This short episode contains a discussion of the work ethic in the camps. Clearly, the system is designed to make the prisoners keep each other working hard in order for the whole group to survive. Tyurin has assigned the Captain and Fetyukov to work together carrying sand because that particular […]
Read more Summary and Analysis The GULAG Work EthicSummary and Analysis Some Thoughts on Comrades and Bread
Ivan’s gang arrives at the worksite and begins to settle into the daily routine. Meanwhile, Ivan ponders about Alyosha’s faith, which allows him to survive without extra food rations. He also thinks about the importance of a good gang boss for the survival of the gang members. Tyurin, his assistant […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Some Thoughts on Comrades and BreadSummary and Analysis Daydreams of Home and of the Kolkhoz
Hungry and still feeling ill, Ivan daydreams about a letter that he considers writing to his wife — while all the time marching along, automatically, toward the power plant, his gang’s worksite. He is allowed to write two letters yearly, but there is not much he can write about that […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Daydreams of Home and of the KolkhozSummary and Analysis Morning Search and Departure
Ivan Denisovich returns to his barracks and waits for the morning roll call along with the rest of his work gang. Pavlo, the assistant gang boss, hands him his bread ration, which Ivan immediately realizes is half an ounce short of the regulation one-pound loaf of bread. He decides to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Morning Search and DepartureSummary and Analysis A Sicklist Attempt Fails
In this novel, Solzhenitsyn rarely gives us lengthy descriptions of a person’s character or of his background. Instead, information about the protagonist and his fellow prisoners is given in small installments as the story progresses and as it becomes important for the reader’s understanding of the protagonist. Thus, we have […]
Read more Summary and Analysis A Sicklist Attempt FailsSummary and Analysis Breakfast
Ivan joins his gang in the mess hall, remarking on the routine surrounding the daily meals. Fetyukov, the scrounger, is guarding Ivan’s breakfast and is clearly disappointed when the latter shows up to claim it. For the next ten minutes, Ivan concentrates only on his food, even though it has […]
Read more Summary and Analysis BreakfastSummary and Analysis Mopping the Guardroom Floor
Following the Thin Tartar across the frozen prison compound, Ivan discovers that he is being taken to the Commandant’s office. He is led to the guardroom, where he is told that he does not have to serve his three-day sentence, and he is given orders to mop the guardroom floor […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Mopping the Guardroom FloorSummary and Analysis An Unexpected Trip to the Commandants
The novel begins with a description of Ivan’s waking up to the sound of a hammer being banged against a metal rail, the sound muffled by a thick crust of heavy ice on the windows. Usually, Ivan gets up immediately to begin his battle for survival by doing odd jobs […]
Read more Summary and Analysis An Unexpected Trip to the CommandantsCharacter List
Major Characters Ivan Denisovich Shukhov Prisoner S-854, who is the protagonist and focal point of the novel. He has been sentenced to ten years of hard labor and has spent the past eight years in a number of prison labor camps. Given above is his full name, which consists of […]
Read more Character ListAbout One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
The Gulag System One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich takes place in a “special” camp run by the Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps and Settlements, better known by the Russian acronym: GULAG. The new rulers of Russia after the violent overthrow of the Czars dealt very harshly […]
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