One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich Essay
How does the characterization of the prisoners within gang 104 in "One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" depict the Soviet Union's communist society and views?
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is one of the most prominent authors of Russian society. He was a soldier serving as the commander of a battery for the Red Army during the Second World War, and one of Russia’s most crucial critics of the Soviet Union's totalitarian regime. The intricately designed characterization in his masterpiece “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”, which was published in November 1962, depicts the flaws of the society he lived in, with everyone being “equal”. As the novel unfolds, the reader is exposed to one day of the life of Ivan, a prisoner, and his gang within the labour camp. Aleksandr was once a prisoner of the Soviet Union himself, being arrested for writing a letter containing derogatory comments regarding …show more content…
the conduct of war to a friend while serving in East Prussia. His personal experience of the life at the camps had led him to write a novel based on the character of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov and his gang within the Gulag camp. Solzhenitsyn expresses his opinions about the communistic society through the characterization of the inmates in “Gang 104”. The powerful, first-hand experience of the Soviet society enabled him to create such a masterpiece, realistically illustrating the Soviet society at that time.
Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is the protagonist of this novel. He is a poor and uneducated blue collar worker imprisoned in one of the Gulag camps. Being a very generic Russian peasant, Shukhov is analogous to the common people of society, or the proletariat, along with hundreds of thousands of GULAG camp workers. The deliberate use of a commoner as the protagonist allows readers to experience the debilitating life at camp through an ordinary prisoner’s perspective.
As the plot develops, we are exposed to more of Shukhov’s interior self. Even though Shukhov tries hard to conceal his pride, he is indeed extremely arrogant of his doings. Even the slightest things make him feel proud about himself, evident in the excerpt“Shukhov pulled his spoon out of his boot. He was very fond of this spoon, which had gone with him all over the North. He’d made it himself from aluminum wire and cast it in sand. And he’d scratched on it: Ust-Izhma, 1944.” li Having crafted the spoon at the other camp he has been in, Shukhov is proud to own such a thing to distinguish himself from others. This shows the desperation rife amongst the commoners in Soviet society, who want to distinct themselves from each other.
Shukhov is also notable for his adaptive traits, adhering to his surroundings easily while making use of his environment to fulfill his role in life.
Shukhov likes to feel as though he is an integral part of the camp. This desired feeling acts as a microcosm for society’s need of individualism and the yearning for importance. Shukhov also demonstrates this with the quote of: “His mind and his eyes were studying the wall, the façade of the Power Station, two cinder blocks thick, as it showed from under the ice. Whoever had been lying there before was either a bungler or a slacker. Shukhov would get to know every inch of that wall as if he owned it.” Shukhov notices the tiniest of minutiae, with these things giving him hope and meaning to live as a human being. Small actions and decisions such as these results hope being instilled in the commoner, and the will to survive within the harsh conditions of the camps. This symbolizes how restrictive the Soviet Union is towards its people, reducing the society to bits and pieces while the sole construct left to the people is
hope.
Solzhenitsyn put great detail to characterizing Tyurin, with every piece of his background leading to the respect he holds within the camp. He is an interesting character within the novel. While portrayed as a tough and heroic figure in the beginning of the story, we are exposed to a different side of Tyurin as the tenure of the story progresses. Through the advancement of the plot, Tyurin changes drastically from a terrifying authority figure into a figure similar to a victim of injustice. We are shown his background life story through his narration at the power plant:”I was scared enough in front of the Major...’Machine-gunner first class. Top marks in military and political..’ I say. ‘What do you mean, first class, you swine? Your father’s a kulak!…...We’ll make ourselves at home in the powerplant.(97-103)” The background story utterly morphed our perception of Tyurin. Solzhenitsyn gave this character the feel of the one always on the short end of the stick. Tyurin represents all of the innocent people present in Soviet society suffering from the suppressive communistic environment. Tyurin was only imprisoned in the Gulag because his father was a ‘Kulak,’ or a wealthy merchant who owned a farm and hired a workforce. This was even more unjustified as he was enrolled in the Russian military as a Machine-gunner first class with top marks of his class. Solzhenitsyn also considered making Tyurin into a dynamic character as to assert the notion to the readers that the higher-ups, or the leaders, of the Soviet Union, also suffer from a sense of weakness, as nobody is perfect. The ideal of a communistic society is to have all citizens present in equal standings, and Tyurin is a character that goes against this belief. Even if he has served in the military, he is still sought out as a member of a higher class, as his father was considered a wealthy merchant. Solzhenitsyn’s focus of this character emphasizes the unforgiving nature of Soviet society, and its severity foisted upon citizens who have a wealthy background.
