The Death of Ivan Ilych is definitely not for the faint of heart. The major challenge when teaching this text is the extremely heavy nature of the main topic: that's right, death. As the novel itself shows, people don't generally like to talk or think about death, and here you are teaching an entire text dedicated to the subject. It's gotta be handled with care.

Before you start wise-cracking, you'll want to keep in mind that some students may have real experience with death, perhaps of a loved one passing away. We know Shmoop likes to joke around, but keep it together, for the kids.