One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich
One day in the life of Ivan DenisovichOne day in the life of Ivan Denisovich – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
In Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s novel, One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich, the strong themes of hope and perseverance are softened by the realization that for Ivan Denisovich there is little or purpose in life. This doesn’t mean that the themes of hope and perseverance do not exist in the novel. There are numerous instances in the novel where Shukhov is filled with hope. However are these moments of hope pointless? The answer to this question may lie more on the individual human nature of the reader than in Solzhenitsyn’s writing. Whether pointless or not, Solzhenitsyn offers many instances in the novel where the themes of hope and perseverance are evident. The glimpses of hope which Ivan Denisovich sees includes the few moments after reveille that the prisoners have to themselves, respecting his fellow prisoners, taking pride in a job well done, and enjoying simple food and tobacco.
Solzhenitsyn wrote One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich so that the brutality of the Soviet labour camps is not emphasized. Instead of focusing on the brutality of the camps, Solzhenitsyn focused on one day in the life of a very ordinary prisoner. However, the fact that Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is such an ordinary man and is still able to find hope in the most menial of tasks is inspiring. Solzhenitsyn’s theme is the affirmation of character, the ability to survive in a nightmare world where moral character is the only protection of human dignity and the very conception of humanity itself is something precious and valuable. Much of the Soviet leadership despised Solzhenitsyn and his literature because he instilled within the Soviet people much of the same hope that is visible in Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. Solzhenitsyn gave hope to the Soviet people by relating his own experiences in the guise a fictional character. Solzhenitsyn uses the every-day occurrences of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov’s life to affirm his views on humanity.
Shukhov’s day began with reveille. Shukhov never slept through reveille but always got up at once. That gave him about an hour and a half to himself before the morning roll call. This short amount of time at the beginning of the day was precious because it was the only time during the day, except for a few minutes in the evening, that the prisoners had to themselves. This short amount of time provided hope for the prisoners in a number of ways. It was a time when anyone could always scrounge a little something on the side. For Ivan Denisovich Shukhov this meant doing anything from sewing a cover for his mittens out of a piece of old lining to bringing one of the gang leader’s his dry felt boots while he was still in his bunk. Tasks like these, done for his own personal...
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