One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
When I hear the word 'gulag' I first feel incredulity, horror, pity and then resignation. Natural, don't you think? Imagine bitter cold, working like dogs, probably worse, almost to your death - or at least for the sake of survival, in the middle of nowhere, making the best of what you have, protecting what you own, knowing that all that matters is that you get your day's worth of ration to sustain you for another day. Unimagineable? Not so much, because One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn tells you almost all you need to know about it.
This simple, yet vastly informative book, is one in existence that gives an inside view of life in the gulag. Drawn from Solzhenitsyn's own experience at one of this labor camps, it is aimed at chronicling a singe day, from reveille at 5 a.m. to bed time at 10 p.m., in the life of a prisoner. The story mainly concerns Ivan Denisovich Shukov, though parts of it are narrated by an omniscient observer.
It begins with Shukov waking up late and sick. After washing the guardhouse, his punishment for waking up late, he goes to the dispensary to ask for a 'sick day' but is sent away because there are no more slots open (essentially). He goes away to face the day with his squad, the 104th, lead by Tyurin, a strict but kind 'zek' who has earned the respect of his squad. Shukov, one can tell, is liked by most of his squad. He is an efficient and skillful worker, does not slack off, doesn't expect that others will help him more then necessary; he lives in the moment for the day. All that matters is that he's able to get a good serving of food. The only way to ensure it, is to do/complete whatever work the squad has been assigned. Food in the belly makes a contended zek. Most of the zeks work sincerely, some slack off, but they all know that if they do good, they will be rewarded - even if it's just an extra bit of bread at the end of the day.
Trade in tobacco is ripe within prison walls, with the bargains being struck for the exchange of goods that one might receive in packages from the outside world. Friendship lasts as long as one does for the other what he would want for himself. There are those prisoners that have no dignity in them and would almost beg for a cigarette butt, but Shukov holds himself above the rest. He has no qualms, however, in tricking the guy at the cafeteria in giving his squad an extra tray of food.
Squads race against the 'warmth' of the day (they're exempt from work only if temperatures reach -41C or -42F) to finish their assigned work before a somewhat warm meal and bed. Shukov calculates every bit of food he receives, he also plans out his work so that he might complete it properly. He makes no complaints against the administration and is resigned to his fate in the gulag. But, fact remains that the solidarity shared by these men is the only thing that gets them through each day of their lives.
This day in Shukov's life, the one that we are privy to, is considered one of his 'lucky' days. He'd avoided being caught for having a hacksaw blade in his boot, had received some food from Tsezar's package, saved some of his own food and had completed a lot of work. He goes to bed in content, having just lived through another day in his term of ten years.
The writing is simple and invokes outrage and pity in the reader. All you can imagine is replaying this one day, every day, in a loop for the term you are meant to serve. A monotonous cycle to which you must give in to. If you don't, you probably will not survive. I admire the resilience of each of the characters in this novel. They have some semblance of hope for the future, what they might do when released, but they do not dream of it. They just live one day at a time.
It begins with Shukov waking up late and sick. After washing the guardhouse, his punishment for waking up late, he goes to the dispensary to ask for a 'sick day' but is sent away because there are no more slots open (essentially). He goes away to face the day with his squad, the 104th, lead by Tyurin, a strict but kind 'zek' who has earned the respect of his squad. Shukov, one can tell, is liked by most of his squad. He is an efficient and skillful worker, does not slack off, doesn't expect that others will help him more then necessary; he lives in the moment for the day. All that matters is that he's able to get a good serving of food. The only way to ensure it, is to do/complete whatever work the squad has been assigned. Food in the belly makes a contended zek. Most of the zeks work sincerely, some slack off, but they all know that if they do good, they will be rewarded - even if it's just an extra bit of bread at the end of the day.
Trade in tobacco is ripe within prison walls, with the bargains being struck for the exchange of goods that one might receive in packages from the outside world. Friendship lasts as long as one does for the other what he would want for himself. There are those prisoners that have no dignity in them and would almost beg for a cigarette butt, but Shukov holds himself above the rest. He has no qualms, however, in tricking the guy at the cafeteria in giving his squad an extra tray of food.
Squads race against the 'warmth' of the day (they're exempt from work only if temperatures reach -41C or -42F) to finish their assigned work before a somewhat warm meal and bed. Shukov calculates every bit of food he receives, he also plans out his work so that he might complete it properly. He makes no complaints against the administration and is resigned to his fate in the gulag. But, fact remains that the solidarity shared by these men is the only thing that gets them through each day of their lives.
This day in Shukov's life, the one that we are privy to, is considered one of his 'lucky' days. He'd avoided being caught for having a hacksaw blade in his boot, had received some food from Tsezar's package, saved some of his own food and had completed a lot of work. He goes to bed in content, having just lived through another day in his term of ten years.
The writing is simple and invokes outrage and pity in the reader. All you can imagine is replaying this one day, every day, in a loop for the term you are meant to serve. A monotonous cycle to which you must give in to. If you don't, you probably will not survive. I admire the resilience of each of the characters in this novel. They have some semblance of hope for the future, what they might do when released, but they do not dream of it. They just live one day at a time.
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