Order Number |
354565778 |
Type of Project |
ESSAY |
Writer Level |
PHD VERIFIED |
Format |
APA |
Academic Sources |
10 |
Page Count |
3-12 PAGES |
Discussion and Responses
How does Ivan fit the definition of a tragic hero? How does Tolstoy change our expectations of the tragic hero? Is this story a modern tragedy? Write a post to address these questions.
POST
Renee Wilburn Week 6COLLAPSEIvan fits the definition of a tragic hero because he was someone of noble status, a member of the Court of Justice. He had a fatal flaw which first started with him on a stepladder hanging drapes and then taking the wrong step to slip and bang his head against a window frame. This incident is seen as a ripple effect because Ivan experiences discomfort on his left side and an unusual taste in his mouth, and becomes irritable and quarrelsome.
He makes Paskovya, his wife’s life miserable, and she starts to hate him and wants to see him die. Tolstoy changes our expectations of a tragic hero because when I think of a tragic hero, I look back to our reading about Oedipus and think about how he was a tragic hero because of a curse put on him. In many ways, we see Oedipus’s situation is so different than Ivan’s. Ivan was a tragic hero because of how his life ended; however, in his eyes, he was doing everything he could career-wise and family-wise to be what everyone around him had expected his life to be. He finished school, married, had children, and grew old.
However, Ivan fought within himself because before his death that he traveled the opposite of his intended direction in his life. He had isolated himself from meaningful interaction and adopted society’s values of what his life should be, and in turn, his life lost its value.
This story can be seen as a modern tragedy because, in our personal lives, we too can become so caught up in our careers, schooling, etc., and forget about those that mean the most around us. We can become too concerned about having good grades or the next promotion in our jobs, and before we know it, we have neglected the ones around us that we love.
Gyasi Powell week 6 discussion COLLAPSE The definition of a tragic hero is a character that has heroic traits but have flaws or makes mistakes that lead to their own downfall. Ivan has a lot of difficulties and problems in his own personal life. Ivan felt like he did not live his life how he should have in the beginning.
At first Ivan emphasized material possessions and authority more than he did himself and his family. He was focused too much on power and that led to his downfall. Ivan overcame being self-centered and also the fear to become a hero by facing the facts of his life. It was kind of messed up because when he dies his friends and acquaintances were happy when they heard the news. He is a tragic hero because of his self-centeredness and his lust. Tolstoy changes our expectations by really showing more of a human’s side. Like a normal person when they are dying Ivan went to find help from a doctor. As he was dying, he was able to have true happiness because he started to balance his fake and real life together. This story is a Modern tragedy. Modern tragedies consist of regular individuals and their issues. Modern tragedies usually don’t integrate fate or divine influences, just like in this story..
Emily Annatone Week 6 DiscussionCOLLAPSE In the story, The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy, the main character, Ivan Ilyich is a tragic hero. Ivan fits the definition of a tragic hero because in fact has all the steps that define a tragic hero, according to the youtube video by Shane Kapela. The first step for a person to be a tragic hero is a noble status (2). Ivan was considered of noble status or of a higher class of society, a wealthy man. Secondly, Ivan had a fatal flaw.
Fatal, referring to something detrimental will happen to him, as well as a personal flaw (2). Ivan’s fatal flaw was that he was dying, definitely a fatal happening and he lives according to society’s expectations. Rather than Ivan relying on his own reasons and good senses to direct his life, he blindly adopts the beliefs and values of the noble society.
“It occurred to him that his scarcely perceptible attempts to struggle against what was considered good by the most highly placed people, those scarcely noticeable impulses which he had immediately suppressed, might have been the real thing, and all the rest false.” ( Tolstoy, XI).
Ivan’s third tragic characteristic is his downfall. His downfall is inevitably death, however, I feel his exact point of downfall that led to his death and despair was when he was on the step-ladder adjusting the curtain to his liking and slipped, hurting his side and bruising it on the knob of the window frame (1).
Then Ivan simply ignored and dismissed how much it hurt or the pain he had from it. Tolstoy suggests this is what ultimately leads to the illness that kills Ivan in the end. Finally, Ivan is only partially responsible when considering him as a tragic hero. His wife, Praskovya Fedorovna, didn’t help Ivan see a better side of life at all. She argued with him constantly and complained, making Ivan’s home life miserable.
Praskovya also enjoyed being wealthy versus divorce, despite the awful marriage they had together. Tolstoy displays Ivan as an antihero throughout the story until Ivan is faced with his own mortality in the end. A hero is not self-centered or a coward. Ivan overcomes this in the end by bravely confronting the realities of his life.
His death brought happiness and relief to his family and acquaintances. The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a modern tragedy. (1.) Tolstoy, Leo. The Death of Ivan Ilyich. The Classical Library, This HTML edition copyright ©?2001. http://www.classicallibrary.org/tolstoy/ivan/12.ht…(2.) Characteristics of the Tragic Hero by Shane Kapela.
Mohammed Alshehri Week 6 discussion 1COLLAPSEHow does Ivan fit the definition of a tragic hero? How does Tolstoy change our expectations of the tragic hero? Is this story a modern tragedy?A tragic hero in literature is a figure whose error in judgment or decision-making causes their downfall or destruction. The chosen text for this essay is Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich in 1886.
One may easily apply the definition of a tragic hero to the story of Ivan using this term from the videos this week. This is precisely because of the difficulties and problems he has in his personal and professional life. Ivan satisfies the criteria in several ways. He feels that he did not live his life as he should have in the first place.
Ivan Ilyich struggles before succumbing to death. Ivan’s suffering results from his own or others’ poor decisions, not because he is being punished for his crimes. Ivan initially emphasized material possessions and authority more than himself and his family. The result of his offense against his family is his anguish.
His efforts and focus on power led to his downfall. Although he maintained his attitude towards life until his death, he was “a capable, good-natured, and social man, though strict in the fulfillment of what he considered his duty: and he considered his duty to be what was so considered by those in authority” (Tolstoy 1088) Ivan didn’t die in a morally correct way. Death begins with suffering, and Ivan experiences a long journey that is a rejection of his own life. Ivan’s friends felt happy about the news of his passing.
It was a burden to attend Ivan’s dull funeral even though they were relieved they weren’t the ones who passed away. Ivan’s death brought happiness to his friends and acquittances. A modern tragic hero is a typical man willing to give his life to accomplish one goal. Ivan Ilych, the main character in Leo Tolstoy’s novel
The Death of Ivan Ilych, overcomes his self-centeredness and fear to become a hero by bravely facing the facts of his life. Ivan Ilych is a modern tragic hero because his lust for dominance and high social status makes him self-centered.