We can also learn a lot from some of Shukhov’s small actions. “He removed his hat from his clean-shaven head – however cold it might be.” Despite the cold and despite the other prisoners’ practice of leaving hats on (in the mess hall) Shukhov continues to take his hat off before eating. This recognition of the practices and decorum of his previous life may not have any immediate effect but it allows Shukhov to retain respect for himself as a man. This highlights the fact he is very determined to remain the same person regardless of this ordeal, he will not be morally changed. The simple acts of removing one’s hat before a meal or crossing oneself may be small but are of enormous significance as they are acts of defiance to a system that seeks to turn a thinking, feeling human being into a senseless worker/slave. This is Shukhov’s attempt at keeping the great respect he has for himself and others.
Just as small actions have enormous significance so too do small objects such as “his little baby” Skukhov’s spoon. Like his insistence on removing his hat at the table and not stooping to lick bowls or eat fish eyes, the spoon symbolises his humanity. The spoon which “has been with him his whole time in the North” which he had “cast with his own hands”, is the only thing he truly owns as everything that makes him unique is destroyed, including all his possessions - even his name is replaced with a number. This is a technique widely used to demoralise prisoners as not even having a name continually reminds you that you are no longer a person but an owned object with no rights or uniqueness. This helps crack prisoners to braking point. In this Stalinist communist society in which the government sought to destroy the notion of private property, this ownership even of a spoon, is significant as it marks him as an autonomous individual. Shukhov’s continual efforts at hiding his spoon in his boot are metaphoric efforts to protect his own humanity.
The cigarette incident emphasises the two-way respect between Shukhov and many inmates – “give us a drag”. Unlike the corrupt Fetiukov, Shukhov cannot even allow himself to look at Tsezar’s mouth let alone ask for a “drag”. This indicates that however much he was craving for a cigarette he has too much respect to have the audacity to ask another for a “puff”. “Take it Ivan Denisovich”. This accentuates the respect and status Shukhov has with other inmates as his patience in not asking proved rewarding in the end. The fact Tsezar refers to him by his full name also compounds this respect.
“Food gulped down is no food at all”. Shukhov’s eating habits are another example of proving to himself he is in control. As with the sugar and hiding of the bread, he makes sure he eats in his own time he will not be pressured into eating the little he has until he is ready. This is again trying to keep to the pattern of the outside world, only eating when hungry. “Never lick another man’s bowl”. This is extremely difficult because, due to extremely short rations, hunger is always on the mind so for Shukhov avoiding the before breakfast mess hall where he may be tempted, is a significant step towards maintaining his humanity and surviving his sentence.
At the end of the section Shukhov starts thinking about his past and home. “Just now he had a good deal more to talk about with Kilgas the Lett than with his family at home”. Shkhov’s frustration of not being able to speak, in full, his thoughts to his family now becomes evident. From the changes he is finding it hard to contemplate it is clear he is ignorant to the vast changes occurring in Russia through that time (ending of Communism).
“Shukhov asked his wife how he, who’d never been able to draw in his life, was going to become a painter”. It is clear to me that Shukhov is frustrated as to why all these changes are happening and starts to realise that the man he is fighting not to change may be the least different thing when he arrives home. He may stay the same but he cannot stop the world around him from changing.
Luke Sterry
02/11/02