Caesar is another member of the 104 gang who, unlike Shukhov, is rich and well-cultured. He receives food parcels regularly, which costs a fortune to send, making the other members of the gang regard him with envy. Unlike other prisoners, Caesar has special privileges within the camp, being permitted to eat in the camp office rather than the mess hall, as well as being allowed to wear a fur cap. Caesar was created by Solzhenitsyn to contrast with Shukhov, as they have complete opposite backgrounds.As such, the two can be considered character foils. Shukhov came from a poor farming family whereas Caesar was from Moscow. The differing attributes between Shukov and Caesar also throws the different social classes of the Soviet Union into stark contrast, with Caesar obviously being rich and loyal and Shukov being impoverished, allowing the reader to have a sense of the society from different ends of the scale.
Alyoshka is the religious figure within the novel, reading from his notebook filled with extracts from the New Testament that he copied down every night. He is shown as the altruistic member of the group. Though he has little to offer, he does favors for others within the camp and never expects anything back. Alyoshka believes that freedom does not only refer to physical liberation but rather spiritual and mental catharsis, as well. . From Alyoshka’s point of view, one will never be free unless they can escape from their nightmares. Despite his generous disposition, however, Alyoshka lives to partially satiate his own desires. This is due to his belief that filling his soul is more important than filling his body. Shukhov is surprised at Alyoshka’s generosity in such harsh and abject circumstances, but Alyoshka truly enjoys giving. Through his character, we can see how suppressive the communist community really is. As they restrict everything, Alyoshka gave up on pleasuring himself physically (eating) and moved on to fulfilling himself through spiritual means. At the end of the novel, it is also shown to us that he enjoys living in the camps, and sincerely believes the pain and suffering in the camps cleanses him. Alyoshka is symbolized as the inmate’s “hope.” Even if everything is lost, Alyoshka believes that god will save him, which acts metaphor towards the people within the Soviet Union. While peasants want to escape this vicious cycle of repression, work, childbirth, and death, they cannot do anything about it, and turn to incessant hope, pleading to escape.
Solzhenitsyn emphasized the characteristics of each character, as they are symbolically demonstrable of the social and cultural aspects in Soviet Russia. Through this, we are given a stronger sense of the reasoning Solzhenitsyn used to create each character. By contrasting the background of different characters, viewers obtain a deeper understanding of Soviet society, as they are shown the extreme facets of Soviet culture.. By focusing the plot on character development, the viewer exceeds rudimentary knowledge, and is left with a deep understanding of each character and their backgrounds. This further increases our knowledge of the Soviet government and gives us a good sense of what ideals the government has attempted to rotely impose upon to its citizens.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is one of the most prominent authors of Russian society. He was a soldier serving as the commander of a battery for the Red Army during the Second World War, and one of Russia’s most crucial critics of the Soviet Union's totalitarian regime. The intricately designed characterization in his masterpiece “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”, which was published in November 1962, depicts the flaws of the society he lived in, with everyone being “equal”. As the novel unfolds, the reader is exposed to one day of the life of Ivan, a prisoner, and his gang within the labour camp. Aleksandr was once a prisoner of the Soviet Union himself, being arrested for writing a letter containing derogatory comments regarding …show more content…
the conduct of war to a friend while serving in East Prussia. His personal experience of the life at the camps had led him to write a novel based on the character of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov and his gang within the Gulag camp. Solzhenitsyn expresses his opinions about the communistic society through the characterization of the inmates in “Gang 104”. The powerful, first-hand experience of the Soviet society enabled him to create such a masterpiece, realistically illustrating the Soviet society at that time.
Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is the protagonist of this novel. He is a poor and uneducated blue collar worker imprisoned in one of the Gulag camps. Being a very generic Russian peasant, Shukhov is analogous to the common people of society, or the proletariat, along with hundreds of thousands of GULAG camp workers. The deliberate use of a commoner as the protagonist allows readers to experience the debilitating life at camp through an ordinary prisoner’s perspective.
As the plot develops, we are exposed to more of Shukhov’s interior self. Even though Shukhov tries hard to conceal his pride, he is indeed extremely arrogant of his doings. Even the slightest things make him feel proud about himself, evident in the excerpt“Shukhov pulled his spoon out of his boot. He was very fond of this spoon, which had gone with him all over the North. He’d made it himself from aluminum wire and cast it in sand. And he’d scratched on it: Ust-Izhma, 1944.” li Having crafted the spoon at the other camp he has been in, Shukhov is proud to own such a thing to distinguish himself from others. This shows the desperation rife amongst the commoners in Soviet society, who want to distinct themselves from each other.
Shukhov is also notable for his adaptive traits, adhering to his surroundings easily while making use of his environment to fulfill his role in life.
