Malek Hardan Mohammad

Poetic Healing in Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Kurosawa’s Ikiru, and Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun

Malek Hardan Mohammad

American University of Kuwait

mmohammad@auk.edu.kw

Starting from a verifiable line of influence, this paper traces the evolution of “poetic healing” from Leo Tolstoy’s 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, through Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru, to Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel Klara and the Sun. Poetic healing refers to profound healing experiences that transcend conventional medical treatment and emphasize existential reflection. The Death of Ivan Ilyich portrays the protagonist’s confrontation with mortality, revealing the inadequacies of superficial social norms and the potential for spiritual awakening. Ivan Ilyich’s journey from denial to acceptance of his impending death underscores the importance of authentic living, and his realization that a life lived for societal approval is empty serves as a critique of materialism. Ikiru follows Kanji Watanabe, a bureaucrat diagnosed with terminal cancer, who seeks meaning in his remaining days. Watanabe’s transformation from a lifeless functionary to a passionate advocate for community improvement illustrates the redemptive power of purposeful living. The film explores bureaucratic inertia and the potential for personal growth even in the face of death. Klara and the Sun introduces Klara, an artificial friend providing companionship to children. Through Klara’s interactions with Josie, the novel raises questions about care, empathy, and humanity. Klara’s dedication to Josie’s well-being, despite her limitations, challenges traditional notions of care. The novel’s exploration of artificial intelligence in human relationships offers a unique perspective on the future of healthcare and the need for emotional connection. Through comparative analysis, this paper examines how these works articulate a vision of healthcare intertwined with the quest for meaningful living. Despite cultural and historical variations—from Tolstoy’s mystical-orthodox context, to Kurosawa’s post-war Shintoism, to Ishiguro’s globalized neoliberalism—the works point to a consistent ethic in healing and facing mortality. The protagonists find solace and sustenance in the opportunity to recreate themselves as works of art.

BIOGRAPHY

Malek Hardan Mohammad, Ph.D. in English from Texas A&M University, is an associate professor of English at the American University of Kuwait. He researches ethics, human rights, biopolitics, conspiracism and literature. He recently authored Dignity and Power: Biopolitics in Contemporary Literature and Philosophy (Ethics International Press, 2024). His article “Bill Gates and the “new normal” Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories: “it’s a new thing” or Nothing New Under the Sun?” appeared in the Journal for Cultural Research in 2023. His chapter “No Big Conspiracy: Poetic Humanity and the Fiction of Resistance in Never Let Me Go and Klara and the Sun” appeared in the collection Critical Perspectives on Resistance in 21st-Century British Literature.