The Death of Ivan Ilyich Questions and Answers
by Leo Tolstoy

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Henri Troyat said that through the story of Ivan llych, we imagine what our own deaths will be. Is it possible to identify with an aging, selfish, worldly, nineteenth-century Russian judge?
  To an extent, identifying across lines of difference is a crucial part of how we read literature. It is reasonable to suggest that the story of Ivan Ilyich would prompt readers to imagine what...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Gerasim provides comfort to Ivan Ilyich in more than one way in The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Explain about two ways Gerasim cares for Ivan Ilyich.
  Ivan Ilyich had gone through the paces of living but never stopped to contemplate the reasons that he steadily conformed to all of society’s expectations. One of those expectations was that, as a...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Why does the narrator of The Death of Ivan Lynch say that Ivan's life is "terrible"? What's so terrible about it?
  In The Death of Ivan Lynch, Tolstoy writes that Ivan Lynch’s life “had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible.” (Tolstoy 47). Here, Tolstoy is saying that Ivan lived a banal...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," why did Ivan conclude his life ''was not the real thing''?
  As Ivan Ilyich moves closer and closer towards his death, he begins to realise more about his life and the way that he has lived it. His concluding realisation, that his life was not "the real...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  How does the following line from Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich contribute to the plot at the end of the novella? "Death is finished, he said to himself. It is no more!"
  Obviously, Ivan is not claiming he will not physically die. This quote refers to his spiritual regeneration, which only came through the process of death waking him up from the emptiness of his...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What does Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich suggest about how Peter Ivanovich reacts in emotional situations?
  Despite knowing Ivan Illyich for his entire life, Peter shows little or no emotion at his rapidly deteriorating condition. As his old acquaintance prepares to meet his maker, all that Peter can...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is the function of marriage as revealed in the story "The Death of Ivan Ilyich"?
  In this tremendous story we are presented with a man who follows his life trying to do what he feels is expected of him by society. Ivan Ilyich only establishes "light and playful relations" with...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Why does Tolstoy begin with Ivan's death?
  This is an intriguing question, and one that is not easy to try to answer. Tolstoy was one of the world's very greatest writers. He wrote with that "high seriousness," which the English critic...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In "The Death of Ivan Ilych," how does Ivan come to achieve redemption in spite of his meaningless life?
  It is clear that what allows Ivan Illyich to achieve redemption, if indeed redemption is what he achieves, is a recognition of how he has wasted his life by focusing on the material alone. His...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Why did Ivan stop screaming?  
  Ivan's course to death is a long and tedious one. In his last three days he screams day and night. It began as the words "I won't!" and became fixed on the "O." In Chapter 11, Ivan realizes that...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What theme is portrayed in Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan llyich?
  There are a number of themes, but the overriding one is mortality. Tolstoy believes that we can only truly lead meaningful lives if we gain a deep, spiritual understanding of that mortality which...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Why does it take so long for Ivan’s family to come to terms with the fact that he is dying?
  The reason has to do with the way that the family interacts with each other and how they are not emotional. They are distant and formal with each other. This is how Ivan Ilych has lived all his...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Why does Tolstoy use the full names of the characters throughout the entire novel "The Death of Ivan Ilych"?
  The main character Ivan Ilych is obsessed with propriety and formality. As a way of expressing this formality, the author uses the full names of the characters. This style prohibits the reader...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What are the similarities between "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" and The Metamorphosis? As we know there are similarities between "Ivan" and "Gregor", "Gerasim" and "Grete"
  These two stories are similar in terms of theme, main character, and, not least importantly, tone. The Metamorphosis begins with a fantasy event – the changing of a man into a giant bug - while The...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is the role of Gerasim, the servant boy, in "The Death of Ivan Ilyich"?
  Gerasim is able to connect with his master precisely because of his simple peasant background and the way that he honestly accepts death as part of the process of life. Note what he says in the...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is the greatest sin according to Tolstoy in his novel The Death of Ivan Ilyich? What is his notion of selfhood? Contrast with Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice if possible.  
  In the later stages of his life and career, Tolstoy devoted himself to a form of Christian rationalism which was both a rejection of some of the attitudes expressed in his earlier work, for which...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," how was the servant Gerasim a friend to Ivan?  
