One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Illustrious Artist
Role 5
I was reading the book and when I got to page 42 I read the following; " He ate up his stew without taking much interest in what was happening around him. No need for that: he wasn't on the lookout for extras, he was eating his own lawful portions ". This scene was very interesting in my opinion, so I decided to illustrate the scene. Until now, I understood that Gulag Camps were harsh and unfair for the prisoners. Something unfair for the prisoners was that they got fed a little amount food. They were fed sometimes oatmeal and sometimes stew. But I never thought that a prisoner could enjoy eating a bowl of stew so much. In this labor forced camps, food can mean a lot. Working all day non-stop and then having a time to rest and eat for a while can give the prisoners a bit of happiness. In this scene, Shukov is savouring the stew and enjoying the moment. He is relaxed and not thinking about other things but of this moment. Even though it is not much, it is enough to please him for a while.
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The final pages of this section of the book talk about Shukov going to bed at the end of the day. The book mentions that Shukov had such a good day that he wasn't in the mood to sleep yet. When I read this I wondered how someone could have a good day being in a place like the Gulag Camps. My prediction is that Shukov had a good day because he got used to it. He got used to being treated harshly, he got used to the food, he got used to living there. I mean, the day he had could have being worse, he could have injured himself or maybe getting ill, but he didn't. The day ended and Shukov was content, he felt good with himself. I chose the image above because even though he was in a prison, Shukov felt happy when he went to sleep, I bet he imagined himself sleeping in a comfortable bed !
Juan Carlos,
ReplyDeleteI have two good quotes that can provide more info and deep thoughts to your post: “The evening stew was much thinner than at breakfast: if they are to work, prisoners must be fed in the morning; and in the evening they´ll go to sleep anyway“. This one is about the food you mention in your first paragraph and about your image, Ivan Denishovich was used to that kind of food and since he had being in prison for so long his stomach has realized that the food in the morning is much more; so he has learned to preserve food, eat when he has to and pay attention to his “diet“ in the camps because anything in Siberia can kill him (weather, no food, cold, illness, etc.)
The second quote is “We´ll survive. We´ll stick it out, God willing, till it is over.“ This one reminds me of you second thought. I like how Ivan Denishovich thought and I think you noticed it too, he was really positive although he missed his family and the way he lived, but he was willing to survive and to gain the way he lived again