One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich Character Analysis

Through the dissection of the novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the belief of a pure totalitarian government system existing will be demolished by first discussing what the government can and does control in a totalitarian society, then by expressing what they cannot control including the psychological ideas of thought, feeling, and action. The USSR prison camp had control over what the prisoners wore on a day-to-day basis. They provided a pair of mittens, a shirt and vest, and trousers with one pocket on the left knee (5, 27). The camp also provided a black jacket (5), a white cap (17), felt boots (3, 9), and two pairs of foot cloths (9, 21). Prisoners were not allowed to wear any extra clothes (27), as this rule was greatly enforced; they had inspections to be sure prisoners were following this procedure and prisoners
In the same manner, the camp gave the prisoners their ration of food and decided when and where they would eat; however, prisoners, such as Ivan, could make the personal decision to hide bread crumbs in his pocket and in his mattress to eat at a later time, a time of his choice (38). Another example of individuality was when Ivan made a spoon for himself that he kept in his boot (9). Ivan must have felt “in charge of his spoon” because it was his; he made the spoon, and the government couldn’t take it away from him if they didn’t know he had it. When working, the USSR could tell the prisoners what to do and when to do it, but they could never fully control the worker’s attitude, perspective, or ambition while doing the job. Along with this idea of individuality, a man could decide for himself when he wanted to close his eyes, when he wanted to fall asleep, or if he wanted to wake up before reveille to lay for a while and have thoughts to