In the novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the author’s intention to communicate the state of the Soviet Union can be examined from several aspects. The novel has a third person narrative that enables the audience to see the entire picture by being exposed to more background information, rather than just the protagonist Shukhov’s limited knowledge. Also the fact that the novel is fiction based on the author’s experience in the camp suggests that the scenes, characters and information depicted in the novel all have a significance in communicating a message to the audience about the state of the Union in the compacted time period of a day. The characters in the novel undertake an important role to reflect and …show more content…
Among them, many occupations in the field of arts can be observed, which conveys the Soviet authority’s regime to create a deceitful external image. The author Solzhenitsyn’s technique to use a third person narrative gives the audience access to Shukhov’s actions, emotions and background information that would not be available to the protagonist himself. At the beginning of the day, the audience is introduced to Vdovushkin, a zek who had been a student of literature before being convicted and worked as the doctor’s assistant in the camp. The narrator explains that Stepan Grigorych, the doctor who advocated work therapy ‘wanted him to write when in prison what he’d been given no opportunity to write in freedom (p.22)’. The author’s technique to explain the relationship between Stepan and Vdovushkin through a third person narrative conveys Solzhenitsyn’s intentions to demonstrate the conflict that the liberals had to deal with: to obey the authorities by praising the Soviet Union’s external success, or to express their speculation about the real state of the country and risk getting imprisoned for it. The situation that the liberals were placed in conveys how the Soviet authorities suppressed the citizens, taking away the opportunity from those like Vdovushkin to communicate opinions that questioned their way of running the country in order to embellish their reputation, influencing communicators …show more content…
The majority of the zeks in troupe 104 were middle class men with mediocre occupations such as an office worker, a soldier or a fisherman. Shukhov was a soldier who was able to escape the German captivity but was forced to testify that he had committed ‘high treason (p.58)’ which he had not. The narrator explains that, ‘If he didn’t sign he’d be shot. If he signed he’d still get a chance to live, (p.59)’. From this, the Soviet government’s lack of support towards their soldiers, fear of internal treason and measures to acquire free labour can be observed. Although the reason for Senka’s conviction is not mentioned in the novel, it is explained that he was captured and escaped German captivity three times and that now he was serving his sentence in the Soviet Union. Because his situation is similar to Shukhov’s, it is likely that he had also been convicted of high treason. During the scene where Shukhov is trying to catch up to his team before dinner, the narrator says that ‘Senka would never leave anyone in a jam, (p.92)’. This information demonstrates Solzhenitsyn‘s intentions to inform the audience that he is a loyal man, suggesting it is hardly likely that he would betray his own country to become a spy. Also the fact that ‘one of his eardrums had been smashed in ’41 (p.45)’ eliminates the possibility of Senka being a useful spy.
Ivan Fyodorovich Sponka The short story, “Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Aunt”, explicates the life of a man named Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka. We see him briefly in his young years, followed by his life in the army, and his return to the farm where his strong characterized aunt resides. We can see immediately that this man lives in constant cleanliness and dutiful paranoia; these are some of his desires that he wishes to exhibit to others. We can also see his fears, which reside in the confiscation of his masculinity and independence.
Intro with Thesis: A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a novel by Alexander Solzhenitsyn that documents totalitarian communism through the eyes of an ordinary prisoner in a Soviet labor camp. This story describes the protagonist, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, as he freezes and starves with the other prisoners, trying to survive the remainder of his ten-year sentence. In this story, Solzhenitsyn uses the struggles in the camp as a way to represent the defaults of the Soviet Union under Stalin’s regime. By doing this, Solzhenitsyn uses authoritative oppression in his labour camps to demonstrate the corrupt nature of the Soviet system.