Shukhov likes to feel as though he is an integral part of the camp. This desired feeling acts as a microcosm for society’s need of individualism and the yearning for importance. Shukhov also demonstrates this with the quote of: “His mind and his eyes were studying the wall, the façade of the Power Station, two cinder blocks thick, as it showed from under the ice. Whoever had been lying there before was either a bungler or a slacker. Shukhov would get to know every inch of that wall as if he owned it.” Shukhov notices the tiniest of minutiae, with these things giving him hope and meaning to live as a human being. Small actions and decisions such as these results hope being instilled in the commoner, and the will to survive within the harsh conditions of the camps. This symbolizes how restrictive the Soviet Union is towards its people, reducing the society to bits and pieces while the sole construct left to the people is
hope.
Solzhenitsyn put great detail to characterizing Tyurin, with every piece of his background leading to the respect he holds within the camp. He is an interesting character within the novel. While portrayed as a tough and heroic figure in the beginning of the story, we are exposed to a different side of Tyurin as the tenure of the story progresses. Through the advancement of the plot, Tyurin changes drastically from a terrifying authority figure into a figure similar to a victim of injustice. We are shown his background life story through his narration at the power plant:”I was scared enough in front of the Major...’Machine-gunner first class. Top marks in military and political..’ I say. ‘What do you mean, first class, you swine? Your father’s a kulak!…...We’ll make ourselves at home in the powerplant.(97-103)” The background story utterly morphed our perception of Tyurin. Solzhenitsyn gave this character the feel of the one always on the short end of the stick. Tyurin represents all of the innocent people present in Soviet society suffering from the suppressive communistic environment. Tyurin was only imprisoned in the Gulag because his father was a ‘Kulak,’ or a wealthy merchant who owned a farm and hired a workforce. This was even more unjustified as he was enrolled in the Russian military as a Machine-gunner first class with top marks of his class. Solzhenitsyn also considered making Tyurin into a dynamic character as to assert the notion to the readers that the higher-ups, or the leaders, of the Soviet Union, also suffer from a sense of weakness, as nobody is perfect. The ideal of a communistic society is to have all citizens present in equal standings, and Tyurin is a character that goes against this belief. Even if he has served in the military, he is still sought out as a member of a higher class, as his father was considered a wealthy merchant. Solzhenitsyn’s focus of this character emphasizes the unforgiving nature of Soviet society, and its severity foisted upon citizens who have a wealthy background.
Caesar is another member of the 104 gang who, unlike Shukhov, is rich and well-cultured. He receives food parcels regularly, which costs a fortune to send, making the other members of the gang regard him with envy. Unlike other prisoners, Caesar has special privileges within the camp, being permitted to eat in the camp office rather than the mess hall, as well as being allowed to wear a fur cap. Caesar was created by Solzhenitsyn to contrast with Shukhov, as they have complete opposite backgrounds.As such, the two can be considered character foils. Shukhov came from a poor farming family whereas Caesar was from Moscow. The differing attributes between Shukov and Caesar also throws the different social classes of the Soviet Union into stark contrast, with Caesar obviously being rich and loyal and Shukov being impoverished, allowing the reader to have a sense of the society from different ends of the scale.
Alyoshka is the religious figure within the novel, reading from his notebook filled with extracts from the New Testament that he copied down every night. He is shown as the altruistic member of the group. Though he has little to offer, he does favors for others within the camp and never expects anything back. Alyoshka believes that freedom does not only refer to physical liberation but rather spiritual and mental catharsis, as well. . From Alyoshka’s point of view, one will never be free unless they can escape from their nightmares. Despite his generous disposition, however, Alyoshka lives to partially satiate his own desires. This is due to his belief that filling his soul is more important than filling his body. Shukhov is surprised at Alyoshka’s generosity in such harsh and abject circumstances, but Alyoshka truly enjoys giving. Through his character, we can see how suppressive the communist community really is. As they restrict everything, Alyoshka gave up on pleasuring himself physically (eating) and moved on to fulfilling himself through spiritual means. At the end of the novel, it is also shown to us that he enjoys living in the camps, and sincerely believes the pain and suffering in the camps cleanses him. Alyoshka is symbolized as the inmate’s “hope.” Even if everything is lost, Alyoshka believes that god will save him, which acts metaphor towards the people within the Soviet Union. While peasants want to escape this vicious cycle of repression, work, childbirth, and death, they cannot do anything about it, and turn to incessant hope, pleading to escape.
Solzhenitsyn emphasized the characteristics of each character, as they are symbolically demonstrable of the social and cultural aspects in Soviet Russia. Through this, we are given a stronger sense of the reasoning Solzhenitsyn used to create each character. By contrasting the background of different characters, viewers obtain a deeper understanding of Soviet society, as they are shown the extreme facets of Soviet culture.. By focusing the plot on character development, the viewer exceeds rudimentary knowledge, and is left with a deep understanding of each character and their backgrounds. This further increases our knowledge of the Soviet government and gives us a good sense of what ideals the government has attempted to rotely impose upon to its citizens.