Present Provoking Past
“Analyze a characters’ response to the past as a source of meaning in a work”
“ . . . the past, no matter what it was like, never becomes a matter of indifference to the present.”
In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Alexander Solzhenitsyn portrays one normal day in the life of Shukhov (Ivan Denisovich), a Russian peasant unfairly confined in one of Stalin’s forced labor camps for political prisoners. Throughout the novel, Solzhenitsyn depicts how Shukhov has adapted to his surroundings and has been able to survive with a dignity other prisoners have lost throughout their confinement. It is exactly the way Shukhov has been able to live and survive in prison, that reveals how he has responded to his past, even when all the author reveals to the reader is the characters’ immediate present.
Shukhov responded to his past by clinging to aspects of his “previous life” which allowed him to maintain his humanity, and thus survive, and by letting go of those which didn’t. Many critics argue that imprisonment robs individuals of their humanity for, in order to survive, they grow accustomed to their harsh life and loose basic human responses. Solzhenitsyn however, proves through Shukhov, that even within confinement, where prisoners are robbed of every kind of possession, freedom and humanity can still exist within.
What aspects then, does Shukhov hold on to, and which ones does he let go of in order to survive? First of all, it is very important to clarify that survival in the novel is very relative. Surviving for some of the prisoners is merely enduring life, no matter the cost, such as for Fetiukov who stoops even to collecting other prisoners’ left over cigarette buds, even though he puts himself in danger of catching a syphilitic lip. For Shukhov however, surviving goes far beyond making it alive. Shukhov shares Kuziomin’s same belief that those who lick other men's leftovers, those who count on the doctors to pull them through, and those who squeal on their buddies don’t make it, for it’s at the expense of not just other people’s blood, but at the expense of loss of self-value, of self-worth.
Thus, for Shukhov, surviving is going on living, while maintaining his freedom and humanity, even in an environment which has total control over him. As consequence, the most important thing that Shukhov holds on to is his intrinsic code of values and morals.
Irish Playwright, George Bernard Shaw, once said, “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity.” Inhumanity is mankind’s worse attribute. Every so often, ordinary humans are driven to the point were they have no choice but to think of themselves. One of the most famous example used today is the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night demonstrates how fear is a debilitating force that causes people to lose sight of who they once were. After being forced into concentration camps, Elie was rudely awakened into reality. Traumatizing incidents such as Nazi persecution or even the mistreatment among fellow prisoners pushed Elie to realize the cruelty around him; Or even the wickedness Elie himself is capable of doing. This resulted in the loss of faith, innocence, and the close bonds with others.
In describing the setting, the general locale is the prison in the coldest part of Russia- Siberia, geographically but socially depicting the social circumstances in the prison, but draws analogies to the general social, political and economic circumstances of Russia during the Stalinist era (form 1917 revolution up to 1955). The symbolic significance of the novel and the film (genres) reflects experiences, values and attitudes of the Russian society. The genres reflect the origins of the Russian social disorders and massive counts of political misgivings which watered down real communism in Russia. We are constantly reminded of the social and cultural heritage and originality of Russian ethnic groups through those different levels of meanings
Throughout the story, there are several instances of Vladek’s strong will to survive. He was fueled by his opportunist personality that provided him with the determination to overcome the circumstances he endured on a daily basis. His opportunist personality and resourcefulness worked for him and against him. Vladek, speaking to his wife Anja after the discovery of the death of their son, replies that “to die, it’s easy but you have to struggle for life. Until the last moment we must struggle together” (122). After the death march, Vladek and many other Jewish people were herded into trains. The remainder of the Jewish people in captivity were placed on these trains and were scheduled to return to Germany to be put to death. During this train ride, Vladek had managed to survive by rigging a hammock to the ceiling so he could grab snow off the roof to eat. Many of the Jewish people had died on the trains, but not Vladek. Even in the darkness of the train he m...
Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Illych has proven to be a profoundly important work in the understanding of mortality. By adding to this understanding, Tolstoy implores readers to accept the ultimate reality that death is inevitable. If there is one thing Tolstoy makes quite clear, it is that nobody lives forever and death can be a horrifying, painful, and sobering experience. Ivan Illych, a successful man of the law, ends up fatally injuring himself whilst putting up curtains. With his health in decline, the reader gets to experience death through Ivan’s eyes. Tolstoy attempts to have the reader feel the same anxiety that Ivan feels and in some sense the same pain. And indeed, Tolstoy brilliantly conveys this agony to the reader. Specifically, Tolstoy decides to focus on two very important threads of the cloth that makes up death. From Ivan Illych’s perspective, Tolstoy focuses on regret with one’s life and the utterly different mindset the dying adopt versus the living.
This book explains a single day in Ivan Denisovichs live in a Siberian prison camp. The story is taking place during Joseph Stalin's Red Terror program between 1945 and 1953. But I think this specific day is in no case different from any other ones of his possible 25 year prison term.
