"It was like I was going down while I imagined I was going up. And that's really what it was. I was going up in public opinion, but in the same measure, life was moving away from me And now everything is over and there is only death "Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an original essay: The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Leo Tolstoy (144-145)In American society in particular, it is often difficult to fully embrace the moral point made by Bergman and Tolstoy about the true uselessness of public reputation; but Ivan's commentary on his life awakens this nagging awareness deep within the conscience, that while we rejoice only in the glory of "public opinion", we risk a moral regression of equal magnitude - the reality the more terrible than a meaningful and thoughtful life. flow back. "The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Wild Strawberries highlight the danger of mechanical life. Isak Borg and Ivan Ilyich experience the ironic tragedy of social success. Ivan's life tells the story of a social climber typical bourgeois; focused on everything "expected" of him, his lack of attention to personal virtue ultimately makes him "the phoenix of the family" (Tolstoy, 102) - the phoenix of failure. Similarly, Bergman's Professor Isak witnesses the ugly paradox of his academic nobility as he travels in his car to receive his honorary degree - an apparent culmination of his lifelong social ascension - we see. Isak all the time glued to the past as he becomes spiritually enlightened about the lying and deception implicit in his life to date. The mundane nature of the lives led by Isak and Ivan is presented as inexcusable; horror and disgust, thanks to Tolstoy and Bergman's powerful tale of a life in disgrace. The spiritual breakthroughs that occur in the elderly lives of Ivan and Isak are imbued with a great sense of immediacy and the pain of lost opportunity. The problem addressed in these works is identified, to a certain extent, with Pascal's bet: one must make a choice so that one's life has a semblance of meaning. A particular scene in Wild Strawberries comes to mind, where an old man takes the "fifth" rather than providing insight into a debate over the existence of God. He remains silent, but his silence has an incredible impact. The two opposing characters freely discuss this magnanimous question, while the old man's silence reveals his lifelong failure to address the all-important question. In this scene, the old man, apart from Isak, embodies the phoenix of the family, and his non-participation in the discussion, remaining silent, has a completely saddening effect on the viewer. Additionally, damage falls into various corners of Isak and Ivan's existence. While the delay in their "resurrection" from a spiritually devoid way of life is certainly shameful, Tolstoy and Bergman show that even their character's death may not be enough to end the consequences of the sin of moral contempt of his life. As the characters face not only death, but also the disturbing question: "What if I had done everything wrong?" ", we see their fragile spiritual foundation seep into their children's generation. Evald, no doubt angered by the pervasive sense of absurdity of his upbringing, claimed to "hate" his father Isak, despite Isak's belief that their relationship is strong. More specifically, it is Evald's father's refusal to submit to human sympathy or any sort of familial feeling that remains within Evald. Isak’s son therefore comes to believe: “.