Question

What are the key similarities between Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream?

Answer 1

Tolstoy's novel and Munch's painting show the darkness hidden within everyday life. Ivan Ilych was a mediocre man until his sickness forces him to reckon with his mortality. His story shows that people go through life pretending that they will not die, and that knowledge of death can make all the petty distractions of life meaningless. In Munch's painting, the screaming figure can be read as experiencing a devastating realization. Perhaps he is just know admitting to himself that he will die. Both works show emotional challenges that humans face, though other options are also valid: one could argue that they show the artists’ struggle with the concept of the afterlife and, at the same time, that they are a celebration of human life and spirituality. Even though the story makes no promises regarding what will come after, Ivan Ilych gains a greater spiritual insight through his ordeal. Facing death both shows the limits and the possibilities of human life.