Solzhenitsyn believed that it was nearly impossible to have truly free thoughts under the prison camp conditions described in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, or in any situation where there is an authoritarian ruler. In a pris...
Starting with Vladek, he survived the holocaust through a variety of factors. In essence, what really helped him survive were a mixture of hoarding, resourcefulness, intelligence, and a large dose of luck. Vladek’s struggles throughout his life include: dealing with his wife Anja’s postpartum depression, the destruction of his textile factory, surviving as a POW in the Polish army, the death of his first son, the holocaust itself, relating to his son and other people, diabetes, heart problems, the death of his wife, and modernizing in the wake of the holocaust.
Political prisoners and criminals alike were subject to brutal conditions in the Soviet gulags at Kolyma in the 20th century. In Varlam Shalamov’s Kolyma Tales, the stories of many different prisoners are told and much is revealed about how humans react under these pressures, both naturally and socially. Being in an extreme environment not only takes a toll on one’s physical well-being, but on one’s mental and emotional state as well. The stories show that humans can be reduced to a fragile, animalistic state while in the Kolyma work camps because the extreme conditions force many men to focus solely on self-preservation.
When spending time as a prisoner, many things come to mind. How to achieve survival, when is the next shipment of food coming, why is the only person who will keep their promise the man holding me behind bars? In Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie is taken from his hometown and placed in Auschwitz to do hard labour until he is transferred to the Buna prison camp. While in Buna, Elie works until the end of WWII. During the time Night takes place, Elie is 15 years of age, a 10th grader. When put in Auschwitz, Elie has only his father even though on arrival, he was also with his mother and two sisters. During this “[s]lim novel of terrifying power” (New York Times 2008) Elie has his coming of age moment along with some questions and a very powerful statement that “[n]ever shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself [sic].”. (Wiesel 34). Elie
Man must not only remember his past, but also choose to remember it as it really happened—for, to again quote Eliot, “What might have been is an abstraction" (175). Fantasizing about an abstract, idealized past will never give success i...
The poverty-stricken conditions of Russia during the time of which Crime and Punishment was written was a vital factor in bringing out the main protagonists from the novel and revealing the true nature of the protagonist. Further more, his apartment and its desolate condition serves as a metaphor to the poor conditions of Russia. The transformation of Raskolinokov from his false sense of thought of being superior or the urbermensch of the society was all brought out due to the desolate conditions of which the book took place in, proving that such background knowledge of the poor conditions is an essential contributor in character development in the novel.
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment begins with Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov living in poverty and isolation in St. Petersburg. The reader soon learns that he was, until somewhat recently, a successful student at the local university. His character at that point was not uncommon. However, the environment of the grim and individualistic city eventually encourages Raskolnikov’s undeveloped detachment and sense of superiority to its current state of desperation. This state is worsening when Raskolnikov visits an old pawnbroker to sell a watch. During the visit, the reader slowly realizes that Raskolnikov plans to murder the woman with his superiority as a justification. After the Raskolnikov commits the murder, the novel deeply explores his psychology, yet it also touches on countless other topics including nihilism, the idea of a “superman,” and the value of human life. In this way, the greatness of Crime and Punishment comes not just from its examination of the main topic of the psychology of isolation and murder, but the variety topics which naturally arise in the discussion.
Dostoyevsky presents a theme of redemption and rebirth in his novel Crime and Punishment, which not only strongly reflects his life, but the lives of many Russian prisoners. In Siberian prison, prisoners are encouraged to pray and repent. Raskolnikov is an example of someone who, despite lack of compassion and sound judgment, was able to achieve rebirth through religious inspiration and influential relationships. Dostoyevsky teaches his readers that, in order to be reborn like Lazarus and Raskolnikov, one must take the necessary steps of suffering and punishment to get there. Annotated Bibliography
...e been illustrated in many events that assure his own personal morals to live a life worthy of his own actions. ¡°Somehow, even through countless years of prison life, he has maintained a sense of dignity.¡± Shukov demonstrated his integrity by attaining trust among the prisoners, a trust gained only from his previous engagements of sincere and honest deeds. Ivan¡¯s optimistic attitude motivated the others around him to perform the given tasks with a can do attitude. To a man, ones aspect of life can aspire a man to perform a great deed with a positive attitude, which Ivan had accomplished within the power plant. Ivan Denisovich¡¯s heart found sympathy for those who had suffered without a just cause for survival allowing him to remain sane throughout his sentence. His sanity was part of his meaning in life as his main goal was to live a life the best he could, and to maintain that life it was necessary for him to remain sane. Therefore the meaning in life through he eyes of Ivan Denisovich was to live a life of honesty and integrity with an optimistic attitude, allowing himself to sustain his own stature within his society while serving out his sentence as a prisoner of Communism.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy shows reader how not to live their everyday life. Of course we have to work day in and day out to provide for our families, but there comes a time when your work life should be put on hold. No life is ever perfect, we must make the best out of what we can accomplish. The Death of Ivan Ilyich teaches us about three themes: the right life, your mental “phony” life versus reality, and the unavoidable death to come.