alexander solzhenitsyn a day in the life of ivan denisovich

Shukhov’s back aches as he marches, so he begins to reflect on his separation from his family. The gang then begins the grueling march to work. Shukhov, however, gladly accepts the search, knowing he has nothing to hide. One prisoner, Buynovsky, is sentenced to ten days in solitary for wearing extra layers. The men are then called out into the cold and forced to take their jackets off in the frigid air for the search. Shukhov is given his daily bread ration, which he breaks in half, sewing half into his mattress and putting the other half in his coat. Shukhov returns to the barracks to join his work gang before the count. He takes Shukhov’s temperature, but it is not high enough to exempt him from work.

The medical orderly, Kolya, tells Shukhov that it’s too late to report sick, and he should have come the night before. After eating, Shukhov heads to the sick bay to report sick for work that day. Shukov takes out his spoon, which he calls “his baby”, removes his hat, and eats. Then, he makes his way to the mess hall for breakfast.Ī fellow prisoner, Fetyukov, has saved Shukhov’s meal for him, a soup made with black cabbage and putrid fish. Shukhov removes his shoes and cleans the floor quickly. They pass a group of guards checking the temperature, which is negative seventeen and a half degrees. As The Tartar walks Shukhov through the camp, Shukhov realizes that he will not be sent to solitary, but will clean the floor of the officers’ headquarters instead. The Tartar punishes Shukhov with three days in solitary confinement.

Just as Shukhov decides to report sick, his blanket is torn off of him, and he realizes another guard, The Tartar, is on duty.

He decides to stay in bed for a few extra moments of rest, believing that a sympathetic guard is on duty that morning. Shukhov always wakes up on time, but this morning he is feverish and his body aches. At five o’clock in the morning, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov awakes to the morning reveille in a Soviet labor camp.

Alexander solzhenitsyn a day in the life of ivan denisovich