One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Analysis Essay

Paul Stalin smartly came into electricity in communist Russia inside the 1930’s.

In a matter of a few years, this individual turned Spain from a communist point out into a totalitarian dictatorship. Few-people chose to speak out against Stalin, but those who performed were put in Siberian function camps or gulags. Alexander Solzhenitsyn was one of the few that chose to speak out against Stalin great totalitarian program.

He utilized his years in the work camps to illustrate a vivid portrayal of what camp existence was like in the book, Eventually in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. The novel is known as a criticism against Stalin’s communism, and is a commentary about why a communistic program will never job. Three of the biggest techniques the book critiques communism are: by attempting to dehumanize Russian world, displaying types of unjust punishment, and arguing the importance of religion.

Solzhenitsyn propagates the radical idea that the reds doesn’t operate. Communism is a idea that everyone in world receives equal shares from the benefits caused by labor. It teaches the indegent to rise up and attain financial and social status equal to those of the middle-class.

In order for everyone to be on a single level, prosperity is redistributed so the users of the prestige are helped bring down to the same financial and social level as the center class (Coffin 660-665). Theoretically, communism is usually presented about be a utopia where people have adequate foodstuff and refuge but in the novel Eventually in the Lifestyle of Ivan Denisovich, it truly is clear communism in practice is extremely different from the reds in ideology. The the reds Solzhenitsyn shows in this new actually tries to take away virtually any form of individual dignity. The story takes place within a Russian jail camp after World War II. The protagonist can be described as man known as Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, nevertheless referred to as Shukhov for most in the novel.

The writer refers to Ivan as Shukhov to emphasize the how the camp sets him at a chilly, official range. “Ivan” is definitely Shukhov’s first name and Denisovich is definitely his patronymic, a name that is created from one’s father’s name. In Russian contemporary society, addressing someone by their first brand and patronymic is cordial but sincere. The early Soviet Communist plan tried to remove this form of address as the respect it entails advised class distinctions among people, a thing communism seeks to ruin. On the other hand, addressing someone simply by his or her last-name has an official meaning.

The Soviet manner of addressing persons as “Comrade” followed by their last name was an attempt to exchange the old method of addressing somebody with a new one better tailored to a class-free nation. “Even in the camp they were well mannered to people and addressed all of them by their total name” (Solzhenitsyn 26). The prison camp workers constantly addressed one another with the same degree of esteem in order to maintain each other’s dignity. The labor camp in which Ivan is imprisoned is designed to oppress and dehumanize its prisoners. The living conditions are simply intolerable.

The mattresses do not have bedsheets, prisoners reveal tiny parts of bread and porridge per meal, and the guards force the prisoners to undress in sub absolutely no temperatures intended for body queries. The camp replaces the prisoner’s brands with notification and quantity to get rid of all suggestions of style, “S 854…three days penalty work, ” says the fresh warden to, Ivan because punishment for not getting up promptly (Solzhenitsyn 7-8). The camp gives everyone numbers besides making them all costume identically eliminate their identities, “from the outside, everyone inside the squad viewed the same- their dark-colored coats had been identical-but inside the squad there are great distinctions” (Solzhenitsyn 15).

However , Denisovich does not recognize the camps attempts to dehumanize him. He displays maintaining man dignity does not have to be obtained through chaotic rebellion but instead, through making a system of personal rules. For instance , at food time, no matter the conditions, he always eliminates his hat before ingesting, “then this individual removed his hat coming from his clean-shaven head- on the other hand cold it could be, he could never bring himself to enjoy with his hat on” (Solzhenitsyn 16). From his childhood, this practice gives Ivan a sense that he is behaving in a civilized manner. No matter how famished this individual becomes, he never syeps to Fetyukov’s level, begging for scraps.

He scorns Fetyukov’s behavior, which this individual believes is usually inhuman. Ivan may be cured like an animal by the Soviet camp system, but he subtly combats back and will not submit. In a single instance, Shukhov is convinced to ask a fellow hostage for a cigarette which the different man has recently half smoked cigarettes but , “but he would hardly ever lower himself… he would by no means look at a man’s mouth” (Solzhenitsyn 27). Ivan under no circumstances allows the labor camp to get the best of him yet gets punished for things one in his control along with being imprisoned.

Another criticism of communism throughout the book is the explanation of unjust punishment upon the prisoners. In the beginning from the novel, Shukhov does not stand up on time as they is ill and is after that threatened with three days in the gap. Similarly, Buynovsky receives ten days in the hole for trying to package up against the cold having a flannel jacket. Neither Shukhov’s illness nor Buynovsky’s make an attempt to stay warm harm anyone, but the camp treats equally as strict violations with the law, worthy of severe treatment. Such harsh punishment to get such petty offenses is usually absurd.

These men are already locked into demanding prison content, heaping about unfair and illogical treatment upon all of them is just a raw exercise of power by guards. Through this unjust treatment one thing that help the prisoners make it through was having faith in something whether it is a stringent moral code or trust in goodness. One of the main goals of communism was to eliminate religion via society. Based on the founders of communism religious beliefs hinders societal progress; it was Marx who said “religion is the opium of people. ” Solzhenitsyn suggests it is much easier to get through struggles with trust in some thing rather than with out. During a drive, Shukhov thinks of Alyosha, the sincere Baptist, he wonders, “What had this individual to be happy regarding?

His face were sunken, he existed strictly in the rations, and he gained nothing. He spent almost all his Weekends with the additional Baptists. That they shed the hardships of camp just like water” (Solzhenitsyn 38). Shukhov is making the point at the time you believe in anything, like religion, it is better to keep an optimistic attitude and survive a terrible situation.

Although Ivan would not mention religious beliefs for most from the novel, his final conversation with Alyoshka, reveals hope can be a method of survival in the oppressive camp system. Ivan adheres to a strict pair of rules, just like always removing his loath before ingesting or planning to waste as few as possible. Alyoshka, has faith in our god and the human being spirit “for my component I was not ready merely being bound although even awesome the name of the Lord Jesus” (Solzhenitsyn 163), this comment really affects Shukhov to a level where he begins to reflect on his own philosophy.

Shukhov’s h sense of inner serenity in the novel’s last paragraph, which appears like Alyoshka’s impression of inner peace over the novel, shows that religious faith offers durability in the face of problems. Having any type of faith can hold someone through hardship, religious faith is simply one type of such a faith. Though the labor camps were filled up with suffering and misery, the boys continued to demonstrate acts of humanity within their day to day lives.

The only way unichip could have made it this inhuman treatment was by quietly fighting the machine in their personal way. Solzhenitsyn uses three simple but powerful concepts: the dehumanization of the individual society, displays of unjust punishment, and the importance of having faith in no matter how awful the situation is, to speak out against Stalin and the terrible consequences of Russian communism.

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