"It's A Wonderful Life"

I believe that the character Ivan Ilych is a tragic literary character because he is an unhappy person who does not give anything positive back to society. He does not appear to believe in anything other than money and advancing himself in society to be above other people in his life. This is no way to live a happy and fulfilling life. Ivan does not realize this until the end of his life. This becomes one of the biggest messages of the short story; the author stresses not wasting your life and to not living it in greed. Ivan does not have enough appreciation for people and anything or anyone other than himself. That is why his life can be deemed as terrible.

Ivan does not know or believe in himself let alone other people. He thinks of himself only in terms in success and does not take on the responsibility of other people, not even his family. Therefore, I do think he is a tragic character. He leads a terrible life because I believe that the greatest joy, the kindest service, and the most worth in life can be found through relationships with other people. People are what matter in life and being selfless is the most profound gesture anyone can make to oneself, to other people, and to any higher power that one believes in. Ivan does nothing remotely selfless and consequently he leads what I find to be a lonely life. Some might not view his life as terrible, but if no worth can be found in his life and all that he has done in his time on earth then to me it is clear that it is terrible.

When I think about Ivan I cannot help but think about the character George Bailey from the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” because he embodies everything that Ivan is not. Although George struggles quite a bit throughout his life and is never fully financially successful he ends up being the happiest, most loved, and rewarded man in town. George Bailey lived anything but a terrible life because he made such a difference in the lives around him and was so very appreciated. Ivan clearly did not have this affect on anyone because his supposed friends found his funeral to be a burden they had to deal with. His death did not bring sadness and despair but rather annoyance and inconvenience. In “It’s a Wonderful Life” the world without the existence of George Bailey is a sadder, darker place. His lack of existence or his death would bring anything but annoyance and inconvenience. George Bailey is a polar opposite of Ivan Ilych, which serves to further stress the wrong in the way Ivan conducted his life and shows the reader how much more there is to life. (489).