Shukhov is a likeable and yet somewhat naïve fellow who is just like everybody else. In fact, what really makes this book remarkable is not Shukhov himself. What makes it special is that, even though at first glance the story may seem to be about Shukhov, it is actually a tale of events and common occurrences that could happen to anyone. The book is not just a detail of one day in the life of Ivan, it is a relatable story of what could happen to anyone shoved into a Russian prison camp. Ivan’s life in the book is shown to be nothing more than a picture of the thousands of lives that were lost or destroyed in the Stalinist camps. Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is not one character, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is the picture of “anyman.” Using the depiction of the beliefs, hopes, and need to survive that would arise in a common prisoner Solzhenitsyn creates a story of the victory of humane principles over corruption.
Who could possibly be able to imagine the utter hopelessness and misery that a soviet prisoner experienced during Stalinism. Thousands of innocent men were taken from their families, homes, and lives, stripped of their dignity and banished to the harsh labor camps where they were to spend the rest of the days scraping out an existence and living day to day. This is exactly what Alexander Solzhenitsyn tries to express in his masterpiece work One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Solzhenitsyn gives the reader a glimpse into the life of every man who ever experienced this hardship and shares the small acts of thriving humanity that are sparingly, but unendingly passed through their dreary lives and offer a bit of comfort to help them get through a single hour, a day, or even just a meal time. Solzhenitsyn uses One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich to portray the endurance of humanity through out terrible hardships and shows the strength of the human spirit.
The. Platt, Kevin M. F. and David Brandenberger, eds., pp. 113-117. Epic Revisionism: Russian History and Literature as Stalinist Propaganda. Madison: U of Wisconsin Press, 2006.
Mochulsky, Fyodor Vasilevich. Gulag Boss: A Soviet Memoir Edited and Translated by Deborah Kaple. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Solzhenitsyn believed that it was nearly impossible to have truly free thoughts under the prison camp conditions described in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, or in any situation where there is an authoritarian ruler. In a pris...
The men show all that has been done within the gulag during one normal day with all the activities that have occurred. During the Stalin era, conditions were poor with people getting beat up and thrown in the cell with having to reason behind, having the audience being treated similarly to animals. Although the conditions destroyed the men by making them suffer, Solzhenitsyn shows how strong the men truly are including what gets them through their days. The comparisons exemplify how brutally vicious the capitalistic rule obtained for the people. In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Alexander Solzhenitsyn analyzes dehumanization of the men in the gulags by using symbolism and imagery, such as the ration of bread, the spoon, and the noises.
In the late 1930’s while the United States was going through The Great Depression the Soviet Union was going through its own turbulent times. This would be known as the Moscow Show Trials, which took place under the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The book Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler takes place during this time period. The main character Nicholas Rubashov has been imprisoned even though he always has been loyal to the goals of the party (Koestler). This showed a shift that was happening in the country and an attempt by Stalin to eliminate any possible opposition even if they were heroes in the revolution. In the text two different concepts come to light vivisection morality where the party comes before the individual and anti-vivisection morality where the individual is sacred. Rubashov in the beginning does not embrace individualism however throughout the novel he begins to adopt individualism that he refers to as grammatical fiction. Vivisection morality is never a justifiable political system. Suppressing the rights of human beings is not only inhumane but also counter productive in creating an effective and wealthy society.
The novel focuses on one man, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, as he tries to survive another day in the Soviet Union with dignity and compassion. The action takes place at a prison camp in Russia in the northeastern region called Ekibastuz. The location is pounded by snow, ice and winds of appalling and shocking force during winter and lasted for many weeks. The camp is very isolated as it consists double rows of barbed wire fencing around the entire area, making sure it is fully concealed and private, so that no prisoners can escape. The conditions of the camp are very harsh. It is a union where camp prisoners have to earn their food by working hard in their inadequate clothing during the extremely cold weather. Living conditions are almost unbearable; heavy mattresses do not include sheets, as an alternative it is stuffed with sawdust, prisoners only eat two hundred grams of bread per meal and guards would force prisoners to remove their clothing for body searches at temperatures of forty below zero. The building walls are covered in dull and monotonous white paint and it was untidy and unpleasant. “It’s constant chaos, constant crowds and constant confusion” shows that ceilings are most likely coated with frost and men at the tables are packed as tight and it was always crowded. Rats would diddle around the food store, because of the incredibly unhygienic and filthy environment the camp is and it was so insanitary that some men would die from horrible diseases. “Men trying to barge their way through with full trays” suggests that the living conditions are very harsh indeed and mealtimes would be chaotic, as every famished men would be rushing to receive food. However, not only did the place cause the prisoners to suffer and lose their...
