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One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich Essay

802 Words4 Pages

Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich exemplifies many true historical situations. The life of a Russian work camp prisoner was that of misery, constant fear, and loss of human dignity. By means of cruelty and hazing by the hand of a warden, guard, or trustie, the workers are forced to live in ignominy. This novel portrays the life of one prisoner, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, in an impressive manner; the book contains no chapters, and takes place in a time span of one day. The storyline implements a solid structure of the everyday lifestyle within the mind of the reader; it certainly did this for myself. To elaborate with emotion and realism, Solzhenitsyn writes the thought process of Shukhov for every single event, without skipping a beat. From reveille to lights out, the day is packed with struggles, harsh climate, and tedious labor. The description of the cold weather paints the preface of the novel. The freezing temperature in the Siberian …show more content…

The food is lacking in all three meals; the cafeteria staff provide them with just enough to survive. This is why Ivan Denisovich stresses his excitement on obtaining extra nourishment, and schedules his consumption of the ration; food was the only way to survive. I was able to visualize the mush that they were fed in a way that held me to my original thoughts of the unfairness that occurs. Why would they feed the prisoners so little and expect them to work so arduously? This question in itself gives another sample of contradictory actions at the camp. In fact, the food is an additional symbol of the harsh conditions at HQ, similar to the climate conditions. The relentless conditions of food, temperature, snow, and misery once again are victorious over the light of hope. I believe the total fixation on the food really emphasizes the disparity of endurance that the prisoners

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