In every culture there is a supposed "right" way to live. In "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", Ivan Ilyich from the start chooses to take the path laid out for him especially the easiest and simplest. Ivan has to make choices in terms of his job and marriage. These choices eventually catch up with him during his final days while he battles his mysterious illness. After his formal education in the field of law, Ivan …showed first 75 words of 809 total…

…showed last 75 words of 809 total…sack like a man in the executioner's hands, certain that he will not escape. Seconds before his death the climactic moment of "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", the eternal instant when Ivan passes through the black sack into the light, fully resolves the contradictions and conflicts present throughout the novel. "As Ivan is reborn into the light, the spiritual finally transcends the physiological." [sparknotes.com] Life conquers death, and the authentic prevails over the artificial.