The Death of Ivan Ilych Lesson Plan

Ilyich's Opium Use

Kind of Activity:

Research

Objective:

Students will examine and evaluate the impact of opiates on the mind.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7

Structure:

Take 20 minutes to research opiates. How are they used medically? How are they abused? A five-minute discussion will follow, focusing on opium's impact on Ilyich's mental state.

The in-and-out quality of the end of the novella reflects Ilyich's mind, and is directly linked to the delirium caused by his medicine. What does that do to his clarity of thought? Are his medications linked to the state in which he finds himself at the end of this section of the story? Why does Tolstoy...