Line Illuminator - Alejandro A.

One Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Alexander Solzhenitsyn 

Line Illuminator

Pages 134 - 167/169 - 178 (afterword)

P.g.#: 166

"We've nothing but we always find a way to make something extra."

       This basically summarizes most of the themes in the book in one sentence. That is what the prisoners are doing throughout the day, trying to manipulate and weave their way into getting an extra piece of bread or a few tobacco leaves. From nothing, or extremely little, they are able to survive through these harsh conditions. Ivan stopped receiving parcels, and started really low on the prison hierarchy, however he managed to get up pretty high and still receive bits and pieces of other people's parcels. Crafting small knives from otherwise useless rocks, he uses them to make some slippers and fix coats, and thus is able to make some profit through originally a coarse rock and idea.

P.g.#: 172

"The more detail we are given about the smallest event, the more profound the book seemingly becomes."

       This really materialized some thoughts I had on the way the author had written the book. I really enjoyed how I got to know Ivan as I worked my way throught the story, and I feel that if I encountered a problem I could come up with a pretty good guess of what he would choose. However, I don't think the author did very well with the immersion/imagery in the actual book. There were various moments in which I was not completely sure what the place Denisovich was in looked like, and some that I didn't even know where he was. I'm not completely sure if that happened because I accidentally skipped lines or missed something, I just didn't feel like I was walking in Ivan's shoes, much less having a good image of his surroundings. The author did a marvelous job with Ivan's state and his connection with the audience, just not with the environment evolving around Ivan.

- Citations - 

1st image: Calvin, William H. "A Brain for All Seasons." William H. Calvin, A Brain for All Seasons (University of Chicago Press, 2002), Olorgesailie. N.p., 2002. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://www.williamcalvin.com/BrainForAllSeasons/Olor.htm>.

2nd image: Michealjfraser. "The Art Of Immersion Part 2." Immersive Transmedia. N.p., 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://mikefraserdigitalpublishing.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/the-art-of-immersion-part-2/>.