Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev once observed that ‘The Russian yearning for the meaning of life is the major theme of our literature, and this is the real point of our intelligentsia’s existence.’ Berdyaev was referring to 19th century Russian literature when he said this, however, the ideals of which he spoke on carried on to the next century as well. With One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn brought Soviet tyranny to the world’s attention.
Solzhenitsyn sent his manuscript to the Moscow journal Novy Mir in the fall of 1961. The book’s original title was “Sč-854”, the serial number of a gulag prisoner. However, the Soviet regime considered that the title was too brutal and changed the title. This political novel, loosely based on Solzhenitsyn experience, was finally published in 1962 and translated in 1963. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich strongly contributed to Solzhenitsyn the Nobel Literature Prize in 1970.
As the title suggests, the novel takes us through one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. He’s referred as Shukhov in the book. Falsely accused of treason and imprisoned in a Soviet labour camp. Shukhov’s horrifying living conditions in the camp begin at 5 a.m. everyday with the blows of a hammer banging on a length of rail hanging. In the camp, prisoners must get up as soon as they hear the banging. However, on one cold morning in 1951, Shukhov decides to stay in bed a bit longer – a decision which gets him punished by the warden. He’s relieved when he learns that he won’t go to the camp’s prison dubbed ‘the hole’ by fellow inmates, but his punishment is to wash the floor in the warden quarter. After his punishment, Shukhov carries on his day. We follow him through the menial everyday elements of working and living in a gulag. From dealing with hunger and cold to surviving the guards’ cruelty. And from hiding bread in his clothes to helping other prisoners, Shukhov’s day is dire. However, despite being in constant survival mode, from time to time he reflects on the other prisoners, his wife and life before his imprisonment.
The reader follows Shukhov in one day during his ten-year sentence. He already spent eight years in the gulag, and the remaining two years would seem like the end of a long tunnel had he carried with him the fear of an extension to his sentence.
Following Shukhov through his day, we get to know a resourceful individual – determined to do whatever needs to be done in order to survive. The way he tackles his day-to-day living conditions reveals someone who’s shrewd. His relationship with the other prisoners shows that he has a certain level of understanding human nature. When a fellow inmate Tsezar, receives a package from his family and is worried about his package getting stolen, Shukhov helps him hide the box both out of the goodness of his heart and in the hopes to get something from the package. Shukhov and Tsezar are very different. The former is a peasant, and the latter comes from Moscow. Tsezar frequently receives packages that reveal his ties to the outside world. Ties that Shukhov doesn’t have.
Shukhov’s spirituality is touched upon in a conversation with a prisoner by the name of Alyoshka. Unlike Shukhov, Alyosha’s religion and spirituality are the cornerstones of his resiliency. In comparison, Shukhov is quite detached from religion.
This is a story which takes place in a gulag in the USSR ruled by Josef Stalin. In this setting, themes of survival, routine, punishment and reflection are intertwined.
The theme of “daily routine” in a labour camp is illustrated through the sequence of actions that Shukhov and the other prisoners carry on day to day. Some of this routine include the basic actions we all accomplish daily, such as getting out of bed and eating breakfast. In their case, however, each action can lead to the most terrible punishments in the gulag if they’re not appropriately accomplished. In these conditions, most prisoners develop a survival instinct and constantly anticipate the following action in their routine.
The alternating between surviving the daily actions and moments of reflection is a very compelling theme. Shukhov is constantly aware of his surroundings, but that doesn’t prevent him from diving into thoughts and considerations about elements which lay outside of the labour camp.
The literary style of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is quite rough around the edges. The translation by Ralph Parker is straight to the point and doesn’t bother with elegant language. The dialogues are direct, raw and brutal.
I would recommend One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich to anyone who wants to understand the gulag system and the lives of those who spent years there. I greatly admire Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s political courage and his capacity to describe the harshness of totalitarian communism in his great novels.
3.5/5
