One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich Analysis

Throughout our chapter on Death, we have seen many characters attempt to escape it. They all equally fail, as some attempt to succeed out of their own selfishness, while others do so for a noble cause. The Grandmother from “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” when faced with death, thinks only of herself and not for the lives of her family. Ivan Ilyich found the finite pleasures of his life slowly being taken away from him as he got sicker and sicker. Fetyukov of “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” incrementally sacrificed his dignity in order to survive the harsh environment in the gulag. Finally, Guido Orefice from “Life is Beautiful” demonstrated how to selflessly attempt to defy death, not for his own sake, but for the sake of his family.
“Oh look at the cute little pickaninny! Wouldn't that make a picture, now?" (Pg 279). This was the grandmother’s emotional response to seeing a poor, negro boy on the side of the highway wearing no pants. This instance in the story accurately represents the mindset of her character in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”
If any one character can represent an avoidance of death more, its this one. In the harsh conditions in the gulag, food and luxuries are scarce. In these conditions, Fetyukov has abandoned civilized behavior in order to survive, though it often backfires. For example, when Tsezar is smoking a cigarette, he says “Tsezar Markovich, give us a puff.” Because he doesn’t want to be disturbed while taking a quick moment to relax, he gives the rest to Ivan instead. We also find out that later that he was thrown into the hole for licking the remnants of food in the bowls that the end of a meal. We see that despite Fetyukov’s attempt to avoid death by sacrificing dignity, it still slowly draws him in each day he is in the