Ivan's Death: Who is to Blame?

     Imagine living in an old shack on the edge of an enormous cemetery, all by yourself, without any family or friends to keep you company. Every night, you would drop in the local pub to have a drink, all while being bullied by the more powerful and wealthier people above you. You only endure the teasing because they are the only people you interact with.

     Lonely, ashamed, annoyed, angry, depressed; this is the life of Ivan, the protagonist of a short story called "The Cemetery Path," written by Leonard Q. Ross. Ivan is a timid man who lives by himself in a lonely shack on the edge of an eerie cemetery. If you were in his shoes, I would imagine you would feel the same way. Despite the loneliness, name-calling and rude comments, Ivan still takes the challenge given to him by a young Cossack Lieutenant, who tells him to disprove his cowardice by sticking the Lieutenant's sabre in the ground in front of the cemetery's biggest tomb. Ivan hastily accepts the challenge, but the outcome isn't what you would have expected. Ivan does indeed fulfill the challenge, but ends up scaring himself to death when he accidentally strikes the sabre through his coat, making him unable to escape. The next morning, the Lieutenant finds Ivan's body in the cemetery, which brings us to the million-dollar question: Who was responsible for Ivan's death; himself, or his tormentors? 

     It's clear to me that Ivan has himself to blame for his death, because of three specific reasons. He could have avoided the incident altogether if he was strong enough to stand up for himself against his tormentors. He was drinking vodka before he accepted the challenge, which may have given him impaired judgment, and he scared himself to death when he drove the sabre through his coat.

     Living alone doesn't make you very strong when it comes to being bullied, so Ivan doesn't have the courage to stand up to the Lieutenant when he calls him a coward. Ivan grew up small and shy ("timid little man," as stated by the story), and therefore that may have made him less confident in standing up for himself. Regardless, he still should have stood his ground, as he is the only one responsible for his own health and safety.

     Ivan was most likely under the influence of vodka vodka, which may have caused him to use poor judgment and take the challenge from the Lieutenant, even though he would never normally have taken the cemetery path back to his shack at the end of the day. "Perhaps it was the vodka. Perhaps it was the temptation of the five gold rubles. No one ever knew why Ivan, moistening his lips, blurted: "All right, Lieutenant, I'll cross the cemetery!" Being poor, Ivan would do anything to get his hands on some money, drunk or not. The combination of his poor judgment and his desire for the five gold Rubles overwhelmed him, causing him to hastily accept, which would eventually lead to his death.

     The last reason is vaguely stated in the story. "They found Ivan, the next morning, on the ground right in front of the great tomb that was in the very centre of the cemetery. His face was not that of a frozen man, but of a man slain by some nameless horror. And the Lieutenant's sabre was in the ground where Ivan had pounded it - through the dragging folds of his long and shabby coat." By reading between the lines, we can conclude that this "nameless horror" is likely a heart attack, which means that Ivan scared himself to death. If Ivan hadn't struck the sabre through his coat, he wouldn't have died. The vodka may also have had an effect on him, causing him to be a bit uneven on his feet and uncoordinated, which may have resulted in the sabre getting stuck in his coat.

     These reasons are perfect examples why Ivan only has himself to blame for his death. If he hadn't been drinking, he may have had better judgment to tell the Lieutenant that he wouldn't take the challenge. If Ivan wasn't always lonely, he also may have had family or friends to help out with his troubles. So while the Lieutenant played a big part in the death of "Ivan the Terrible," It was Ivan himself who killed such a timid, depressed, and lonely little man.