The Death of Ivan Ilych Essay Example for Free

The Death of Ivan Ilych Essay During Ilych’s appointment with the first doctor he consulted about his condition, he noticed that the doctor was a man who considered himself an expert in his turf and who looked down on everybody else as people who knew a lot less and whose lives would be affected by his own choice of moves, acts or decisions. In the role of the patient whose ailment was yet to be specifically identified, Ilych noticed that the doctor he visited – and those he subsequently went to, as well – personified the public official that he was. Having been serving as the examining magistrate of the town, Ilych was undoubtedly powerful and influential. He could summon any man, whatever his station was – rich or poor, educated or ignorant, successful or otherwise – to the court, and he could do with them whatever he wanted to do by the decisions that only he could make. He reveled in the control he wielded; he figured out complicated cases and readily saw them as simple knots, and he concluded countless of cases without emotion and using only objectivity, logic and his authority. The outcome of some cases destroyed lives, turned victims’ worlds upside down, ended professional careers, broke families, shut down businesses and shattered dreams of many people. Through it all, Ilych was the detached magistrate who could not care less what happened to any of the many participants in the cases he officiated. He was puffed up, callous and undeniably proud. The same arrogance could be found in most other characters in the story; Ilych’s colleagues saw nothing in his death but a definite signal of changes in the make-up of their elite circle. They were more concerned with what Ilych’s demise would mean to their respective posts. The same selfishness was demonstrated mostly by everyone. Even Ilych’s wife could not disguise her greed for what she would be entitled to as a widow. On the whole, the story is a sad depiction of how meaningless life can be when lived for the wrong reasons, purposes and goals. The happy bit of a part is brought about by knowing that before he finally drew his last breath, Ilych shook himself free of such wrong values and beliefs – he found out that love and concern for others are the things that genuinely lead a person to find happiness. Works Cited Tolstoy, Leo. The Death of Ivan Ilych. Kila, Montana: Kessinger Publishing, 2004.