Present Provoking Past :: Free Essay Writer

Present Provoking PastAnalyze a characters repartee to the past as a source of meaning in a work . . . the past, no matter what it was like, never becomes a matter of nonchalance to the present.In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Alexander Solzhenitsyn portrays one and only(a) normal day in the spirit of Shukhov (Ivan Denisovich), a Russian provincial unfairly confined in one of Stalins forced attention 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 early(a) prisoners have lost throughout their confinement. It is exactly the personal manner Shukhov has been able to live and survive in prison, that reveals how he has responded to his past, even when any 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, a nd by letting go of those which didnt. Many critics struggle that imprisonment robs individuals of their humanity for, in order to survive, they grow accustomed to their rocky life and loose basic human responses. Solzhenitsyn however, proves through Shukhov, that even inwardly confinement, where prisoners are robbed of every kind of possession, freedom and humanity can politic 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 selection in the novel is very relative. Surviving for some of the prisoners is merely stick out life, no matter the cost, such as for Fetiukov who stoops even to collecting former(a) prisoners left over cigarette buds, even though he puts himself in danger of catching a syphilitic lip. For Shukhov however, survive goes far beyond making it alive. Shukhov shares Kuziomins same belief that those who lick other mens leftovers, those who count o n the doctors to pull them through, and those who squeal on their buddies dont make it, for its at the expense of not just other peoples 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 environs which has total control over him. As consequence, the most important amour that Shukhov holds on to is his intrinsic code of values and morals.