Throughout the 20th century, many countries were ruled by totalitarian leaders who were ready to commit many horrible deeds in order to achieve their goals. Josef Stalin, the leader of Soviet Union between 1924 and 1953, is the perfect example of a despotic ruler, who was responsible for the deaths of millions of people. He believed that communism would transform the Soviet Union into a perfect nation, with an ideal society where everyone would be treated equally. However, in order to achieve this perfection, all external and, more importantly, internal enemies had to be destroyed. Instead of a perfect nation, Stalin created a system, which was based on fear and denunciation, where killing of the so-called "enemies of the nation" became a sport, where Stalin's representatives competed against each other on the basis of the number of "enemies" killed. Throughout almost three decades, millions of innocent people were either killed or put into labour camps. The author of the book himself, was sentenced to eight years in a concentration camp for his anti-Soviet views, which he expressed in writing, and through the characters of his novel, Solzhenitsyn portrays his personal beliefs. Most of the characters in "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" are innocent people, who have never done anything reprehensible. Among them is Gopchik, a sixteen-year-old boy who was sentenced to 10 years in concentration camp for giving milk to Ukrainian nationalist rebels, and Aleshka the Baptist who received twenty-five years for his religious beliefs. The protagonist of the novel, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, is a simple man without any heroic qualities. He is a former carpenter who was sent off to the battlefield during the World War II. After being captured by the Germans, Ivan and five of his fellow soldiers were able to escape and return to the Soviet military base. However, three of them were killed instantly, mistaken for German soldiers while the fourth soldier died from wounds a couple of days later. Although Ivan Denisovich was not shot, he was arrested and accused of being a German spy. Even though he was innocent, he had to confess during the interrogation, because he understood that he would be shot immediately if he did not. As a result, he was sentenced to ten years in a Siberian concentration camp for betraying Soviet Union. The Soviet labour camps represented a small-scale totalitarian nation, where wardens were the despotic rulers who frequently abused the prisoners.
Kasimir Malevich Kasimir Malevich, a Russian painter and designer, was born near Kiev on February 26, 1878 (Guggeheimcollection.org) and was “one of six children from Russified Poles” (Articons.co.uk). While living in Ukraine, he became absorbed into art during his teens, “largely teaching himself” the basics (Articons.co.uk). After saving his money “from his job as a railroad clerk” (Articons.co.uk), Malevich enrolled in the Moscow Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in 1903 and began to study art more seriously. Later he trained at Kiev School of Art and Moscow Academy of Fine Arts and “produced portraits, landscapes, and genre scenes” in his early stages of his career (Artstudio.com). By 1907 Malevich “took part in the Moscow Artists' Society's twice yearly exhibition along with such artists as David Burliuk, Aleksander Shevchenko and Natalia Goncharova” (Articons.co.uk).
How do you feel about having management responsibilities in today's world, characterized by uncertainty, ambiguity, and sudden changes or threats from the environment? Describe some skills and qualities that are important to managers working in these conditions.
Often acting as the readers’ eyes, narrators provide a broader insight into the story that is being told. Only through these eyes are readers able to understand and witness events and conversations in the story as they cannot physically experience the events themselves. As a result, some authors often choose a subjective type of narration as a means of communication to effectively share their beliefs, ideas and feelings about particular aspects about their own culture with the readers. In the novel, Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev, the author used a third person point of view to not only provide an outsider’s insight into the events that were taking place, but also to emphasize an aspect of the Russian society: the generation gap. Throughout
xvi Solzhenitsyn, A. I. The Gulag Archipelago, (I-II). Translated by Thomas P. Whitney. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1973, 436.