what was the reaction of ivan on seeing natal??
class 8th english
Answers
By placing Ivan's funeral in the first chapter, Tolstoy provides an intimate view of the social
milieu Ivan occupied, thereby rendering it susceptible to evaluation and critique. He also
establishes contrasting attitudes toward the unpleasant aspects of life, a principal theme in the
work. The shallow relationships and the artificial, self-interested behavior of Ivan's wife,
colleagues, and friends demonstrate the hypocrisy of his society, and serve to undercut the
values by which Ivan lived his life. The fact that Ivan's colleagues are more affected by the
professional position opened by his vacancy than by the death of their friend and co-worker is
as much an indication of their self-interest as it is of the misguided principles by which Ivan
lived. Similarly, Praskovya's indifference toward her husband's death highlights both Ivan's
inability to develop a loving relationship with his wife and her own shallowness and falsity.
In this way, Chapter I, in part, serves as an attack on the empty and valueless life of the
society of which Ivan was a part. The falseness of relations, the insincerity of interaction, and
the primacy of self-interest are satirized by Tolstoy, and revealed as inadequate and
ultimately unfulfilling.
Yet Chapter I also functions to establish contrasting attitudes toward death. Neither Peter, nor
Schwartz, nor Praskovya, nor Ivan's colleagues at work are willing to confront the prospect of
their own mortality. They avoid it, ignore it, and gene rally discount its effect on their
existence. Thus, the habit of disregarding the unpleasantness of life is a habit of Ivan's
society. The peasant servant Gerasim, on the other hand, is the only character that openly
acknowledges his own mortality. He confronts death and unpleasantness as inevitable aspects
of life. By pitting Gerasim's worldview against the worldview of the members of aristocratic
society, therefore, Tolstoy lays the groundwork for an exploration of one of the work's major
themes.
Some critics believe that The Death of Ivan Ilych is a work of moral fiction, that it is
designed primarily to provide moral instruction to its audience. Discuss this claim and
provide evidence from the text to support your opinion.
There is no doubt that a definite moral agenda drives Tolstoy's narrative. The Death of Ivan
Ilych is designed to make us question the way we have been living, and ultimately, to
conform our behavior to the model of right living presented in the n ovel. Although imparted
in the context of a story rather than in a logical argument, Tolstoy's beliefs come across no
less clearly. By describing the thoughts, desires, and goals of an average man of moderate
means, Tolstoy creates a composite sketch of u s all. In allowing us to identify with the life of
the protagonist, Tolstoy also links us emotionally to his suffering and agonizing death. If
Ivan's values and goals, not so dissimilar from our own, lead him to a bitter existential crisis
at the moment o f death, what will our beliefs do for us? We begin to wonder whether the
crass materialism and hypocritical relationships of Ivan's society, so mercilessly satirized by
Tolstoy, extend even to our own lives. Ivan's misery and unhappiness suddenly appe ar not so
far away. Yet through Gerasim's model and Ivan's death-knell epiphany, Tolstoy points us in
the direction of the light. The right life, the authentic life, is one of compassion and selfsacrificing love. It sees others not as means to ends, but as individual beings with unique
thoughts, feelings, and desires. The authentic life cultivates mutually affirming human
relationships that break down isolation and allow for true interpersonal contact. It fosters
strength through solidarity and comfo rt through empathy. It creates bonds and prepares us to
meet death. Gerasim is the only character that lives wholly and unambiguously the right way,
and it is not a coincidence that he is also the only character unafraid of death and personal
involvement. Just as Gerasim teaches Ivan the true meaning of life, so too, Gerasim acts as a
moral guide for us. By describing Ivan's incorrect life, consequent suffering, and ultimate
rebirth into a moral existence, Tolstoy succeeds in providing us with a roadmap to morality.
✦✧✦✧✦✧
✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧
Answer:
Explanation:
milieu Ivan occupied, thereby rendering it susceptible to evaluation and critique. He also
establishes contrasting attitudes toward the unpleasant aspects of life, a principal theme in the
work. The shallow relationships and the artificial, self-interested behavior of Ivan's wife,
colleagues, and friends demonstrate the hypocrisy of his society, and serve to undercut the
values by which Ivan lived his life. The fact that Ivan's colleagues are more affected by the
professional position opened by his vacancy than by the death of their friend and co-worker is
as much an indication of their self-interest as it is of the misguided principles by which Ivan
lived. Similarly, Praskovya's indifference toward her husband's death highlights both Ivan's
inability to develop a loving relationship with his wife and her own shallowness and falsity.
In this way, Chapter I, in part, serves as an attack on the empty and valueless life of the
society of which Ivan was a part. The falseness of relations, the insincerity of interaction, and
the primacy of self-interest are satirized by Tolstoy, and revealed as inadequate and
ultimately unfulfilling.
Yet Chapter I also functions to establish contrasting attitudes toward death. Neither Peter, nor
Schwartz, nor Praskovya, nor Ivan's colleagues at work are willing to confront the prospect of
their own mortality. They avoid it, ignore it, and gene rally discount its effect on their
existence. Thus, the habit of disregarding the unpleasantness of life is a habit of Ivan's
society. The peasant servant Gerasim, on the other hand, is the only character that openly
acknowledges his own mortality. He confronts death and unpleasantness as inevitable aspects
of life. By pitting Gerasim's worldview against the worldview of the members of aristocratic
society, therefore, Tolstoy lays the groundwork for an exploration of one of the work's major
themes.
Some critics believe that The Death of Ivan Ilych is a work of moral fiction, that it is
designed primarily to provide moral instruction to its audience. Discuss this claim and
provide evidence from the text to support your opinion.
There is no doubt that a definite moral agenda drives Tolstoy's narrative. The Death of Ivan
Ilych is designed to make us question the way we have been living, and ultimately, to
conform our behavior to the model of right living presented in the n ovel. Although imparted
in the context of a story rather than in a logical argument, Tolstoy's beliefs come across no
less clearly. By describing the thoughts, desires, and goals of an average man of moderate
means, Tolstoy creates a composite sketch of u s all. In allowing us to identify with the life of
the protagonist, Tolstoy also links us emotionally to his suffering and agonizing death. If
Ivan's values and goals, not so dissimilar from our own, lead him to a bitter existential crisis
at the moment o f death, what will our beliefs do for us? We begin to wonder whether the
crass materialism and hypocritical relationships of Ivan's society, so mercilessly satirized by
Tolstoy, extend even to our own lives. Ivan's misery and unhappiness suddenly appe ar not so
far away. Yet through Gerasim's model and Ivan's death-knell epiphany, Tolstoy points us in
the direction of the light. The right life, the authentic life, is one of compassion and selfsacrificing love. It sees others not as means to ends, but as individual beings with unique
thoughts, feelings, and desires. The authentic life cultivates mutually affirming human
relationships that break down isolation and allow for true interpersonal contact. It fosters
strength through solidarity and comfo rt through empathy. It creates bonds and prepares us to
meet death. Gerasim is the only character that lives wholly and unambiguously the right way,
and it is not a coincidence that he is also the only character unafraid of death and personal
involvement. Just as Gerasim teaches Ivan the true meaning of life, so too, Gerasim acts as a
moral guide for us. By describing Ivan's incorrect life, consequent suffering, and ultimate
rebirth into a moral existence, Tolstoy succeeds in providing us with a roadmap to morality.