One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, is a popular novel of social protest in Russian history. It was a novel that depicted the life in a Russian prison camp in Siberia around the time of World War II. The detail of Solzhenitsyn’s descriptions gives the reader a brilliant picture of camp life. This was a novel that defied Stalin’s rule in Russia.
As the title states, we follow a day in the life of Ivan Denisovich, who is in his eighth term of his ten-year sentence. He was arrested while serving the Russian army, and was wrongly accused of betraying his country in order to be a German spy. He confesses the crime for he knows the latter would be death. He is the member of the 104th squad. The other members of squad are examined throughout the book. Solzhenitsyn places these diverse characters to contribute to the story and overall feeling in the prison camp.
One character that contributes to the story is Tiurin, who is the squad leader. He was a twenty-two-year old solider in the Red Army. His regimental commander told Tiurin’s father was a kulak, which was a rich peasant. At that point, his commander automatically wrote up an order to discharge him from the army. He was basically arrested since he was a son of a kulak. This shows that during Stalin’s regime, he focussed on classes a major role, since the father was in the upper class, they were stereotyped as corrupt and evil, thus labeling his son the same. Tiurin said his commander had later been shot. The nineteen-year veteran of the Russian prisons, Tiurin is a respected leader of his squad, who can manipulate the prison system. In the story, Tiurin represents the leader and veteran of the prisons. Since he has been there for nineteen years, he can be described as a fatherly figure, which sets an example for the rest of his squad.
The Essay on Death Penalty Life Million Year
The use of the death penalty in the United States has been a great debate for many years. One of the major aspects of this debate is whether or not we should continue to use this form of punishment for criminals. In my opinion, the death penalty should be abolished because it costs taxpayers much more than sending an inmate to prison and there is no factual evidence that it has any greater ...
The opposite of Tiurin is Fetiukov. He is a former office worker, and is considered the lowest rank of the 104th squad. No one in the squad respects him, since he has no respect and dignity for his own well being. Fetiukov is the one to “lick others” leftovers. He is a scavenger for anything he can get his hands on. Denisovich even defined him the sort of man who would steal potatoes out of another man’s soup. He would fight over leftovers in the mess hall. Working with others in his squad doesn’t concern him, only seeks to better his own situation. Fetiukov plays the big loser of the squad. He seems that he lost all respect for himself, since he entered prison; however it can be assumed that he was a lowlife selfish person his whole life.
Alyosha the Baptist, is Ivan Denisovich’s top bunk neighbor. He is an extremely religious person. Alyosha spends most of his time praying and reading the bible, which he kept hidden in the wall. He doesn’t seem very bothered with prison life, since he thinks about God and about his spirit. Unlike Fetiukov, he works hard, serves everyone, and does not take on the doubtful tactics of the other prisoners. That is why he is respected for his willingness to do kind things for his other prisoners of his squad. At the end of the story, he shares his thoughts and faith with Ivan Denisovich; however Denisovich does not disrespect God, but he thinks praying will not make his prison sentences any shorter. Alyosha believes his religion comforts him in times of trouble in the prison. Alyosha represents the hope, which does not seem to exist in the prison camp. Even though times of trouble, he will have his whole faith in the hands of his God.
Tsezar Markovich is another member of the 104th. He is a young filmmaker of mixed nationalities (Greek, Gypsy, and Jew, to name a few).
He is one of the rich prisoners, who got a job in the offices of the prison, which he probably got through bribery. Packages are sent to him from home. Prisoners know he’s the go to guy for such things as tobacco, cigarettes, and food. Tsezar seems to survive off the packages he receives. His presence represents the “go to guy” that has all the hook ups to various belongings, which other prisoners want. That makes him a valuable prisoner to the rest of his fellow squad, for he can “get” what people want.
The Essay on Ivan Denisovich Concentration Camp
By: Kia Berardinelli Imagine being captive in a concentration camp for over eight years. Ivan Denisovich Shukhov has experienced just this. In analyzing only one day of Ivan's life in a concentration camp, he displays many traits that show that he is a hero. Hero, can be defined in many different ways. The definition from Webster's dictionary states: Hero- a man of distinguished courage or ...
The bottom bunk neighbor of Ivan Denisovich is Buinovsky. He was a former naval captain and still acts like he still is a captain in the prison camps; however he stills receives some disrespect from other prisoners from the squad since he is the new kid in the block. Ivan Denisovich gives him the extra bowl of oatmeal, since he has not learned the ropes to being adapted in the camp. He was imprisoned unfairly (like makes people at this time); however he is still is patriotic to Russia, and to the Communist authorities and he still believes in the Soviet regime. This poor newcomer spends time in the guardhouse for ten days because he spoke out against Lieutenant Volkvoi. Denisovich knows that he will not survive the prison camp if he keeps his attitude up. Captain Buinovsky represents the new kid on the block, who is not willing, adapt to the new life in prison, and still behaving like he was captain being the superior to the rest of the group. He is a naïve person, still believing in Stalin’s regime, and his country is best. A brainwashed Russian captain to put it in another way.
These are just the few characters in which contributed to the overall story of the play. Solzhenitsyn put these other characters in the novel to show the other different types of prisoners that were commonly present in these Russian prison camps. These types of characters can be found in most prisons also, but most prisons are not brutal as the Russian prisons. By analyzing these different types of characters, I was amazed on how they are similar to other prison movies like Shawshank Redemption, and the HBO series Oz. They all have a leader to look up too, a man to supply you with your needs, a new prisoner that can’t adapt to prison life, a degenerate, and lastly a man with hope.
