According to the German philosopher Karl Heinrich Marx, “In bourgeois society, capital is independent and possesses individuality, while the living person is dependent and has no individuality.” Marx defended this idea in Chapter 2 of his Communist Manifesto, which is a critique of bourgeois society, much like Leo Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich." The main theme of this book is the purpose of life, and Tolstoy uses Ivan Ilyich to personify the bourgeoisie and criticize their way of life. Furthermore, the book is linked to the criticisms made by the manifesto at different points in history. In the book, point of view is an essential tool allowing readers to understand society in terms of bourgeois versus proletarian values, and allowing Tolstoy to intensify his critique in depth. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay In the first few chapters, the story is told from Peter Ivanovich's point of view, which is essential for readers to understand the superficiality of friendship in bourgeois society, because Tolstoy presents the character as false from the beginning, because it is clear that he thinks something, but says something else: "'Now I must request the transfer of my step- brother of Kaluga", thought Pierre. Ivanovich. “My wife will be very happy, and then she won't be able to say that I never do anything for her loved ones. “I thought he would never leave his bed again,” Pyotr Ivanovich said aloud. 'It's very sad.' " The story continues and, after Peter told his wife about the death of his friend, he had to "sacrifice" his nap to go to Ivan's house: "Peter Ivanovich sacrificed his usual nap, put on his evening clothes and drove to Ivan Ilyich's house. » In this excerpt, we see that Ivan is more worried about sacrificing his nap than about the death of his friend. Later, while talking with Ivan's wife, he learns how Ivan suffered during his last days: “Oh, terribly! He screamed non-stop, not for minutes but for hours. For three days he has been screaming non-stop. It was unbearable. I don't understand how I put up with it; you could hear it three rooms away. Oh, how I suffered! " This excerpt from this conversation shows how superficial bourgeois society was, since even Ivan's wife does not care about him, since she only cares about her own suffering and boredom while Ivan screamed of pain Therefore, we can conclude that the point of view used by Tolstoy in the first chapters was essential to begin to develop a critique of bourgeois society and its superficiality. Secondly, we will examine the point of view of Ivan Ilyich. in chapters 5 to 8. During chapter 5, Ivan finally realizes that he is dying and that everyone has lied to him: "'It's not a question of the appendix or the kidney, but of life and... of death. Yes, life was there and now it continues and I can't stop it. Yes. Why isn't it obvious to everyone except me? am dying, and it's only a matter of weeks, days... it could happen then. There was light and now there is darkness. I was here and now I'm going! Or?' A shiver came over him, his breathing stopped and he only felt the beating of his heart. This excerpt describes how he begins to think about falsehood, and when he complains to Praskovia that he feels worse and she talks about the specialist, he begins to hate her for being so false to him: "While 'Shekissed her, he hated from the bottom of his soul and he restrained himself with difficulty from pushing her away. Then Ivan talks to Gerasim and he tells him the truth, that he is dying and that everyone dies, one day or another. Ivan Ilyich now feels positive about Gerasim and feels even more angry about the falsity of his life: “And in Gerasim's attitude towards him there was something resembling what he wished for, and so this attitude comforted him. Ivan Ilyich wanted to cry, wanted to be caressed and cried, then his colleague Shebek came, and instead of crying and being caressed, Ivan Ilyich took on a serious, severe and deep look and, out of habit, expressed his opinion on a decision of the Court of Cassation and will stubbornly insist on this point of view. This falsity around him and in him did more than anything else to poison his last days. Therefore, in these chapters, Tolstoy constructs Ivan's change and recognition through his own point of view. Tolstoy treats it as a process and using Ivan's perspective on despair, hatred and love is essential for the reader to understand Ivan's progress in this process and understand the criticism Tolstoy is trying to make. chapters, when Ivan is closer than ever to death, the story is still told through his point of view, but unlike before, his point of view is now used to represent his change and his recognition of the superficiality of his life , and then he could face death, accept death, and die in peace. Gerasim, who represents the proletariat, is the foil to Ivan Ilyich, because he has an authentic and determined life, and he is honest and emphatic. Later in the story, Ivan realizes that Gerasim is an example and that his whole life has been false: "His mental suffering was due to the fact that that night he looked at Gerasim's sleeping, good-natured face with her high cheekbones. , the question suddenly came to his mind: 'What if my whole life had been wrong?'." After that, Ivan begins to think about life. He thinks of his son kissing his hand and feels sorry for him, who was a good child, but he also feels sorry for Praskovya, because she does not know what it was like to live an authentic life. He begins to think about doing the right thing, and he also begins to accept his mistakes, as we can see in: "At that very moment Ivan Ilyich fell down and saw the light, and it was revealed to him that, although his life had not been what it should have been, that could still be rectified. He asks himself: “What is the right thing? » and stood still, listening. Then he felt someone kiss his hand. He opened his eyes, looked at his son and felt sorry for him. His wife came closer to him and he looked at her. She looked at him open-mouthed, with undried tears on her nose and cheek and a look of despair on her face. He felt sorry for her too. When Ivan finally accepted his death, the pain became non-existent and he could now die: “For those present, his agony lasted another two hours. Something rasped in his throat, his emaciated body tensed, then the gasps and groans became less and less frequent. 'It's over! " said someone near him. He heard these words and repeated them in his soul. “Death is over,” he said to himself. “It is no longer the case!” He took a breath, stopped in the middle with a sigh, lay down and died. " Tolstoy uses Ivan's point of view in these chapters, especially in the last one, to show how he changes and how he finally accepts death: he forgives, he loves. Keep in mind: this is only a sample Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a trial..