One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Connection Captain
Rotation #5/6
Pages: 134-167 & Afterword (169-178)
I have many connections for this role, but I like two of them about the injustice and people being kept in a place locked and how people who protested against the government even though it was a minimum detail against were taken to jail.
In page 153 through the end of 154 some quotes called my attention; Buinovsky was punished by the guards during dinner because he didn´t complete a form about the overclothes he was wearing. (It was really stupid because there was no pens nor ink) He realized that they were taking him to the icy cells (cold dark cells with no bed nor sheets to cover and you can´t leave until your punishment is over). “How many days?“ he asked, his voice falling, “Ten. Come on, come on. Get going.“ The author tells us that most of the people never survive a punishment of five days and Buinovsky´s was for ten days. “Ten days “hard“ in the cells“.
This reminds me of Anne Frank. She was a jewish girl who lived during the World War II. Her family decided to hide so the german police won´t find them, they lived in a little apartment hidden in a building, with no light and no communication to the outside world, for two entire years without getting out. The purposes of these characters were different, Anna Frank´s was not to be arrested by the german police and killed in the concentration camps, and Buinovsky was bound to be in the icy cells for a minimum crime, and he will possibly die in there. But they were both suppressed in a little place by careless authorities and because of crimes now a days won´t be considered as crimes. “Well brothers, good-by, said the captain with an embarrassed nod to his fellow prisoners , and followed the guard out. A few voices shouted: Keep you chin up“ (page 154) This can fit in both of our characters because Anne Frank never gave up fighting and she died with her chin up, that is what her diary.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/anne-frank-arrested-70-years-ago-today-read-her-last-diary-extract-9646390.html
Anne Frank two years before being arrested.
My second connection lies in Ivan Denisovich himself. In the afterword Eric Bogosian tells us who Ivan Denisovich was arrested: “You are being arrested. Why? Perhaps because at the dinner party you make an idle comment about politics, and what you had to say has been reported to the authorities . Or in a letter to a friend you wrote something critical of the government.“ Ivan Denisovich was arrested because somehow he was against the way Lenin and Stalin had govern the country so far and in those days the authorities were so strict that they took Shukhov to the Gulags without thinking.
This reminds me of this person in 1989 in China that stood in front of a column tanks with a poster saying protests against the communist government. This man and his girlfriend were tired of the way China was being govern, the people still don´t have the right to vote and there is no democracy in the country. The communist government has only benefits for themselves and there is no benefits for the community and the citizens. This man called Wang Weilin and more well known as “Tank Man“ was arrested the same day of the incident and he is still in jail now a days and has left 5 years in his sentence of twenty. Both Ivan and the Tank Man were arrested because they protested against the unfair government and tried to express their opinions. This tells us that the government in these days is as powerful as always and can make people do what they want and keep them suppressed.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/13312838/images/1293500251584.jpg
Tank Man
I agree that Anne Frank was a connection to Ivan because they were both in a camp where they had lots of racist people. But one connection you shouldn't have done was the part with Buinovsky. Anne was in the camp for no reason and was getting pushed around German because of who she was. But Buinovsky was there for commenting on their ruler or making a crime. Most went to the camp for cursing Stalin but that they have in common. Because Hitler and Stalin were both communist and they ruled people. But the problem with them was being racist. So you should have put the rulers as a connection.
ReplyDeleteHello Ha!
ReplyDeleteI like the two connections you made by reading the book. Your connection to Anne Frank was interesting. Both Anne and Buinovsky were send to harsh camps in there countries. But I somehow also agree with Juho, the connection was not completely accurate. I'm not saying this was a bad connection, as I said it before, I found this connection interesting. But as Juho stated, Buinovsky was there because he did something wrong, he critiziced the government. But Anne was there because she escaped from her country. I know both of them did something wrong, but Anne Frank is considered an idol for a lot of people.
I also liked your second connection. Even though I wasn't aware of this event China before I read your blogspost, I completely understood your connection. No only in China have poeple people being arrested but also in countries such as Nepal and North Korea. Unfortunately, many countries don't give the people freedom of speech.
Do you think that being sent to jail by only criticizing the government is a unfair ? Why ?
Great Post !
Juho, you are totally right Buinovsky was there because of the bad things he had done and Anne Frank was a good person, but they were both arrested by the unfair authorities that worked in that age.
ReplyDeleteJuan Carlos, Thank you. You got the idea of the post and I think we both learned from our posts. The thing about Anne Frank is true the same object were the authorities in this case.