Literature Analysis #5: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

General:

1.  The novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is simply the description of a day through the eyes of a prisoner living in a camp for political prisoners in Siberia.  The entire novel is meant to describe what human beings can truly take before their very soul is broken.  Throughout the day Ivan, the main character, searches for whatever scraps of food or tools he can get his hands on.  The guards are relentless when checking the prisoners and many are sent to the "cells", however Ivan finds his away around these intense investigations.  By the end of the novel Ivan recalls his entire day and finds that it was almost a good day.

2.  I believe the novel's theme consists of the idea that the human being itself can only take so much.  We are meant to endure challenges however the life Ivan leads is simply one large challenge.  Everyday he is constantly tested whether that be through physical treatment or lack of nutrition, it seems as if everything is a struggle.  However the novel also shows what human beings can endure.  We may not be invincible but we carry ourselves well and accomplish masterful things.  If one positive aspect can be taken from this novel it is that humanity seems to often contain infinite endurance.

3.  The major tone that the author portrays throughout the entire novel is that of perseverance.  "[Senka had] escaped death by some miracle, and now he was serving his time quietly. Kick up a fuss, he said, and you're done for.  He was right there. Best to grin and bear it. Dig in your heels and they'll break you in two."  This quote is a perfect example of how some prisoners knew that if you wanted to survive sometimes you just had to give in.  "But he refused to knuckle under: he didn't put his three hundred grams on the dirty table, splashed all over, like the others, he put it on a rag he washed regularly."  Understanding this quote gives a great insight into the thought process of the main character.  He knew that if he wanted to survive, he must make conscience decisions even when it came to sanitation.  "He immediately stopped expecting anything from the goodies on display. No good letting your belly get excited when there's nothing to come."  Once again this quote displays the control Ivan had over his own body knowing never to get too excited when you must think about the necessities first.

4.
 Diction- "Alyosha , who was standing next to Shukov, gazed at the sun and looked happy, a smile on his lips. What had he to be happy about? His cheeks were sunken, he lived strictly on his rations, he earned nothing. He spent all his Sundays muttering with the other Baptists."  The author uses simple diction in order to reveal the nature of one of the characters in the novel.
Symbol- "In camp the squad leader is everything: a good one will give you a second life; a bad one will put you in your coffin."  The squad leader presented in this quote is a very important symbol not only to Ivan but the reader as well.
Metaphor- "Shukov looked up at the sky and gasped--the sun had climbed almost to the dinner hour. Wonder of wonders!"  The author portrays the sun as "climbing" up to the dinner hour which is obviously a metaphor for the day coming to an end.
Antagonist- "You had to be wide awake all the time. Make sure a warder never saw you on your own, only as one of a crowd. He might be looking for somebody to do a job, or he might just want to take his spite out on you."  Here the author describes one of the main antagonists in the novel.
Dialogue- "Why so late? Why didn't you come last night? Didn't you know there's no clinic in the morning? The sick list has gone over to PPS already."Shukhov knew all that. He also knew it was no easier to get off work in the evening.  "Yes, but, Kolya, it didn't start hurting last night, when it ought to have."  Conversation between Ivan and one of the doctors.  Here Ivan is trying to get out of work for the day.
Irony- "Next, he removed his cap from his shaven head - however cold it was, he wouldn't let himself eat with his cap on."  Although Ivan could have easily eaten with his cap on, his strict morals told him to take it off making this scene somewhat ironic.
Simile- "Writing letters home was like throwing stones into a bottomless pool. They sank without a trace."  Here Ivan is describing how when he sent letters to his wife they either never reached her or she just never responded.
Flashback- "Shukhov stared into the flames and his seven years in the north came back to him. Three years hauling logs for crates and rail ties to the log slide."  In this quote Ivan is remembering back to a time where he was not in this horrid camp.

Characterization

1.
“Shukhov said nothing.  He didn’t even nod.  He rammed on his cap and went out.  When you’re cold, don’t expect sympathy from someone who’s warm.”  This quote is an adequate representation of what a indirect characterization looks like.  The author expresses the fact that Ivan knew that he could not expect anything from someone who had it better.  “Even a prisoner’s thoughts weren’t free but kept coming back to the same thing, kept turning the same things over again.  Will they find that bread in the mattress? Will the medics put me on the sick list this evening?  Will they put the Captain in the cooler or not? And where did Caesar get that warm shirt?  He must’ve gotten it out of someone in the stores with a bribe.  Where else?”  Again the author does a great job describing just how thoughtful the character of Ivan is without directly stating it.  “Easy money doesn’t weigh anything and it doesn’t give you that good feeling you get when you really earn it.  The old saying was true - what you don’t pay for honestly, you don’t get good value for.  Shukhov’s hands were still good for something.  Back home he’d surely find himself work making stoves, or something in the carpentry line, or mending pots and pans.”  Instead of indirect characterization, this time the author precisely describes how Ivan feels the need to work and earn money the hard way rather than the more appealing and easier way.  “Some fellows always thought the grass was greener on the other side of the fence.  Let them envy other people if they wanted to, but Shukhov knew what life was about.  And he was not the kind who thought anybody owed him a living.”  Again the author gives an excellent and direct description of how Ivan knew that life was what you made of it.

2.  When the author begins to describe the character the syntax remains mostly the same however the diction starts to become precise and descriptive.   "How can you expect a man who's warm to understand a man who's cold? The cold stung. A murky fog wrapped itself around Shukhov and made him cough painfully. The temperature out there was -17; Shukov's temperature was 99. The fight was on."  Here the reader understands how Ivan had to overcome the harsh temperatures that often ravaged his body.  "Every nerve in his body was taut, all his longing was concentrated in that cigarette butt--which meant more to him now, it seemed, than freedom itself--but he would never lower himself like that Fetiukov, he would never look at a man's mouth."  Again the diction used here accurately describes Ivan's true morals.  He feels no need to beg knowing that a true man takes care of himself.

3.  Considering the fact that the novel only takes place during one single day, I would have to say that the protagonist is both static and flat.  Some readers might see this as a downfall, however because Ivan stays to his own morals the reader is intrigued to find out if Ivan ever breaks.  There are numerous situations throughout the entire novel that Ivan could have simply given up, however through every struggle he remains the same strong willed man the reader first met at the beginning of the novel.

4.  After reading this novel there is no doubt in my mind that I have met Ivan.  It is not how the author describes him that attracts me to Ivan, but simply how he remains himself throughout the entire novel.  When I am faced with the many challenges I encounter in my life I hope to live by the same morals that Ivan lived by.  No matter what obstacles he ran into, he remained the same powerful man.  Because of his extreme fortitude, he is a character that I have certainly met.