Analysis Of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich

Lifeless faces, frigid temperatures, twelve hour workdays, constant hunger, and no escape from oppression. These are the realities of the prisoners in the gulags, or work camps, during Joseph Stalin’s reign over the Soviet Union. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, a novella by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, explores these aforementioned conditions. The novella follows Ivan, usually referred to as Shukhov, during a typical day in the gulug. But, the limited third person narration brings us Ivan’s thought and feelings about the events that are occuring. Consumed by the harsh conditions of the gulags, Shukhov struggles with not only his physical imprisonment, but his mental one as well. The feelings of isolation, uselessness, and unobtainable freedom

Both parties feel that their existence is defined by their condition, and there is no reality outside of it. For instance, when the prisoners have a few moments to themselves, whether it be marching to work or eating meals, they rarely think of outside the confinement of the camp. Their imprisonment transcends the physical world and keeps their mind in shackles. The thoughts of the prisoner, Shukhov explains, “--they’re not free either. They keep returning to the same things” (47). Even the mind of the prisoner, the only place where they are allowed to have a shred of privacy and individuality, is consumed by the camp. The gulag confines the thoughts and very existence of the prisoners, making the outside world appear to be a forgotten dream.: The only reality the prisoners know is that of endless work, “We never had time to think of any other home”, Shukhov explains (120). The isolation that the prisoners are experiencing can also be seen as a metaphor for clinical depression. Depression is an all consuming, inescapable illness. It defines your very existence, there is no reality outside it. As opposed to feelings of sadness or normal depression, which can come and go depending on the day, clinical depression is characterized by a “depressed mood [for] most of the day” and “symptoms that are present everyday” (WebMD). Like the prisoners, those with clinical depression are consumed by their condition and feel isolated from the rest of the world. Clinical depression affects all part of a person’s life and limits their physical and mental well-being, just as the gulags do to the