1.
Collectively come up with a brief 1 or 2 paragraph summary.
2.
Write a 1 or 2 paragraph overall reaction to the story.
3.
Comment on the following passages:
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p. 38 death as a third person, the screens
"It came
up and stood right in front of him, and looked at him, and he froze,
the light died out of his eyes, and once more he started asking himself,
'Surely it can't be the only truth?' . . . . And what was worst of all was that it drew his attention to itself, not for him to do something different, but only for him to look it straight in the eyes, look at it and, having nothing else to do, suffer unspeakably" (p. 38 section 6).
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p. 42 propriety, how people behave (then, now, etc.)
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p. 43 wanting to be cuddled, touched, treated as human
"
.... he wanted someone to pity him as a sick child is pitied. He
wanted them to stroke him, kiss him, cry a little over him, as children
are cuddled and consoled" (p. 43, section 7)
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p. 45-7 lies, not talking directly about the dying except to the servant,
Gerasim (more on p. 50)
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p. 50-2 pain, abandonment, life review, the failure of propriety
There
are also some discussion questions on p. 117. Discuss 3, 4, 5, & 6
The story begins at Ivan's funeral. We learn about his childhood, Ivan meeting his wife, boring but good enough to marry, however turns good until she gets pregnant. Ivan is turned down for a promotion, moves to St Petersburg, finds a great job and seems his life is turning around, all whilst he seems no one cares. People jet go on living despite his trials. Ivan find himself in the perfect house and becomes enthralled with decorating it, relishes in his neat and orderly house, proud of his work and social life. In the midst of all this decoration he falls on a ladder, hits his side.Ivan's mood begins to change and becomes irritable and bothered from the pain. He goes to several doctors, tries everything to cure himself. This pain and unconfirmed diagnosis of what exactly has occurred to change his life so drastically. People at work wonder when he will leave his job, His wife blames hime for to following Dr's orders. Ivan becomes afraid and alone, Miserable when he takes days off, alone, afraid, in pain and having to deal with his wife. He once again returns to his doctor who tells him basically it;s his appendix and it will reabsorb and he will be fine. Ivan eventually realizes he will die and panics. He begins to try to distract himself with small home jobs, Gerasim, who Ivan begins to find comfort and solace in his presence. He finds Gerasim genuine and compassionate. Ivan begins to examine his life, questions God, wonders what he did wrong to have this happen and wished to live without suffering. Ivan eventually deteriorates to a state that he cannot speak although he does feel compassion for an instant right before death where he says sorry and asks for forgiveness from his wife and son. Instantly he is no longer lets his pain bother him, his fear of death is gone and he is overcome with joy. He is gone as his body deteriorates further until it is dead.
ReplyDelete1.
Ivan was beginning to realize his mortality. That he was not going to recover and that death was imminent. He became angry at death, at his situation and why it was happening to him, after all he had led a relatively normal life.
2.
Ivan believed his life was normal. He achieved relative success, social status. He felt that he was living what was socially normal. It's really not that much different in todays modernity.
3.
Ivan was angry that his wife blamed him for his deterioration by not doing what the Dr ordered. He became enraged at her touch, her kisses. People kept on about their daily lives while he suffered which at a few points enraged him.
4.
ALthogh no one spoke directly to Ivan about his suffering he found solace in Gerasim, Genuine compassion.
5.
Ivan's pain took hold of hime, physically and emotionally. He felt him conventional living should have kept him from such suffering.
My reaction to the story is that it is very relevant today. "The worst things happen to good people" is the quote that comes to mind. Ivan seemed a normal working guy who provided for his family, wanted to succeed and have an enjoyable social life. His life changing fall turned his world upside down which made him more aware of the people around him, the way his colleges responded to him and the lack of empathy surrounding his illness. The work went on without him. After time he found solace in death. This still exists today, people avoiding death, speaking of suffering as it's a taboo subject. It's a shame and I really felt for Ivan. I too found comfort in his eventual passing.
