Online assignment I: The Death of Ivan Ilyich--the cultural logic of life and death

Abdulmohsin bukhari

21204

In the world we live in, an individual is usually defined by many factors, one being their identity. In one
of its simplest forms, Identity can be seen as the values that we have when making a decision. These
values come from the different childhood experiences that a person had, the responsibilities that are
expected of them to fulfill, or even the profession that they follow. Apart from these elements, there are
other factors that play a key role in decisions that one makes. For instance, in most cases, it isn’t really
an “option” for the male figure to provide for the family whether he wants to or not. This is because in
society, there are certain expectations that one is expected to fulfill or they are looked at as “rebels”. It
can also be thought of that an individual is in a constant race with life trying to satisfy themselves and
everyone around them by completing their duties and excelling in their professions. One may even
describe it as a competition, where more money means winning. However, this does not define the
happiness level that the person lives. In the story “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”, many of these aspects are
seen throughout the story and the struggle than Ivan has with himself debating if he lived a happy life or
was sucked into society’s obligations and expectations throughout his life.

Another factor that an individual is judged on is the social class that they fall into. In the story, it
is seen that the characters can be categorized as the middle class, the class where greed, selfishness and
inauthenticity yet can be described as the “simple class”. The job that one has as well as the house they
live in can be factors that are of such importance here and this is seen throughout the story when Ivan is
constantly searching for a higher paying job, to satisfy his wife, and trying to prove to his colleagues that
he is capable of fulfilling the job, even when he is in a lot of pain. The main reason for this is because if
he shows any signs of weakness, in the eyes of society, he is somewhat failed. Throughout this story, the
struggle than Ivan has between accepting and denying his death and this is seen in the pain he feels. It
can be thought of that the pain comes from the different types of suffering he faced in his life; the idea
of IT. At one point, Ivan is thinking and questioning his family members and friends because he feels that
he is isolated from them even though he spent all of his life doing things to seek their approval. This is
seen multiple times when Ivan expresses pain every time his wife is around him. To Ivan, his sickness
meant that he no longer could complete these roles and live up to the standards society has and of
being a “worthy man”. Ivan’s family members see his sickness as a burden in their life, creating them
unhappiness. Instead of taking care of his needs, his wife, Praskovya, lets the servants and doctors do
this while she continues to live her life. Ivan sees this and at first begins to resent them for doing this but
later on realizes that he is only upset because he is sick and they aren’t. The importance of the servant
Gerasim in this novel shows that having a simple life where society and culture expectations could make
you a happier and more honest person and to some extent throughout the story we see that Ivan feels
some sort of comfort being around Gerasim, even though he doesn’t fit “society’s standards”.

The Death of Ivan Ilyrich was an example of a story that shows how an individual’s life is shaped by
culture, society, and other people’s opinions and pushes them towards making decisions that they
thought they made. Ivan’s character is an example of how the expectations that culture gives you,
whether you choose to accept them or not, are somewhat of a burden and could result in an unhappy
life. However, in my opinion, I think that these expectations and obligations are needed to be there in
order to allow for development, organization and growth within societies and cultures. The sociocultural
factors that we live through in society are important because when different habits, traditions and
beliefs are understood, they allow for order to be present. However, when these factors become more
important to achieve than ones happiness, they become somewhat problematic. For this reason it is
important that they are altered and adjusted so that both happiness and structure can happen.