“The Death of Ivan Ilyich” begins with the revelation of the death of the aforementioned to a group of his coworkers at their place of work, to reactions that range from utter disbelief to a disconnected acceptance, as if some had expected it. Ivan's peers shuffle thoughts of work reassignments and potential promotions due to the man's death and even show a sense of gloomy annoyance at the interruption to their regularly scheduled card games. In this way, a recurring theme of selfishness and duty to social expectations is set in place. The story moves back in time to describe Ivan Ilyich's life from the time he attended law school, to his appointment as a court judge of high position, and death at the age of forty-five. Ivan was a hard working man, but came to dislike his family and family life due to marrying simply for the utility of such an arrangement with …show more content…
One day as he was preparing a newly acquired apartment for the arrival of his family, Ivan fell from a ladder while hanging curtains and bruised his side, which the gymnastic man thinks almost nothing of and soon heals. Some months later, he begins to feel an dull aching in his side where the bruise was and starts to experience an odd taste in his mouth, which friends and doctors could not explain. As the pain continues over time, Ivan consults many doctors, tries many treatments, even those of a more superstitious nature, in an effort to cure it. He worries more and more that it is his death growing inside of him, and finds no sympathy or solace from his wife, who regards his illness as one of his own making. Inevitably, Ivan grows more and more sickly, eventually becoming bedridden, and his illness, still a mystery to doctors, is the source of much frustration to his family, who show him almost no kindness in the