  It is important to realise what Gerasim represents and how his character contrasts dramatically with Ivan's wife and family and their response to his death. Gerasim is a Russian peasant whom...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  How important is time in the novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich?
  In Leo Tolstoy's novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, time can be very important for some readers, while others may not deem it important at all. In the opening of the novella, Ivan's coworkers are...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Describe the character development of Ivan Ilych.
  Ivan a judge in the high court with a child and a wife is found to be living a good and simple life, or so he thought. He begins to feel sick and finds out that he is terminal. It is at this point...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What does Tolstoy have to say about the attractions of materialism in The Death of Ivan Ilyich? 
  In The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy is suggesting that the attractions of materialism can preclude a more worthwhile understanding of life's purpose. Materialism is what prevents Ivan Iylich from...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is the moral of "The Death of Ivan Ilyich"?
  As the title of this poignant story suggests, death is a major preoccupation of this tale and Tolstoy uses it to explore his own feelings of death and how a man can die well and be at peace with...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is the importance of the setting, tone, symbol, and the message of the writer?
  The setting is late nineteenth century in Petersburg and the surrounding Russian provinces and cities, and the novel is told from the point of view of the omniscient narrator, although action...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Sum up the reactions of Ivan Ilyich's colleagues to the news of his death. What is implied in Tolstoy’s calling them ”so-called friends”?
  Ivan Ilyich's associates are described as "so-called friends" because they apparently do not feel genuinely close to the man while he was alive, and even after he has died, they all seem to regard...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is life like in 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich'?
  The life of nearly all the characters in this story is shown to be a superficial round of social duties and routines. This kind of life appears stultifying and emotionally stunted. Yet none of...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  According to Tolstoy, what is terrible about a simple and ordinary life in the novel The Death of Ivan Ilyich?
  Chapter 2 of the novel The Death of Ivan Ilych opens with one of the most famously-quoted phrases in Russian literature Ivan Ilych's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  How are the following quotes from The Death of Ivan Ilyich meant in a religious way: "It is finished," said someone near him. "Death is finished," he said to himself. "It is no more."
  I believe that these words are a reference to Christ's final words on the cross (you can read about Tolstoy's struggle with faith here on eNotes to see how this is part of his theme of death in...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  How could one write a critical essay on Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich?
  In writing an essay on Tolstoy's novella, I would suggest focusing on the following themes: I would first try to place The Death of Ivan Ilyich in the context of what you can learn about Tolstoy's...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In the book "The Death of Ivan Ilych," what is Tolstoy's attitude towards growth in conciousness?
  Growth through consciousness is extremely important in this book. A prime example is Ilyich himself. He has much time to reflect on his life when he falls terminally ill and he realizes in the...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In "Death of Ivan Ilych" by Tolstoy, what is wrong with Ivan Ilych's marriage?
  In Tolstoy's great classic "The Death of Ivan Ilych," one of the things that Ivan reconciles at the end of his life is the way he has participated, or not participated, in his marriage. The...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is Tolstoy's story "The Death of Ivan Illych"?
  Leo Tolstoy's story "The Death of Ivan Illyich" (1886) is generally considered one of the best Russian stories ever written and one of the world's greatest short stories. It deals mainly with the...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Compare and contrast The Death of Ivan Ilyich and To Build a Fire.
  In both Leo Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" and Jack London's "To Build a Fire," the protagonists fear death and resist giving in to death until the last moment. Then they both discover that...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  According to The Death of Ivan Ilyich, why is it important to acknowledge one's own mortality?
  I think the easiest way to answer this excellent question is through an analysis of the final section of this tremendous short story. Throughout the majority of this tale, Ilyich shows that he is...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Chapter 2 starts off saying that Ivan's life was the most simplest, the most ordinary, and the most awful. Why is a simple life awful?
  "The second part of ‘‘The Death of Ivan Ilych’’ describes the life of Ivan Ilych while he was healthy. It can be summed up in the opening line, which states, ‘‘Ivan Ilych’s life had been most...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is the role of love and compassion at the end of the "The Death of Ivan Ilyich"?
  The life of Ivan Ilyich is one that is dominated by vanity and pride. Note how he is so desirous of having the perfect house that he takes such interest in, even though the narrator tells us it is...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is Ivan’s attitude toward religion in "The Death of Ivan Illyich"?
