A Comparison of the Social and Familial Relations Between the Protagonist in Tolstoy's Death of Ivan IIych and Kafka's Metamorphosis
In this paper, we will compare the social and familial relations between the protagonist in Tolstoy's “Death of Ivan IIych” and in Kafka's “Metamorphosis”. Both Ivan and Gregor are sick men who have, by today’s standards, have dysfunctional relationships with their family and their colleagues. They both die in tragic and dramatic ways, and they both seem to be misunderstood by the people around them. They both go through feelings of isolation and seem to be constantly questioning and reevaluating their existence. Let us start by examining Ivan in Tolstoy’s “Death of Ivan IIych”.