Survival in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn and The Metamorphosis by Kafka

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Survival in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn and The Metamorphosis by Kafka In both One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, written by

Solzhenitsyn, and The Metamorphosis, written by Kafka, there were

struggles for survival in face of oppression. Both of the protagonists

had lost control of their own lives and were forced to fight to keep

the little control that they had. Shukov, a character created by

Solzhenitsyn, was imprisoned in a Stalinist labour camp designed to

attack its prisoners' physical and spiritual dignity. Gregor from The

Metamorphosis became isolated in his own house after being transformed

into a bug. He could not communicate with his family and he

increasingly became a financial and emotional burden on his family,

because of this they alienated him from the rest of the Samsa's. In

these characters' struggle for survival we see three main factors to

their ability to survive: cooperation, attitude and food.

First, cooperation would obviously be a key element for survival. This

became evident in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Squads that

worked together, survived. The members of the 104th squad worked

together and depended on one another to get their assignments done. If

one member of the squad did not complete a task, the whole squad would

be punished. Therefore, being able to depend on your squad and squad

leader was essential. There were personal advantages to having friends

in the prison as well. F...

... middle of paper ...

...re both showing us the pivotal aspects of

survival; dependence, the necessities (such as food) and personal

attitude.

Bibliography

============

Example Essays "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The

Metamorphosis."

http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper.php?request=13806 (Retrieved 21

May 2004.)

"Gregor's Prison." http://www.majorweather.com/mudd/satire/helms.htm

(Retrieved 21 May 2004).

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1986.

Planet Papers "Metamorphosis-alienation."

http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/1005.php (Retrieved 21 May 2004.)

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. New

York: Bantam Books, 1990.

Survival in the Face of Oppression In Solzhennitsyn's One Day in the

Life of Ivan Denisovich and Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

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