Compare The Difference Between Man Of The Mancha And The Death Of Ivan Ilyich

What would you do if you knew you were dying? Some people go out and do crazy things with their last days on earth. Other people spend time making their lives right and spend time with family or friends. To be honest, I am really not sure what I would do. In this paper, I am going to compare Leo Tolstoy’s title character in “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” to Chi Tien-Hsin’s unnamed character in “Man of La Mancha”. Both men are faced with death. Ivan knows for certain that he is close to death. On the other hand, the guy in “Man of La Mancha” does not have a chronic illness. The way that these two men behave when they are thinking about dying is completely different. The way they act shows their overall character, and it shows what kind of person

He stopped sleeping and had to start taking opium and morphine. “The dull depression he experienced” (Puchner 765) effected everyone else. He then began to stink. He eventually could not even go to the bathroom by himself. He had his beloved servant Gerasim carry him to his couch. He then had Gerasim elevate his legs and sit and talk to him. Gerasim was the only person who Ivan could stand being around. Everyone believed “that he was not dying but was simply ill” (Puchner 766) and all he needed was peace and quiet. Ivan wanted to tell his family to stop lying to themselves, but he could never work up the courage. Another reason I believe that Ivan Ilyich was not a great man, is because of the type of relationship he has with his wife. Ivan hates his wife “with his whole soul” (Puchner 769). She does not even spend time with him during his illness. Anybody who can be that cold towards someone they supposedly love, is not a good person in my book. Praskovya sometimes asked Ivan how he was feeling, but she only asked “for the sake of asking” (Puchner 770). All she cared about was herself. She just wanted people to think that she was a devoted, loving wife to her dying

He had an arrhythmia. Our guy started feeling badly one morning, and ended up going to the hospital. This is when he started contemplating what would happen if he were to die. He thought through where he wanted to be, what he wanted to be wearing, and what he wanted to have with him. The first thing he wanted to change about his life was his wallet. He threw out a bunch of old junk because he did not want people to know “how shabby” (Puchner 1237) he was. He also made sure that he put his name and information in it because he had no official identification. Then our guy decided to change his underwear. He did not want to be found in dirty, tattered, underwear. He believes that underwear prove a lot about the person. This leads him to go out and buy some brand new Calvin Klein boxers. Then he began to worry about the location in which h would be found. He knew a guy who was found in a sex sauna, and nobody could explain why he was there. He was determined to avoid “vulgar, tasteless” (Puchner 1239) areas. He avoided certain quaint alleys because he was “afraid that my significant other would suspect…an illegitimate child or…and old flame” (Puchner 1239). He tells us that he is a little bit jealous of old people and people who know that they are dying. He says that they have time to get rid of all of their embarrassing things, and get their lives