Monday, 24 August 2020

(Book Review) "Ivan the Fool" by Leo Tolstoy


 1. Introduction

 

'Ivan the Fool' is a short story published in 1886 by Leo Tolstoy.

When I finished reading 'Ivan the Fool,' I remembered the words of Corinthians 1:27, "But God chose the foolish 
things of the world to shame the wise..."

How is it wise to live? Let us find the answer through this story.

2. summary

 

There lived a rich peasant, who had three sons and a daughter: Simon the Soldier, Taras the Stout, and Ivan the Fool, besides Martha, who was dumb.

One day Simon and Taras each came to the father and demanded to share his property.

When the father asked for the opinion of Ivan, who was taking full care of housework, he willingly agreed.

So the father distributed the portions of the two.

The old devil was unhappy that Ivan's family was in peace. He summoned three little imps and instructed to tackle the three brothers.

Each of the three imps took in charge of each of the three brothers.

The imp in charge of Simon made him so bold that he would try to conquer the world for his king. The vain ambition failed, and the king put him in prison.

Soon after, the imp let him break out of prison and escape to the father. Simon would become a troublemaker of the family. 

The devil handling Taras impulsed him to buy everything he wants. As a result, Taras owed a significant debt. He ought to run to his father for help. 

However, Ivan the Fool that another devil took charge was a pain in the neck. No matter how much the devil caused his stomach ache, Ivan didn't stop working, holding up the pain.

As the devil held on to Ivan's plow and didn't let it go, Ivan pushed his hand deep into the furrow and pulled something out. It was the nasty devil.

The devil, asking for his life, handed to Ivan three wood roots, which could cure any illness. One of the roots healed Ivan's stomach ache at once. 

Ivan released the devil, blessing, "Now begone! God be with you." As soon as he mentioned God, the devil plunged into the earth, leaving a hole.

Then the other two demons took a dare on Ivan but failed because of Ivan's upright and sincere character.

The first demon saved his life in exchange for letting Ivan know the secret of how to make soldiers out of a sheaf of rye.

The second demon also showed Ivan how to make golds from oak leaves to save his life.

Letting go of them, Ivan blessed, "God be with you!" They freaked out and plunged into the earth. Only one hole each was left behind.

The princess of this country came down with an incurable illness. Ivan healed the princess. Not thanks to the magic root.  He had already used the last root for a beggar woman with a crippled hand. 

Nevertheless, as soon as Ivan entered the palace, the princess was healed instantly. Ivan got married to the princess. After a while, the king died, and Ivan became the next king.

Simon also became another country's king thanks to Ivan, who made soldiers out of a sheaf of rye. The peace-loving Ivan had thought that the role of soldiers was singing. 

Taras became the king of another country, too, with the help of gold coins that Ivan made from oak leaves.

The childlike Ivan had thought that glittering gold coins were the same as toys to play.

However, both countries went under not long after. It was because the old devil stepped out against them.

Simon's military kingdom eventually ended up being conquered by a stronger enemy.  He lost all things.

Taras gathered a lot of money, but he couldn't buy anything with it. The old devil bought everything at a higher price one step ahead of Taras. All money was useless for Taras.

Finally, the old devil attacked Ivan and his country.

By the way, there was one rule in the kingdom: Only those who had horny-hands deserve to eat.

Martha, Ivan's sister, didn't allow the old devil to come to the dining table because he had clean and smooth hands.

The angry devil blamed Ivan's people, working with the hands, to be foolish.
He suggested letting people learn how to work with their heads.

There gathered many people at first around the tower where he spoke, but they all left eventually, losing interest.

The old devil began to grow weak so that he staggered and hit his head against the pillars on the platform. 

People said that he was finally beginning to work with his head, but the old devil tumbled out the stairs and left a hole on the ground. Ivan noticed that the nasty thing was the father of the previous little imps.

Likewise, also in the future, all the people in Ivan's kingdom will work hard. There is still one rule in the country; whoever has horny hands comes to the table, but whoever has not, must eat what the others leave.

3. Lessons


(1)  Why don't we make foolish choices?

Ivan is a fool.
 He does not take care of his profit, and he willingly accepts even discrimination.


To our surprise, however, the image of Christians in the Bible is not different from Ivan's.

In particular, the Corinthian 1:23 says, "but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." (NIV)

And the Bible also explains that God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. (Corinthians 1:27)

Jesus' crucifixion to save the world is a foolish act in itself from the worldly perspective.

What kind of life do you want to live? When that question came into mind, remember this story and resolve below happen.

"Why don't we make foolish choices? Let me start living like a fool."

Do you want to experience a heavenly life in your daily life? If you have such a desire, how about living the way of Ivan the Fool little by little?

(2) The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.

We live in a world that admires life enjoyable without working. Lotto is envious in that it can give us a wealthy lifestyle at once if we win.

But the biblical view of work is not like that. According to Genesis 2:15, God placed Adam, the first man, in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 makes the point more clear. "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." (NIV)

We might think this novel is more respectful of blue-collar working with the hands than white-collar operating with the head.

But if we look deeply into it, we will find such a view is not what the novel says.

We are easy to ignore the value of manual labor. The novel defends the perspective that working hands matter, representing it through both lives of Ivan the Fool and Martha the Dumb.

And it is warning against the discrimination which is devaluing manual labor, comparing it to the arrogant attitude of the old devil.

In the country of Ivan the Fool, we can see what a community with biblical values is like.

Heaven, as we often imagine, would not be a place to enjoy without working. Wouldn't it be the opposite?

In God's kingdom, people who are working will be most praised. So Jesus said, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working."

 



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