There was a depiction of the real or reality in both Leo Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilych” and Henry James’s “The Real Thing”. When something is considered to be real it is not being imitated, or imagined, but instead it is genuine and essentially existing. In Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilych” as Ilych grew more ill, he gravitated to individuals that captivated the realness that he wished he could have sustained throughout his life. However, he became aware that his focus on materialistic items and money interfered with his ability to be real throughout the majority of his life. In Tolstoy’s short story the depiction of the real was positive, but it was extremely rare for anyone in Ilych’s life to have such a genuine personality. James’s “The Real Thing” focuses on the Monarchs. The Monarch’s epitomize the real thing because they were once in a high economic standing so they are understanding of prosperous living. However, this ultimately led to their demise in the modeling field. Therefore, in this particular short story the portrayal of the real is negative because people who could not be labeled the real thing had more success within the modeling industry. In “The Death of Ivan Ilych” and “The Real Thing” the depiction of the real was either positive or negative depending on the way in which experience impacted the understanding and relationships of…show more content… The real in “The Death of Ivan Ilych” has a positive portrayal because aspects of Ilych’s life that he considers to genuine brings him serenity as he is experiencing pain. However, in “The Real Thing” their aristocratic experience led them encountering more hardships such as being fired. In “The Death of Ivan Ilych” and “The Real Thing” the depiction of “the real” was either positive or negative depending on how the characters understanding and relationships were transformed by “the
