All living creatures die sooner or later. Is death just one of the characteristics of life or is it a great loss? Most people have problems with accepting death. They feel it is irreversible. They feel week against it and don't want to face it. Lev Tolstoy writes about such fears in "The Death Of Ivan Illych". Others have no fear for death. They believe that there is another life after death. They think that the soul lives for ever. John Donne in his poems support the latter idea. But both writers, as well as most people in the world, agree death happens to everyone. In Tolstoy's story death is presented as a person, who "is knocking ghastly at the door of his consciousness". Donn personifies death as well. He speaks to her just as people speak to each other- "Death, be not proud".
In Donne's poetry the idea that we shouldn't be afraid of death is expressed. The poet claims that death is not as powerful, as most people think. In his mind it is "a slave to fate chance, kings, and desperate men". Maybe death is just a deep sleep and "poppy and charms can make us sleep as well and better"? In the poem, the author says calls death "poor", which proves his ironic attitude towards it. We should rule our lives, not death. By using an apostrophe, he turns to death directly. The reader is as an observer. He is taught that he cannot fear death. Man's strong soul will live forever. Death is not as successful and powerful as it seems to be.
Leo Tolstoy presents a different point of view in his novel. For him death is an "unwelcome guest". He feels, he cannot accept it, cannot think of it. The main figure- Ivan desperately denies death. The readers witness the internal struggle in Ivan's mind. Although he doesn't want to be conscious about death, he is unable to do it. He is unable to stop thinking that he has to meet death one day, but he constantly denies it. Admitting death is difficult for him for several reasons, but the most important one is very selfish- Ivan considers himself unique and completely different from others. That's why he claims that death doesn't concern him. "How could all those thoughts and emotions and experiences, all that he was, all that he had been or would be, simply disappear?" Ivan's answer to thins question is- it is not possible. Death means something awful, disgusting and bad. He calls it "a terrible person, a bill collector- or worse, a murderer".
To sum up, there is no denial that Donne and Tolstoy have different views on death and its meaning. Perhaps each person can create her or his own attitude towards death. Some of us consider it a disaster. They claim that a man is completely unable to live knowing that he may die sooner or later and that he cannot do anything to change it. On the other hand, we can interpret death in the way Donne did- it is death that should be afraid of a man, not otherwise. Death has no power over a strong person. Such understanding of death can make one's life happier. And certainly there is much truth in that. In my mind death is not something that we have to deal with personally. As long as we are alive, there is no death in us. When death comes, we are not ourselves anymore. Forster wrote words which I find very interesting- "Death destroys a man, but the idea of death saves him." I think he is right.
