One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Analysis Essay

Joseph Stalin strategically came into power in communist Russia in the 1930s. Within nevertheless a few years, he turned Russia from a communist state into a totalitarian dictatorship. a few(prenominal) people chose to speak out against Stalin, entirely those who did were put into Siberian work en coterie custodyts or gulags. Alexander Solzhenitsyn was genius of the few that chose to speak out against Stalin and his totalitarian regime. He used his years in the work battalions to exemplify a vivid portrayal of what coterie life was like in his book, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. The new(a) is a criticism against Stalins communism, and is a commentary on why a communistic schema will never work. Three of the biggest ways the novel critiques communism are by attempting to de valetize Russian society, displaying forms of unfair punishment, and arguing the importance of assurance.Solzhenitsyn propagates the radical idea that communism doesnt work. collectivism is t he idea that every peerless in society receives equal shares of the benefits resulting from exertion. It teaches the poor to rise up and attain financial and well-disposed status equal to that of the affectionateness-class. In order for everyone to be on the same level, wealth is redistri only ifed so the members of the upper class are brought down to the same financial and social level as the middle class (Coffin 660-665). In theory, communism is presented as to be a u leadia where everyone has adequate food and shelter besides in the novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, it is clear communism in approach pattern is very different from communism in ideology. The communism Solzhenitsyn presents in this novel actually tries to take outdoor(a) any form of human dignity. The story takes place in a Russian prison camping site after World War II. The protagonist is a man named Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, but referred to as Shukhov for most of the novel.The root refers to Iva n as Shukhov to emphasize the how the camp sets him at a cold, official distance. Ivan is Shukhovs first name and Denisovich is his patronymic, a name that is derived from ones fathers name. In Russian society, addressing someone by his or her first name and patronymic is cordial but respectful. The early Soviet Communist regime seek to eradicate this form of address because the respect it entails suggested class differences among people, something communism seeks to destroy. On the other hand, addressing someone by his or her last name has an official meaning. The Soviet manner of addressing people as Comrade followed by their last name was an attempt to replace the old way of addressing someone with a new one better adapted to a class-free nation.Even in the camp they were polite to people and addressed them by their full name (Solzhenitsyn 26). The prison camp workers always addressed each other with the same stage of respect in order to preserve each others dignity. The labor camp in which Ivan is imprisoned is designed to oppress and dehumanize its prisoners. The living conditions are simply unbearable. The mattresses do non nominate sheets, prisoners share tiny portions of bread and porridge per meal, and the guards force the prisoners to undress in sub zero temperatures for body searches.The camp replaces the prisoners names with letter and number to erase all hints of individuality, S 854three years penalty work, says the new warden to, Ivan as punishment for not getting up on time (Solzhenitsyn 7-8). The camp gives everyone numbers and makes them all dress identically take away their identities, from the outside, everyone in the squad looked the same- their black coats were identical-but in spite of appearance the squad there were great distinctions (Solzhenitsyn 15).However, Denisovich does not accept the camps attempts to dehumanize him. He shows maintaining human dignity does not have to be achieved through violent rebellion but rather, throu gh developing a system of person-to-person rules. For example, at meal time, no matter the conditions, he always removes his cap before ingest, and then he removed his hat from his clean-shaven head- however cold it might be, he could never bestow himself to eat with his hat on (Solzhenitsyn 16). From his childhood, this practice gives Ivan a sense that he is behaving in a civilised manner.No matter how famished he becomes, he never stoops to Fetyukovs level, begging for scraps. He scorns Fetyukovs behavior, which he believes is inhuman. Ivan may be treated like an animal by the Soviet camp system, but he subtly fights back and refuses to submit. In one instance, Shukhov is tempted to ask a fellow prisoner for a cigarette which the other man has already half smoked but, but he would never de lessonize himself he would never look at a mans mouth (Solzhenitsyn 27).Ivan never allows the labor camp to get the best of him but gets punished for things one in his control on top of bei ng imprisoned. Another criticism of communism throughout the novel is the description of unjust punishment upon the prisoners. In the beginning of the novel, Shukhov does not get up on time because he is sick and is then peril with three days in the hole. Similarly, Buynovsky receives ten days in the hole for trying to bundle up against the cold with a flannel vest. Neither Shukhovs illness nor Buynovskys attempt to stay ardent harm anyone, but the camp treats both as strict violations of the law, worthy of severe punishment. Such approximative punishment for such petty offenses is absurd. These men are already locked into arduous prison sentences, heaping on unjust and illogical punishment upon them is just a brutal exercise of power by the guards. Through this unjust treatment one thing that help the prisoners survive was having faith in something whether it is a strict moral code or faith in god.One of the main goals of communism was to eradicate religion from society. harmon ize to the founders of communism religion hinders societal progress it was Marx who said religion is the opium of people. Solzhenitsyn implies it is much easier to get through hardships with faith in something rather than without. During a march, Shukhov thinks of Alyosha, the devout Baptist, he wonders, What had he to be happy about? His cheeks were sunken, he lived strictly on his rations, and he earned nothing. He spent all his Sundays with the other Baptists. They shed the hardships of camp like water (Solzhenitsyn 38). Shukhov is making the point when you believe in something, like religion, it is much easier to keep a positive attitude and survive a terrible situation.Although Ivan does not mention religion for most of the novel, his closing conversation with Alyoshka, reveals faith can be a means of survival in the oppressive camp system. Ivan adheres to a strict set of rules, like always taking off his hat before eating or trying to waste as little as possible. Alyoshka, ha s faith in god and the human spirit for my part I am not ready merely to be bound but even to die for the name of the Lord Jesus (Solzhenitsyn 163), this comment really affects Shukhov to a point where he begins to reflect on his own philosophy. Shukhovs s sense of inner peace in the novels last paragraph, which resembles Alyoshkas sense of inner peace throughout the novel, demonstrates that spiritual faith offers distinctiveness in the face of difficulty.Having any type of faith can carry someone through hardship, religious faith is simply one type of such a faith. Though the labor camps were filled with suffering and misery, the men continued to exhibit acts of humanity in their day to day lives. The only way these men could have survived this inhuman treatment was by subtly fighting the system in their own personal way. Solzhenitsyn uses three simple yet powerful ideas the dehumanization of the human 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.Works CitedCoffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. westbound Civilizations Their History & Culture. New York, NY W. W. Norton, 2008. Print.Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr Isaevich. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. New York Dutton, 1963. Print.