Ivan Denisovich Dignity

Tolstoy also employs irony as he examines the plight of Ivan Ilych. This highlights the differences between Ilych's perception of his own life and reality while also allowing the reader to take part in some of the tearing anguish Ivan feels in having to submit to the wrongdoings in his life. Tolstoy compares Ivan Ilych's struggle to the plight of a man condemned to death as he "struggles in the hands of an executioner" (61). Ivan Ilych does not see death as a natural process, but as a punishment controlled by a merciless executioner, ironically much like the merciless judge he once was. Ivan Ilych's feels that death is an undeserved punishment because he never considered his own mortality. His obsession with social adroitness made mortality feel like a punishment, and his justification of this obsession made it impossible for him to let go of his life. Ivan Ilych believed he had lived his life up to social standards and because of this he would not have to endure the terrible agony of death that is beset among ordinary people. In reality he was blind to his shallow life and the transgressions he made.

Viktor E. Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who also had survived the Holocaust, writes “When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves” (BrainyQuote). Frankl survived genocide against his own people and still chose to have a positive outlook on it because he understands that if he did not, he would continually live an unhappy, upset life. Like Frankl, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, the main character in One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, contains a similar outlook to that of Frankl. The novel takes place during Soviet Russia in a gulag in Siberia, or otherwise known as a labor work camp. The whole book is about only one day that Shukhov lives; from 5 in the morning to 10 at night and all that happens in between. In this labor camp, not only are the weather conditions very cold, making it difficult to work in such circumstances, but also the workers are punished and harshly treated if they do not obey the guards. When placed in this environment, it is easy to be discouraged and miserable, but instead of facing the negatives of his situation, Shukhov remains affirmative in his thoughts – which are most important in order to survive not only physically, but also mentally. This stoicism portrayed in the narrative can also be found in Epictetus’s work, The Handbook. In this text, Epictetus discusses how he believes people can live a happy life, despite the hard conditions they are put through

Since the entire book takes place through the span of just one day, it is hard to see the bigger picture. On the other hand, life in the Gulag was monotonous, a prevalent theme, suggesting that if you know one day, you know all the days. Holding on to morals and humanity is different for Gulag prisoners than it is for concentration camp victims because people in Gulag have time sentences. They have a light at the end of the tunnel, a reason to maintain their humanity. For inhabitants of concentration camps, the only end in sight was death; they survived off of instincts, trying to stay alive out of default. So despite living in “dog eat dog” conditions, the people of the Gulag held on to loose morals, had a type of code of honor. When narrating about thieving, Ivan said, “Easy money had no weight: you didn't feel you'd earned it.” Another example of the Gulag’s retained humanity was reimbursement. There are several times when Ivan did something for Tsezar because it was generally assumed that favors are repaid. Tsezar paid Ivan back with food. When their bunk room had the nightly roll-call, Ivan hid and protected Tsezar’s food for him. In return, “Tsezar’s hand reached up to place two biscuits, two lumps of sugar, and one round chunk of sausage on Shukhov’s [Ivan’s] bed.” This self-sustaining, innate, code of honor that existed between some people was one example of morality that survives due to being an intrinsic component of human

On a day to day bases, men and women in prison or jail are dehumanized and terrorized by their superiors or even their inmates in the Criminal Justice System. The inmates that are in this situation are usually physically, emotionally, and mentally abused, they are often deprived of meals and are belittled. The inmates in this situation have no other choice but adapt to their best ability of the harsh situation they are founded in or be broken and taken over by the system they are forced to be a part of. Is it true that a person in difficult situations needs to be indifferent of their past because being nostalgic can only hurt them? Or does the harsh situation they become a custom to make it easier to forget their past life?. Solzhenitsyn uses Shukhov’s indifferent attitude towards his past to illustrate that a person cannot be nostalgic because it can lead to one’s self-destruction.

In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn shows how Soviet prisoners, known as Zeks, are treated while being in the gulag for one day through the eyes of the protagonist and omniscient narrator named Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. Despite being in an environment such as the Soviet Union, where there is harsh tundra and not much food to eat, Shukhov tries to make good use of what he has received while trying to keep himself alive. The purpose of Solzhenitsyn’s portrayal of food is to show its overall significance and that it is used as a means of trade and survival. Over time, the power of food reveals its significance to the Zeks and especially to Shukhov and food allows both groups understanding towards the necessity of food for their vitality and well-being additionally.

Imagery: The author uses imagery to describe the Russian prisoners’ lives in the camps. This imagery makes them look pathetic and frail, causing the reader to feel empathetic and sorry for them. Also we see the same idea of imagery within the hospitals and what happens in them. The description of gore and fear emphasizes the theme of death

    In the face of Morrie's overwhelming compassion and tenderness, Ivan Ilych presents an opposite lifestyle. After a pleasantly carefree childhood he turned towards ambition and pursued an ever-larger salary and an ever-increasing social rank. Ivan lived without values and without attachments, easily moving between cities and jobs. He cared little for the great inconvenience of his family, and even less for his wife: "he hate[d] her with his whole soul" (Ivn, 139). Commitment was a prison to be avoided at all costs, a detriment to his proper and official existence. Genuine love touched Ivan only rarely and certainly not during the dying moments when he needed it the most.

