The Death of Ivan Ilyich: The Importance of Family and Friendship

Imagine if you are in the end of your life and in the way of the life you realize you is alone, you don’t have anyone to help you walk on the way of the death quietly, you realize you don’t have a support for the rest of your life. Ivan Ilyich is a man who spends his whole day in the work and do not pay attention to his family and his is just thinking in the status of his society. But at home he suffer an accident and he is now facing the death without a support helping him. In the novella “The Death Of Ivan Ilyich” Leo Tolstoy talks about the death of a judge and when he is trying to change the curtains he fells of the ladder and suffers a really terrible accident. The job of Ivan Ilyich it’s a thing that needs it a lot, and that’s why he did not pay attention to his family, because he things the status to the society is more important than his family. To prove in the text says: “As his wife grew more irritable and exacting and Ivan Ilyich transferred the center of gravity of his life more and more to his official work, so did he grow to like his work better and became more ambitious than before.”.

Ivan Ilyich has a lot of friends, but a lot of them are false, because they was just thinking in the status of Ivan like Peter Ivanovich he was his closest friend, but when Ivan died he was just thinking on his place of the society, because he was with a bad relationship with his wife and when Ivan died Peter take the place of Ivan to his wife’s brother. In the text say: “’Now I must apply for my brother-in-law's transfer from Kaluga,’ thought Peter Ivanovich. ‘My wife will be very glad, and then she won't be able to say that I never do anything for her relations.’” And this quest of Ivan Ilyich's was crowned with remarkable and unexpected success. At Kursk an acquaintance of his, F. I. Ilyin, got into the first-class carriage, sat down beside Ivan Ilyich, and told him of a telegram just received by the governor of Kursk announcing that a change was about to take place in the ministry: Peter Ivanovich was to be superseded by Ivan Semonovich.” and “The proposed change, apart from its significance for Russia, had a special significance for Ivan Ilyich, because by bringing forward a new man, Peter Petrovich, and consequently his friend Zachar Ivanovich, it was highly favorable for Ivan Ilyich, since Sachar Ivanovich was a friend and colleague of his.”

Another friend of Ivan Ilyich was Gerasim, he was the best friend of Ivan Ilyich, because Gerasim wasn’t thinking on his status just what is Ivan personality, even though being an employee they got along very well until Ivan die, regardless of the status of each. In the text say :” 'It's God will. We shall all come to it some day,' said Gerasim, displaying his teeth — the even white teeth of a healthy peasant — and, like a man in the thick of urgent work, he briskly opened the front door, called the coachman, helped Peter Ivanovich into the sledge, and sprang back to the porch as if in readiness for what he had to do next.” “The last time he had called on Ivan Ilyich, Peter Ivanovich had seen Gerasim in the study. Ivan Ilyich had been particularly fond of him and he was performing the duty of a sick nurse.” and “Well, friend Gerasim, said Peter Ivanovich, so as to say something.'It's a sad affair, isn't it”.

And at least this friendship it lasted very little, because it was with Praskovya Fedorovna his wife, this friendship lasted very little because they didn’t have a very safely relation, but in the beginning they did a very hapefull relation but then Ivan discovered Praskovya was with him just because of his status. In the text say: “After living there for two years he met his future wife, Praskovya Fedorovna Mikhel, who was the most attractive, clever, and brilliant girl of the set in which he moved, and among other amusements and relaxations from his labors as examining magistrate, Ivan Ilyich established light and playful relations with her.” , “So at the end of an evening he sometimes danced with Praskovya Fedorovna, and it was chiefly during these dances that he captivated her. She fell in love with him. Ivan Ilyich had at first no definite intention of marrying, but when the girl fell in love with him he said to himself: 'Really, why shouldn't I marry?” and “'Praskovya Fedorovna came of a good family, was not bad looking, and had some little property. Ivan Ilyich might have aspired to a more brilliant match, but even this was good. He had his salary, and she, he hoped, would have an equal income. She was well connected, and was a sweet, pretty, and thoroughly correct young woman.”

We can infer that we need to be more upbeat with our family and with our friends, because when you will be in a sad moment you can be supported by them and is that what the text say to us, the text propagates that we need to maintain our relationships so that in the future we have support and that is why we should be friendly and social.