Question

A theme is one of the central ideas of a story, which the author portrays through the setting, action, and the characters. One theme in the novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich is duty. Tolstoy describes Ivan Ilyich as a man "strict to carry out whatever he considered his duty, and he considered his duty all things that were so designated by people in authority." How does Tolstoy convey the negative aspects of Ivan Ilyich’s attachment to duty? How might Ivan Ilyich’s sense of duty be impacting his health?

Answer 1

The excerpt from Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Ivan Ilyich use the Caius allusion to deal with his impending death when Ivan Ilyich regrets his wasted life and longs for the love of family and friends he has lost in the past. Ivan does not genuinely value friendship or family, for him, it is of mutual benefit. His lifestyle and the way his attitude is forming his life were incapable of facing the end of their life as the regrets are piling up because they do not understand the value of life and the meaning that it gives.

Answer 2

Duty, in a way, contributed to the shallowness and failure of Ivan's life. Not because duty in itself is bad, but because it has become Ivan's only preoccupation, apart from pleasant life. Tolstoy's negative view of duty is seen in the second half of this sentence: "he considered his duty all things that were so designated by people in authority". So, we are talking about duty as Ivan sees it, and Ivan sees it as it was designated by people in authority. That means, Ivan structures his life and his priorities according to the view of those above him. His only ambition is to try and climb the social ladder. When he fails to do it, he is disappointed and has to find another obsession - of course, materialistic one. And that is the decoration of his new house. That's when he falls down and injures himself - so, indirectly, his materialism has cost him his health and, ultimately, his life.