Love and death in Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie and Leo The story of Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich is typically American in its optimism and characteristic of the 1990s in its tone; the other shows the unmistakable disposition of 19th-century Russia. The most recent book follows the real life of a sociology professor at Brandeis University while the other explores a figment of Leo Tolstoy's imagination. Tuesdays with Morrie and "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" feature two characters who are on opposite ends of the literary spectrum but who share the dark bond of terminal illness and advance knowledge of their deaths. One considers this knowledge a blessing and an opportunity to say his final goodbyes, the other writhes in pain and begs for an end to his vicious sentence of suffering. Faced with identical destinies, these two men present striking contrasts, all for the simple reason that only one of them has found the way to love. Although illness robbed Morrie Schwartz and Ivan Ilitch of their hope of survival, their different lifestyles led each to very different ends. Morrie found himself in an outpouring of compassion while surrounded by family, friends and colleagues. Ivan, on the other hand, found only the obligatory companionship of his wife and the painful awareness that no one really cared. Both characters ended their lives as they lived it, as Ivan recognizes: “In them he saw himself” (Ivn, 149). While Morrie devoted himself to every moment of life and every relationship he had, Ivan avoided the dangers of emotion to live “easily, pleasantly, and conveniently” (Ivn, 115). In the spirit of such opposition, the two stories become, in a way, responses to each other. Morrie Schwatrz, proclaimed...... middle of paper ...... such books? All things considered, the answer is a confident “Yes.” No law of literary comparison requires that the works in question have the same level of scientific reputation. Both of these stories focus on death, the great equalizer, one of the most terrifying facts of human existence and one that we will all face one day. Although the paths vary, both characters ultimately encounter the same revelation. Morrie savors most of his life understanding “the secret” while Ivan receives it just hours before he dies. What really matters, though, is that they both find it. Works CitedAlbom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Tolstoy, Leo. "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" and other stories. Afterword by David Magarshack. Trans. JD Duff and Aylmer Maude. New York: NAL/Signet Classic, 1990.