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The Death Of Ivan Ilyich Reflection

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Reflection: The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a story about a judge who is suffering from a terminal illness. As he contemplates his life from his successful judicial career to his failing marriage, Ilyich questions his existence and how he spent his time on Earth. In the midst of the pain and anguish, Ivan has come to realise that despite the fact that he has thrived throughout the years, there is no true meaning that justifies his life. Eventually, Ivan eventually comes to term with his fate and tries to make peace with his family on his final hours as he succumbs to his death. Although Ilyich had lived a life that he regretted, he died a happy man. The story presents an outlook on life and existence. These two terms may be synonymous with each other as they both justify man’s physical presence in this world. However, although life and existence are interconnected in that sense, there is a distinction and a difference between the two. To exist is to merely be a part of this world as whatever being or object one is throughout its lifespan. Whether living or non-living, human or animal, anything that is present in this universe exists. On the other hand, to live is to be an organism with a purpose to live. In the case of human beings, to live is to have an essence that gives them a purpose that propagates one to act in a certain way. In other words, it is one thing to be present as a living human being however, if a person does not live

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