The Influence of Realism in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich The novella, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, shows the influence of Realism on its author. Leo Tolstoy. The illusion of reality, the main theme of the novella, is an aspect of Realism that Tolstoy effectively used in this novella. Other attitudes of Realism that were used by Tolstoy were the plainness of the characters, a plot that consisted of incidents of everyday life, along with everyday language, and the ability to make the reader feel as if he were looking in on events happening in real life. These are all aspects of Realism that show through in Tolstoy's The Death of