In the novel A day in the life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn, I found that Ivan Denisovich (Shukhov) resisted the dehumanizing aspects of the gulag; by non allowing the spirit destroying standard pressure of the gulag to take away his human dignity and appreciation for life.
end-to-end the story, the author c erstntrates on the theme of beat and its significance to Shukhovs introduction in the gulag. Time in this sense can be broken into two separate entities. The first example is the clock leted by the guards in the prison, where Shukhovs daily routines atomic number 18 rigorously regimented and monitored. As this time does not belong to him, it or so step to the fores to be surreal. The second form of time is that which Shukhov manages to find for himself. During these obsolete and precious moments, our character is able to reflect upon and remember him self, so helping him to maintain some degree of dignity and pride, which appear to be the most fundamental of his attributes. However as these moments are sporadic and scarce, the time he takes is often in his own mind with his thoughts allowing him the freedom he so richly craves, steady while under scrutiny. To further queasyustrate these observations, consider the avocation examples from a day in the life of Shukhov.
At quin oclock in the morning the reveille sounds and Ivan Denisovivh Shukhov awakens to the icy cold barracks of the Soviet prison camp. Often he awakens immediately because the following 90 minutes are his. E very morning before orb call, Shukhov is making money sewing mittens, bringing people their valenki ( matte up range boots), or helping in the mess anteroom. However Shukhov tries to fend off the mess hall because licking the left over lawn bowling for extra food is too tempting. Shukhov remembers what an old prisoner Kuziomin once told him, That people who lick out others bowls and count on doctors dont survive in the gulag. On this morning Shukhov had been feeling ill and remained in bed. As he lay there arduous to stay warm, the Tarter came in and sentenced him to 3 days penalty of sticky pass away. Shukhov followed the Tarter to the commandants office and is ordered to scrub the write up. While scrubbing the floor he upset the guard who said, Didnt you ever watch your married woman scrub the floor, pig? Shukhov responds by saying, I was taken from my wife in forty-one, citizen chief. Ive forgotten what she looks like. This statement impacts the reader because of the pain felt by Shukhov.
Upon locomote to his squad in the mess hall he finds Fetiukov, saving his meal. The few minutes at mealtime belongs to the prisoners, and Shukhov takes his time eating his cold food (consisting of cabbage, bony fish and magara): with a spoon that he cast himself, and carries in his boot for safekeeping. Shukhov saves his booty for later, just in case their food rations are not distributed.
Leaving the mess hall Shukhov knows that it is almost roll call. Upon returning to his squad he notices that Tsezar is smoking, so Shukhov politely stands beside him. Whereas, Fetiukov is greedy and stares honorable at Tsezars mouth and asks for a drag. Due to the respect that Shukhov showed by just standing there and not being greedy, Tsezar gives the polecat to Shukhov. It is extremely important to Shukhov that he never, lower himself like Fetiukov, he would never look at a mans mouth. To do so would be as degrading as licking another(prenominal) mans bowl, and would drive a man down the identical pathway Kuziomin described, leading to inhumanity and death.
Shukhov and his squad were ordered to go bad at the power plant site. If he and the members of his squad did not work their hardest, they would be deprived of food. Work is necessary for Shukhovs survival. In the same sense work is an escape ? an escape from thinking and distressing about his lengthy prison sentence.
Shukhov takes pride in his work; it gives him the dignity necessary to remain human under much(prenominal) deprived conditions. He is as well the kind of man that appears not to shy away from hard work. This attribute prevents camp authorities from inflicting punishment, although his personal punishment is the time he is away from his family and his freedom, not the work he is ordered to do.
The sun is setting and the nett bell is sounded for head count, dinner and receiving packages. Shukhovs enjoyment in the few minutes while he eats are very moving to me because of its simplicity; most people are unable(p) to appreciate their every moment they have of freedom. Shukhov does not trust for immediate release or an easy term in the prison but simply to survive. It is what he needs to moot in, inorder to continue to exist in this environment.
When the Soviet authorities spread abroad that the prisoners will work on sunlight they appear as thieves to Shukhov: Again there wasnt going to be a Sunday this week; again they were going to steal one of their Sundays. This part to time indicates once again the importance that time has on survival. The authorities have stripped them of their time not lonesome(prenominal) the opportunity to take a nap but also the time needed to help improve their living conditions and tender activities.
At the end of this novel, it is surprising to understand that Solzhenitsyn describes this day of Shukhovs as an almost happy dayÂ, considering all the despair and the severity that Shukhov has gone through. Most people could never imagine let this kind of punishment and sentence, when in reality Shukhov should have been devoted a medal of honour or the very least, erudition for his efforts in the war. Throughout it all, however, Shukhov survived with his morals and human dignity.
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