Quote 1-
"If only it could be one thing or the other - let him fall into a real fever or let his aching joints ease up" (p7)
I think this is a very significant quote. At first glance, one may think there is nothing special, but when one looks closer, they find what was hidden. I think this quote signifies the opposite of what most would want. Shukhov wanted the pain to either leave completely or to become a full on fever - meaning that he would be fine with either. Most men, on the other hand would want either one or the other. In other words, what benefits them the most.
This crossroad represents Shukhov's exact situation. He was stuck in the middle of a crossroad - not able to go either way. One way: the real fever, or the other way: no pain.
Quote 2 -
"It was against the rules for a prisoner to possess two pairs of footwear at the same time." (p12)
This is another significant quote. It is implying ho little luxuries a prisoner can have - not even two pairs of shoes. It is just a little taste of what the prisoners suffered, what they went through every day to survive. they were held back many luxuries. The surface meaning of this quote is a man who can't have more than one pair of shoes. The deeper meaning is of how many things we have on our regular day-to-day lives that we don't even think twice on, while these men don't even have two pairs of shoes.
These are valenki, one of the two pairs of footwear Shukhov had to choose from. This means that, not only could he not own two pairs of shoes, but neither one of them were good quality shoes.
Source
This is another significant quote. It is implying ho little luxuries a prisoner can have - not even two pairs of shoes. It is just a little taste of what the prisoners suffered, what they went through every day to survive. they were held back many luxuries. The surface meaning of this quote is a man who can't have more than one pair of shoes. The deeper meaning is of how many things we have on our regular day-to-day lives that we don't even think twice on, while these men don't even have two pairs of shoes.
These are valenki, one of the two pairs of footwear Shukhov had to choose from. This means that, not only could he not own two pairs of shoes, but neither one of them were good quality shoes.
Source
Juliana I agree with both your meanings to these two quotes. For the first quote, I also agree that he had two paths to pick from. One with pain and other without. I think that all men would want to go down the path that benefits them the most.
ReplyDeleteTHe second quote you picked really shocked me the first time I read it. I could not believe that they could only have one pair of shoes, while we have many. Other than that, it is surprising that the shoes aren't even good quality and could break any minute.
Bethany,
DeleteWhat I thought was really astonishing about the first quote was that he was willing to go down either path, not even assessing which would be the most beneficial, as long as he wasn't stuck in the middle. Most men would either first assess the situation before making their decision, or they would already clearly know what path they wanted to take.
The second quote really moved me for the exact same reason - they have so little of all we take for granted each and every day. The shoes they were were't good quality, but they were better than nothing. I think that having more than one pair of shoes is one privilege that they should have.