FREE ESSAY ON ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DESINOVICH

ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DESINOVICH

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a story about a man, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov,
who is in a Russian Siberian prison/labor camp for expression of anti-Stalinistic ideas.
The story describes the events of a single day in this man's life and his struggle to
survive. I feel that the main theme of this book is survival. However, Ivan shows the
reader that survival on your own isn't always possible. You can only provide so much for
yourself on your own. People must work as a team, helping one another, in order to get
things accomplished, overcome challenges, and survive. Shukhov withstands the conditions
of the
camp while it would be easy to give in to despair (Des Pres 49).
When he arrived in the camp, Ivan realized that it would be hard to survive the
environment. Little food was given and the prisoners only received what they needed to
stay alive. They were treated as though they weren't human. Cognizant that it would be
necessary to work with others in order to survive, Ivan spends some of his time daily
doing things to help others. 
Through the good deeds that Ivan accomplishes, he earns the respect of the other
prisoners and is sometimes rewarded with extra food. He does simple things like laying
out other prisoner's shoes for them or bringing some of them their food at a meal. One
time, Ivan waits in line to get Tsezar his parcel. Tsezar is a rich prisoner who works
little or not at all and talks about the luxuries outside of the prison. When Ivan
returns, he asks Tsezar if he can bring dinner to him. Tsezar instead allows Ivan to have
his dinner. Shukhov helps Tsezar out an awful lot, and he is rewarded almost each and
every time with a piece of food or something from Tsezar's parcel. Every little bit
helped. 
Everyone does what he can to benefit the 104th squad (Ivan's squad, led by Tiurin) as a
whole. One time, Ivan notices that the cook had made a mistake, and gave the squad the
wrong number of rations. When he informs the cook of this error, the squad's rations were
corrected and Ivan received some extra food. Also, an effort was made by Tiurin to
prevent the squad from working in the so-called Socialist Way of Life settlement in which
the 104th would have to work outside in the freezing cold, rather than in the less frigid
temperature that they were already used to at the construction site. When the group went
out to work, they all put in their best effort. Because it is cold at the building they
are working, Ivan and Kilgas (both masons) find a piece of roofing felt and use it as
insulation to help keep the 104th warm. The harder that they work, the more food they
receive. They also stay warm if they work at a steady pace. Through these characters and
their situations, he (Solzhenitsyn) demonstrates to the reader that sometimes working for
the good of the group achieves a more positive result than working for the good of
oneself. (Character responses and situations in...)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich shows that it is necessary to rely upon others to
help yourself. Through our own efforts, we provide what is in our immediate need. But we
aren't all geniuses. We can't possibly do everything on our own. Sometimes we need more
than ourselves alone can provide. This is when we must look towards the people around us
for support. Ivan lived at time in a country which provided for its citizens only if they
gave their part back to it. Only those in the highest echelons of the government would
receive the best care, food, and other supplies. Those that made any offense against the
country, or did not do their part, were shipped of to Siberia, to a camp similar to
Ivan's. Once at the camp, learning to work together with others was their best chance at
survival. Ivan's ability to work with others, and provide for himself at the same time,
changed the harsh life that was before him into something that wasn't that bad. He was
actually happy with what went on in the day and was able to go to sleep. There were three
thousand six hundred and fifty-three days like that in his stretch. From the first clang
of the rail to the last clang of the rail. (Solzhenitsyn 203) 
Fortunately for us, we live in a society that works as a collective. Many people work to
accomplish a single job every day. Someone is always trying to better our way of life.
The more we are able to work together, the easier our lives will be. One person alone
can't do everything by him or herself. We just aren't that smart. But, be it the doctors,
the farmers, the scientists, the businessmen, or just simply me and you, all of us have
to work together to survive. The people in Ivan's squad were very different from each
other. It was only in setting these differences aside, that the 104th was able to get
along and get things done. They (Ivan's squad) worked as though neither would have air
enough to breathe without the other, (Solzhenitsyn 44). 
Bibliography
Works Cited
1. Character Situations and Responses in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich via the
Internet at
http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/APThemesLitProject98/APThemesStudentProjs/SolzhenitsynOneDay/solzhenitsyndaycharac.htm
2. Des Pres, Terrence. The Heroism of Survival. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Critical Essays
and Documentary Materials. Ed. John B. Dunlap, Richard Haugh, and Alexis Klimoff.
Belmont, Massachusetts: Nordland Publishing Company, 1973. 45-62.
3. Overview: One Day in the Life Of Ivan Denisovich via the Internet at
http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/APThemesLitProject98/APThemesStudentProjs/SolzhenitsynOneDay/solzhenitsyndayoverv.htm
4. Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. New York: Bantam
Books, 1990.