1. The story begins at Ivan’s funeral. From there we learn about his childhood, meeting his wife and the life they had together, the ups and downs of his employment and their marriage. Ivan eventually gets a new job and purchases a new home. While decorating the new home he falls and hits his side against the handle of a window while showing the decorator just how he wanted the curtains to be draped. Eventually the mild discomfort began to increase for Ivan and it was like a permanent heaviness in his side and a poor state of mind, which began to spoil the positive outlook in the household. He went to a few doctors looking for answers to what was wrong with him, and was told to take some medicine. He continues to consult doctors, and his wife blames him for not following the Doctor’s orders with medication. People would talk about him behind his back, and he felt that everyone was lying to him. He was certain that he was dying but that others felt it was an illness and that he would get better. But eventually it got to the point that their only interest would be how quickly he would vacate this life, free those who have been living with constraints, and free him from further suffering. Gerasim began spending more time with him, cleaning up after him and sitting with him to ease his pain. One night he requests to be alone and sends everyone away, here he examines his life and what it is that he is being punished for, and wants to live without suffering. A few weeks pass where his state deteriorates immensely and in the final three days he is in excruciating pain. His fear of death seems to disappear and he sees joy, and shortly after he dies.
ReplyDelete2. I found the story very interesting, and definitely made me think about others who are or could have been in Ivan’s situation, as well as the families and friends involved. I began to feel really sorry for Ivan and the way his wife and kids treat him, and you think that people can be so heartless or selfish. You begin to feel for him and wonder how long it is that he will suffer before he passes, and like a lot of people probably wish that it would have just happened instantly and did not drag on for a long time. As I would read, and start a new section and it would say “another two weeks passed” or “two weeks passed this way,” I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer it would be before he would pass and wouldn’t have to suffer no more. The story definitely shows what life can be like for those with severe illnesses, and that these types of situations happen today in our own world. The fear of death people have and the avoidance of it by trying not to speak of it, as if it will not happen. When Ivan’s death came, I felt ease and comfort knowing that he was finally freed of suffering.
The story of Ivan Ilyich's death begins when some of his colleagues are informed of his death. When they learn of the death they say things such as 'what a shame' but none are truly saddened by the news just more or less glad it wasn't them that died. This leads into one of Ilyich's closer friends, Piotr Ivanovich, visiting his home after his death. The funeral is attended by Ivan's family and a few friends. After the funeral Ilyich's wife pulls Ivanovich aside and inquires as to how to get more money from Ilyich's death. Ivanovich is surprised by how most people around him are simply carrying on even after this death, but Ivanovich eventually does this himself. The story then moves into when Ilyich was still alive. We learn about his childhood and how he was a promising young boy, a midway between his brothers. He was setup for a good life working in government jobs. After he married he realized his life had become dreary and depressing so he poured all he had into his work. Therefore, when he was passed over for a promotion multiple times he decided to make a change and moved with his family to the country until he received an even higher paying offer in Petersburg. While preparing a home for his family here he fell on his side and this pain would plague him for the remainder of his life. His mouth soon developed a frequent bad taste and the pain in his side increased. His wife made the situation even worse by not caring and believing he was doing all of this by himself. This just made the hatred for his wife grow. Ilyich soon became so sick he could not move from his bed and he constantly battled with his soul as to whether he wanted to embrace death or not. When he was feeling no pain he wanted to live and enjoy his life but when he felt the pain he wanted to go towards death. Ilyich thought of the metaphor that he was being pushed into a dark bag but something kept holding him back from fully entering it. In the end when he finally enters the dark bag he realizes his life was not lived how it was meant to be but it can still be fixed. He finally embraces death and feels sorry for his family around him.
ReplyDeleteI believe this story had a lot of meaning behind every scene. The beginning recounting how the people were saddened by Ilyich's death but more glad it was not them is relatable to how some tale death in society today. I believe Ilyich's thoughts about wanting to die at some points and stay alive at others is very true for many at the ends of their lives. The thought of death is likely comforting for many who are in pain or unable to live the lives they want but at other times when they are feeling more normal the thought of death is likely scary. They story is a good insight to the internal struggle that most people at the end of their lives have. The end of the story when Ilyich's finally succumbs to death is actually comforting because he no longer has pain and because of what he sees in the light he feels sorry for everyone around him who still remains on earth.