As physicist Albert Einstein said, “A quiet, modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success linked to constant agitation. » Einstein meant by this that to live well, we must preserve and value the simple things in life; which is the main theme of the book “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”. This book explores the theme of living happily with criticism of the bourgeoisie and its false values ​​by comparing this social group to falsity, superficiality, artificiality and hypocrisy. SO; the main theme of the text is reflection on living a good and happy life. This critique of bourgeois society aims to show readers Leo Tolstoy's main intention, which was to show them how to live a happy and balanced life based on the description of Ivan's; so we can use the example of his miserable life, based on status, wealth and lies, to avoid making the same mistakes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The protagonist, Ivan Ilyich, has based his relationships throughout his life on interest; and the biggest example of this is his marriage to Praskovia Fedorovna, and this is one of the main reasons why Ilyich's life was miserable and this is one of the teachings given by Tolstoy to live a happy life. What first caused their conflict was the fact that their relationship was based on the pleasure of society, they did not like each other. The reasons for the breakdown of the marriage are explicit in the excerpt: "To say that Ivan Ilyich got married because he fell in love with Praskovya Fedorovna and discovered that she sympathized with his outlook on life would also be incorrect to say that he married because of his social connections. circle approved the match. The start of their life together was pleasant, but because Tolstoy intended to show that relationships based on status and interests do not work, their marriage became exhausted at some point. The part of the text that illustrates this is: "The preparations for marriage and the beginning of married life [...] were very pleasant until his wife became pregnant [...] in the first months of her pregnancy. his wife, something new, unpleasant, depressing and unseemly, and from which there was no escape, showed up unexpectedly. As the marriage deteriorated, Ivan tried to escape the suffering and regretted the decision to marry Praskovia to please the bourgeoisie. This fact is evident in the passage: "He then realized that marriage - at least with Praskovya Fedorovna - was not always conducive to the pleasures and conveniences of life, but on the contrary often undermined both comfort and at convenience, and that he should, therefore, retrench himself against such an infraction. In conclusion, we can say that the author has taught us that having authentic, honest and true relationships is one of the conditions for living a life well lived. When he describes Ivan's relationships based on interests, status and wealth as unpleasant, disastrous and disturbing; we can infer that the opposite type of relationship leads to great things. Just as Ivan's life teaches living lessons by using his actions and consequences as the opposite of what we should do to be happy, Leo Tolstoy not only showed the way to be happy. through the example of a poor life; he used Gerasim to personify truth, happiness and empathy and, through this, he demonstrated a peaceful way of living. The reader can first perceive the prosperity of Gerasim's life through thecriticisms addressed to the bourgeois social circle: just as Tolstoy depicts the bourgeoisie as superficial, false and almost soulless, the proletarian is characterized by the example of Gerasim as compassionate, sensitive and sympathetic. The fact that Gerasim was a proletarian and, therefore, possessed all these characteristics can be seen in the excerpt: “Ivan Ilyich especially loved him and he especially loved herperforming the duty of a sick nurse. As we know his work, we can infer that Gerasim's position in society is proletarian. Additionally, unlike bourgeois characters, Gerasim truly cares about others and interacts with others in an authentic and reflective way, he has a connection with people because everyone's well-being matters to him. The reader feels this positivity from Gerasim first in the part: “This must be very unpleasant for you. You must forgive me. I am helpless. “Oh, why, sir,” and Gerasim's eyes beamed and he showed his gleaming white teeth, “what's the matter?” “You are ill, sir. This excerpt clearly shows the compassion, warmth and honesty of Gerasim, who lets Ivan know that he is really dying and that he will help him until the end. Gerasim is also the only one who can make Ivan accept death, because he believed that death is not the end. This happens because Gerasim has accepted death and all the bad things that happen to humans as inevitable parts of life. We can understand this by reading: "One day, when Ivan Ilyich was dismissing him, he even said bluntly: 'We are all going to die, so why should I blame myself a little?' To conclude, Gerasim was a character made to be the good example of how to live well and happily because he could encourage Ivan to face death and he did it himself. Moreover, his relationships with others were harmonious, honest and he did his best to console Ivan and let him know the truth that others were hiding. As we can consider the book "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" as a "guide" to a positive, wonderful and fantastic life, Tolstoy gives us space to interpret the book as a great critique of bourgeois society, since it gives us gives the point of view of Peter Ivanovich in the first chapter to analyze how the bourgeoisie thinks, it also gives us the participation of Gerasim to show how the proletariat is a working class, sincere, virtuous and honorable Peter's point of view is. the most powerful device Tolstoy uses to criticize the bourgeoisie since he is portrayed as a solely self-serving man who had no real connections and was superficial and false The best example of how he represented bad characteristics. of the bourgeoisie is this passage: "After having announced to his wife, at dinner time, the death of Ivan Ilyich and his conjecture according to which it would be possible to transfer his brother to their circuit, Peter Ivanovitch sacrificed his usual nap, put on his evening clothes and drove to Ivan Ilyich's house. As said before, Gerasim was the example of the proletarian in the short story and, as the book could be seen as social criticism, it had positive characteristics and represented the class in the best possible way, as there was a contrast with the bourgeois void. . He exuded positivity in all his appearances, and this is illustrated in: "The health, strength and vitality of others were offensive to him, but Gerasim's strength and vitality did not mortify him but soothed him . » Finally, Ivan's life based on work, status and money, just like most.