would involve deviating from the vanity and pretenses of leading an upper class life (Tolstoy, 2010). As he nears his death, Ivan realizes that most of the relationships he pursued with his colleagues were false and exaggerated. Therefore, the real thing would involve avoiding such relationships and seeking connections that are more positive. The real thing will involve a high level of empathy and compassion for other people. Ivan realizes that he had weak connections with his family members and that he should have pursued stronger ties with his children.

The real thing is manifested in the way Gerasim leads his life. Gerasim has accepted that death is inevitable and therefore learns not to fear it. The real thing is shown in the way Gerasim embraces his connections with other people which is seen in the way he helps Ivan throughout his suffering. Gerasim pursues stronger connections and does not isolate himself the way Ivan does (Tolstoy, 2010). By nurturing connections with other people one gains great comfort in life and suffering. The real thing involves ignoring the superficial and pursuing a deeper understanding of life, death and what is expected of a person is relation with fellow humans. One needs to overcome the dictates of their social class and instead work towards a more fulfilling life.