When I know that money does not matter in life, it is the connections with people and your family that give your life a special meaning. While Ivan screams in pain for two hours in bed he tells his family "forgive", but comes out "forget". This is the moment when he fights death and realizes that all his life he has lived it wrongly and taken everything for granted. As long as he and his wife "moved in the best circles and the house was frequented by important people and young people." (Tolstoy 61) Ivan regretted all of this because he realized that he was not only killing himself but also his family. Also. In my opinion, it took Ivan too long to see all the problems in his life, his wife and son really loved that man and just wanted a happy family instead of the game they were playing. Both of these two men were trying to find an escape from death in their lives, but you could tell there was always something new coming