  Religion seems to play little role in the life of Ivan Illyich. It is clear that he believes in God or some sort of higher existence, and yet he only really confronts God when it is clear that he...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, what statements made and actions taken by different characters serve to illustrate the type of behaviors and thinking that Tolstoy found so empty and meaningless? 
  Virtually none of the characters in Leo Tolstoy's novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich demonstrate the things Tolstoy valued, such as living rightly and treating people with respect and honor. Instead,...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What elements of the story "The Death of Ivan llyich"are unrealistic?  Why?
  This story is usually hailed as a masterpiece of psychological and social realism; in its portrayal of the last few weeks of a dying man's life, it mercilessly exposes the uncaring attitude of...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," what comical elements do you find in the account of the wake that Peter Ivanovich attends?
  The wake is described from the point of view of the character called Peter Ivanovich, who was a friend and colleague of Ivan Ilyich. The only comical elements are concerned with Peter Ivanovich's...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  Discuss the evidence that Ilych's death is a moral judgment that it is a punishment for his life in "The Death of Ivan Ilych."
  Ilych's thought process and his descent into memory are the best evidence for the moral judgement being placed on his life. As he weakens, Ilych longs for the happy life that he once lived. But...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In The Death of Ivan Ilyich and The Master Builder, authors narrate and describe desires, fears, anxieties, and hostilities that influence specific characters' attitudes toward themselves and others. Which writer's aesthetic technique is more...
  The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Russian: Смерть Ивана Ильича) is an 1886 novel written by famed Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. It almost seems that the story is a biographical tale of sorts, of one...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What does the death of Ivan Ilyich teach us about happiness?
  For one thing, it teaches us that happiness isn't what we often think it to be. Many of us tend to seek happiness in wealth and material goods; that's the kind of life that Ivan Ilyich has led. But...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In The Death of Ivan Ilych, would you call Ivan somewhat of a religious man? Sum up his goals in life, his attitude, and his values. How do they change in the story?
  No, Ivan is not a religious man, but upon his death he has an epiphany which transforms him. He lived a normal life, trying to follow the middle-class expectations of success.  He...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," what is implied by Tolstoy's narrator calling those around Ivan, not friends, but "nearest acquaintances?"
  Leo Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" is a story which describes the life and death of Ivan Ilyich. In part one of the text, Ivan's coworkers are told of his death. While many are surprised that...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is the moral of The Death of Ivan Ilyich?
  The message of The Death of Ivan Ilyich is simple. Ilyich was living the wrong life when he was thinking about his own selfish ego, and he was living the right life when he began thinking about...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is the exposition, complication (rising action), climax, anti-climax, and denouement of The Death of Ivan Ilyich?
  Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Illych follows the following plot outline: Exposition: We see Ivan's life as "climbing a ladder." He's a "cog in a machine," a good member of a Czarist Russian...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In what ways is Tolstoy commenting on society?
  Ivan Ilyich's family, his work associates, and his doctor all show a kind of indifference to his illness and death. Significantly, however, they are not "bad" people. Tolstoy stresses that Ivan...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is the rising action, climax, and falling action of the novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy?
  There are very many instances of rising action in Tolstoy's story. The most important aspect of rising action is that that come just before the climax. Prior to that part of the story, Ilyich,...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  From the short story, "The death of Ivan Ilych," what is your interpretations in the end of the novella?
  Leo Tolstoy had a major religious conversion after writing Anna Karenina, and The Death of Ivan Ilych is his most famous after-conversion work. He converted to a kind of Buddhist, secularist...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  In "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," what is implied in Tolstoy's calling the colleagues not friends, but "nearest acquaintances"?
  There is a certain irony in this use of the phrase "nearest acquaintances," as actually, the news of the death of their colleague does not produce grief, as we might expect it to, but rather much...

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• The Death of Ivan Ilyich
  What is implied by Tolstoy's calling them not friends, but "nearest acquaintances"?
  In "The Death of Ivan Ilyich," prior to being sick and near-death, Ivan had only acquaintances, not friends. Acquaintances are formal, but friends are intimate. Acquaintances are bothered by...

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