Leo Tolstoy uses Gerasim in “The Death of Ivan Ilych” as a tool to demonstrate Ivan's inability to grasp the concept of death. Although Ivan is physically alive throughout the story, he does not become mentally and spiritually alive until the final moments of his life. Gerasim is used to reveal the importance of human interaction and compassion and the role it plays in enabling an individual to live a truly fulfilling life. Although Ivan's family lives in a fairly high society, Gerasim, Ivan's butler, reflects on the true way of life. She spends time with Ivan as he collapses and agonizes over his illness. Contrasting society, “Gerasim alone did not lie; everything showed that he alone understood the facts and did not consider it necessary to disguise them, but simply felt sorry for his emaciated and weakened master” (42). Tolstoy compares the falseness of others with Gerasim's sympathy to expose the insignificance of the upper class: “Stop lying! You know it and I know I'm dying. Then at least stop lying about it!” (41). Despite having nothing, only Gerasim lives the right way by appreciating others. Surprisingly, Ivan is wealthy and lives up to high society standards; therefore, he does not truly live, but is unaware of reality. While his loved ones escape the concept of mortality, «he died and not me» (4), Gerasim captures it, «expressing the fact that he did not consider his work burdensome, because he did it for a dying man and he hoped that someone would done the same for him when his time would come” (42), and he can essentially live. Realizing that life does not move forward, Gerasim takes each day as another chance and is not afraid to live. Living to collapse, Ivan realizes that his life is meaningless...... middle of paper ......f contentment and the ability to understand each other. Ivan did not coexist closely with the others, creating a life full of deceit and misery. Gerasim proves that materialistic things do not create happiness. Ivan was guilty of his misery, revealing that he ignored his family to live up to upper class standards. As Gerasim's compassion took over Ivan's thoughts, he realized that he had lived his life incorrectly. In his final hours of life, he touches his son and, noting that he had hurt his family, begins to understand why his life was full of regrets. Ivan lived miserably because he waited until his death to reflect on his actions, never questioned whether his actions were significant, and did not recognize that he and his family were living a life full of lies. Gerasim reveals the role of altruism and how it allows us to be happy.