How does Shukhov struggle to preserve his dignity throughout the course of his imprisonment in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyns One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich?

International Baccalaureate World Literature

000865-010

Amrit Morokar

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s novella tells the story of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, prisoner of a Stalinist Labour Camp, forced to endure the seemingly intolerable living conditions intended to physically and mentally destroy the spirit of all the men contained within. This essay will discuss how Shukhov struggles to preserve his dignity throughout the course of his imprisonment as portrayed in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s ‘One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich’, whilst noting the literary techniques that have helped the author depict his message to the reader, which is of course the fight for preservation of self dignity.

Every day Shukhov spends in this labour camp is likely to lead to a progressively greater loss of his dignity and indicates a slow chipping away at his resilience to stand strong against the system in which he is held. This is due to many reasons, most noticeably the supremacy of the prison guards. Through utilizing their overwhelmingly authoritative force, e.g. by assigning prisoners numbers as a replacement for names, the prison guards help to create a sense of removal of both identity and individuality; e.g. replacing Shukhov’s name with “Schcha-854” and gathering prisoners into groups such as “Gang 104.” This clearly epitomizes an effort on behalf of the labour camp to demoralize its prisoners and eradicate all of their individual characteristics. They are referred to as mere digits, and treated with such a strong feeling of contempt and insolence by having all rights to privacy withdrawn irrevocably and relentlessly. Although other prisoners in the camp shamefacedly succumb to these new ‘identities,’ Shukhov’s resistance against the system in the labour camp in order to preserve his dignity is remarkably impressive. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn divides the portrayal of dignity into two halves, one half bearing relevance on self-worth, and the other is with being treated with mutual respect by his fellow inmates. The degrading manners in which the conventions of the labour camp repetitively dehumanize the prisoners are a formidable foe to overcome when little time is spent doing other than conforming. Alternatively, an antithesis offered to us by Solzhenitsyn represents how the protagonist Shukhov has managed to successfully preserve his dignity.

The core objective of the Stalinist camp is to dishearten and undermine confidence among the prisoners in order to attain control of them at all times. However, Shukov manages to rise above the camps core objectives by taking pride in his work, environment, and taking pleasure in companionship with his fellow inmates; "But Shukov wasn't made that way--eight years in a camp couldn't change his nature. He worried about anything he could make use of, about every scrap of work he could do--nothing must be wasted without good reason."

By examining the elaborate details of the living conditions in the labour camp ...

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By examining the elaborate details of the living conditions in the labour camp it is apparent that the guards show no respect for the prisoners as humans. Mattresses do not have sheets; prisoners are only given two hundred grams of bread per meal; and the guards force the prisoners to undress for body searches at temperatures exceeding forty below zero at any time of the night, when they see fit to.

Solzhenitsyn unveils Shukhov’s cunning resistance through the use of enigmatic descriptions of his actions; “...- however cold it was, he wouldn’t let himself eat with his cap on...” Shukhov shows a preservation of his dignity by conduct himself as a gentleman, maybe suggesting links to experiences of his past life even though traditional etiquette may seem so unnecessary or superseded in such uncongenial living conditions. It can be understood from this that even in the camp, Shukhov still sticks to the cultured convention of doing so, and in a way asserts his own distinction. It seems like the dilapidation of the camp was to such an extent that Shukhov was in humble acceptance of this fact. Although the conditions are unforgiving the protagonist, Shukov, through his belief system, denies conforming and instead still manages to maintain at least a veneer of normality about him.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn helps to create a gloomy ambience whilst conversely displaying Shukhov’s strength of endurance towards his current setting and situation. “...quickly checking what had found its way into his bowl.” The use of the adverb quickly insinuates Shukov’s repugnance to the contents of the bowl, demonstrating his way of ‘getting by’ as he endeavours to avoid discerning the unpleasant veracity of his life. By exploiting the passive formation of the sentence, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn indicates that Shukhov had no control over the contents of his bowl. The reader is encouraged to identify with the protagonist and wonder at his calm conservation of this small shred of dignity.

By taking a look at other characters, we can see how they only serve as promoting Shukhov’s resilience for his upholding of dignity, the most notable example here being that of Fetiukov, a fellow inmate often referred to as a “filthy rat” as he is commonly caught licking the remains from bowls, to get whatever food he can. The character of Fetiukov is used as a literary tool to symbolise the magnitude of preserving dignity and personal pride, and shows to the reader the subsequent downfall of a character who has lost their dignity and individual human qualities. “...He must have been beaten up again for licking out dishes...” Solzhenitsyn’s utilization of Fetiukov as the antagonist of this story contrasts as do two sides of the same coin. We are shown essentially two characters, Shukhov and Fetiukov whose respective forbearance towards the camp’s policy led them down two different paths, inevitably Fetiukov coming out worse off by succumbing to the policies lay down out before him, and corrupting himself to less than human, a scavenger amongst the community in the camp. However, the lack of Fetiukov’s dignity is placed in stark contrast to Shukhov’s admirable actions. “He knew his rights, of course...but even after eight years... he was no scrounger...” While Fetiukov acquires bread by beseeching, Shukhov instead accomplishes the very same but by working twice as vigorously at the Power Station work site, certainly a commendable deed giving the constraints he is living under. By juxtaposing these two characters, (one has lost his dignity and the other strives to uphold his dignity), Solzhenitsyn re-iterates the importance of having self-worth.

Through the depiction of the times when Shukhov felt “...pleased with life as he went to sleep...,” Solzhenitsyn outlines Shukhov’s recognition of his identity as a prisoner and simultaneously shows him trying to thing optimistically of it. This is transparent in the passion in which he goes about undertaking each and every one of his daily tasks, as aforementioned. Solzhenitsyn’s simile of Shukhov’s undeniable work ethic whilst working on a brick wall “as if he owned every inch of it,” re-establishes an impression upon the reader where he carries out his task with a sense of meaning.

Shukhov even goes so far as to preserve his dignity through certain symbolic objects like a spoon and blade. For Shukhov, these two items represent his individuality; they set him apart from the others around him and restate his identity. Solzhenitsyn accentuates that “…he hadn’t been caught with the blade at the search point,” but had in fact hidden the blade inside his boots, in order to keep in private something of sentimental value which the authorities had tried to strip away from him. Shukhov forms a bond with these objects as they help him to identify himself, and possessing those means that he instils a correct balance of dignity and identity in an oppressive camp bearing such appalling conditions. Solzhenitsyn’s depiction of this spoon as his most valued possession mirrors the dignity he struggles to preserve. The symbolism of the spoon is used two-fold, outlining Shukhov’s priority in taking care of himself both physically and mentally. This symbolic object provides corroboration that Shukhov’s efforts to preserve his dignity are intentional and yet inherent; He strives to preserve his identity and dignity by protecting the spoon and blade.

The battle for dignity is one which Shukhov fights for till the end, and we can see how, as the novella progresses, Shukhov grows progressively stronger as a character and learns to find a variety of ways to preserve his dignity and display his triumph over adversity. Through his constant re-assertion of his humanity, he almost seems to be silently revolting and standing firm against the soul-destroying objectives of the Stalinist camp. As well as preserving the self-worth side of his dignity, he also manages to succeed in earning respect from his fellow prisoners. Solzhenitsyn has effectively shown that no matter how harsh conditions are, Shukhov seems to be proof that even in a Stalinist camp; nobody can strip a person of his dignity completely as there are options one can formulate to safeguard it. Solzhenitsyn has employed symbols and convoluted descriptions, to exemplify the preservation of dignity for the protagonist in his novel.