Katie Hartey
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Essay
Everyone in life has to go through tough times; sometimes they last longer than others. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich gives an incite of something no book has never exposed before. Shukhov, the protagonist and main character, has to surpass the struggles and make the best out of his many days in the camp. By doing hard work and having pride in it makes the days seem to go by faster and less painful. Shukhov constantly demonstrates his good work and is always pleased with the end result. He receives respect and recognition for his hard work and he makes his work his own personal pleasure and pride.
Despite the horrible conditions in the gulag, Shukhov makes the most of every day through hard work and ingenuity. His day starts by waking up at reveille, and he never oversleeps. He spends an hour and a half of his day when he gets up early by doing services for others, such as laying out the other prisoner’s shoes for them. He sometimes gets rewarded with extra food in the mess hall for doing favors like that in the morning. When the workers are given work to do Shukhov finds it easier to get through by doing an honest day’s work instead of only going through the motions. He enjoys his work and takes a lot of pride in the jobs that he accomplishes. At their work site the squad is assigned the job of setting cement blocks on the second-story walls of a building. While he is working on the bricks he is making sure that each brick is laid correctly and that the job had been completed perfectly. Throughout the book he displays his continuous hard working habits that results in personal pride and achievement that gets him through each day.
Shukhov’s life in the prison camp is a reflection of the life of the people of Russia living within the confines of the Soviet regime. Under the rule of Stalin, nobody could breathe the air of freedom or live life with no fear. Life for everyone was...