The Significance Of Setting In The Novel 'One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich'

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...

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...freezing men fighting for their individuality while working hard. He also includes a number of rules, domineering characters and violence to put emphasis on the harshness of the setting. “The mess was its usual self – frosty air steaming in from the door, men at the tables packed as tight as seeds in the sunflower” includes a simile to compare two dissimilar objects, which makes it more visually appealing to the reader and creates are more expressive effect. It also emphasizes all the struggles Ivan Denisovich has to face every day in the camp, which relates to Ivan trying to survive and not giving up. Aleksandr chose to write his novel’s era during winter as it adds to the inconsiderate world of the camp and it creates a sense of endlessness. The imagery of unfinished buildings and broken equipment accentuates the feeling of prisoners isolated in the Soviet Union.