The prisoners of the Holocaust described in the memoir suffered from poor living conditions such as thirst, and starvation. Jews were also physically and mentally abused in the cases of separation, and violent acts. On page 65 of Night, Eliezer is physically abused when he is whipped, “Then I was aware of nothing but the strokes of the whip, he took his time between each stroke.” The beating of Eliezer gives a clear understanding that Jewish prisoners, or prisoners in general, were mistreated, and the brutality of these camps, which violated the Human Rights. In addition, on page 83, Eliezer speaks of the harshest days of his experiences during the Holocaust, “These were terrible days. We received more blows than food; we were crushed with work.” Eliezer conveys a message that they worked more than they got to rest or eat. The situations of the prisoners are an example of poor conditions, or poor living

Every day, several prisoners catch cold during the roll call and die in the following days”. In the article, “Just a Normal Day in the Camps.” In the article Jewishgen.org by Vincent Châtel , He gave us a better understanding of what being a prisoner was actually like and how they were being treated. We got to get a clearer idea of what a day to day routine of living at the camp was like, and from the sounds of it, it wasn’t pleasant at any moment. Everything was timed to the minute meaning, they had something to do at all time.

However, every person in one’s life will have an effect whether it is directly or indirectly, will affect someone and how they perceive themselves. The desire of living in a livable world without judgment of any implications of that person isn’t an ideal virtue. In every part of life there are experiences in which we take hold from the outside and undergo a transformation, such as childhood. We’re exposed to so many indeterminable factors whether its race, social or bodily construction, that we don’t realize how we are changing and slowly morphing into society’s version of “traditional” or “standard”. “ But this is only because to live is to live a life politically, in relation to power, in relation to others, in the act of assuming responsibility for a collective future” (Butler 131). We’re made to believe that order is systematic to prosperity. We live a life where there is no individual power since we are succumbed to the appeal and desire for recognition of others. Initially we can’t escape the thought-provoking questionable matter of what makes us, us, for that reason we’ve been morphed in a course of direction that was already paved out for us; our bodies don’t belong to us but is a public

Traveling by train to a concentration camp, Viktor Frankl spent his last hours in his own clothes, and with his own things. Upon arrival, he and his fellow prisoners were stripped of everything; luggage, clothing, jewelry, and even the hair off their bodies. Frankl lost the last piece of his life, a manuscript of his ideas that he had been working on for quite some time (Frankl 23). No only did the prisoners lose everything, they had to completely change the way they lived. They wore the same clothes for months, rarely washed themselves, and slept in terrible sleeping

However, Ivan continues to refuse that living in accordance to what society deemed to be an ideal life because he despite the fact that he had little time left, he could not live with the idea that his life was wasted. In this realization of Ivan’s, Tolstoy conveys his message that leading an uncompassionate life that conforms to influence of the world around it leads to a life that is mostly not worth living and unhappiness in death because through Ivan’s pain, Tolstoy shows how a life similar to Ivan’s can only lead people into suffering and

Shukhov, one of the prisoners in the special camp, has many unfair situations from his camp life. Among those situations, deficient amount of meal, struggling against the harsh coldness, and loss of his rights and dignity caused Shukhov to suffer. To sustain from the special camp, Shukhov has to warm himself, gets extra food to survive, and retain his own dignity and rights.

The day begins with Shukhov waking up sick. For waking late, he is sent to the guardhouse and forced to clean it-a minor punishment compared to others mentioned in the book. the whole camp lives by the rule of survival of the fittest.Those in the camps found everyday life extremely difficult. Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, the protagonist of the novel. The reader is able to see Russian camp life through Denisovich's eyes. Information is given through his thoughts, feelings and actions which portray camp life through many of its restricted activities. The themes of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich center on authoritative oppression and camp survival. Specifically discussed is the cruelty and spite towards the fellow man, namely from prison officials. Solzhenitsyn explains through Ivan Denisovich that everything is managed by the camp commandment up to the point where time feels unnoticed Often considered the most powerful indictment of the USSR's gulag ever made, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich forced Western intellectuals to acknowledge their sins of omission in regards to the Soviet human rights

Has anyone lived a life without misfortune? Doubtable; even the person with what could be described as the ideal life deals with some form of adversity. The novel, Speak, and the short story, The Third and Final Continent, both use plot as a way to convey themes of hardship. Moreover, these texts both use symbolism in order to develop their themes as well. The Art of Resilience and Speak utilize characterization as a method of developing their respective themes. Speak, The Third and Final Continent, and The Art of Resilience each deal with the theme that all people must learn to cope with adverse situations.