The Aspect of Trauma and Recovery Among Human Beings (Essay Sample)

The aspects of trauma and recovery in The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy
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1 Introduction
Human beings experience life with the attempt to annihilate themselves and life brings a fortune of success as well as problems. When human beings through a lot of struggles their lives are endowed with good energy and health. For instance, when human beings are young they struggle to achieve one’s goals in life, struggles to satisfy one’s financial needs among others. Ironically, most people tend to achieve their life targets when they are old. For example, a lot of people are rich when they are old and during this moment, most people tend to experience ailments from various diseases and they are barely able to enjoy what they worked for during their youthful stage. Consequently, this is when human beings become afraid of the impending death waiting for them. But, what is it in death that human beings fear so much more than the pain they went through during their early life? In the Book, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy (Tolstoy 2018) examines the life of Ivan which entails trauma, recovery, resilience, and social aspects of life. As narrated by Tolstoy, Ivan Ilyich feared death when none of his family members failed to take care of him when he is sick or ill.
2 Comparison and contrast of actual life and artificial life.
From the beginning of the book, Tolstoy illustrates two types of life, the actual life (reality) illustrated through Gerasim and artificial life (fake reality) enjoyed by Ivan IIyich’s associates (Agostini 2021). Artificial life is made up of issues like shallow relationships, egocentrism, and materialism. Artificial life does not answer vital life questions hence unfulfilling to people. Artificial life is more or less a deception of the human mind or brain because it camouflages the true meaning of life to humans hence leaving the bereaved people or rather humans traumatized or terrified to die.
In contrary, to human beings, actual life (reality) is about compassion and pity. Actual life perceives death as not a method to end life but simply a stage in life in which human beings transform from one form of existence to another. By absorbing actual life, human beings live with reality which breaks down human relationships hence resulting in isolation which eventually fosters valid interpersonal contact (Leder 2018). Even though actual life leaves human beings empty and isolated in their minds and the actual life experience inculcates virtues of comfort ushered by feelings of empathy, solidarity, and strength. Kastenbaum & Moreman (2018), actual life experiences nurture a bond with reality and hence prepare human beings to comfortably accept their death. The actual life versus the artificial life can also be understood beyond the context of