"One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" Solzhenitsyn
"One day of Ivan Denisovich" analysis of the work - theme, idea, genre, plot, composition, characters, problems and other issues are disclosed in this article.
The story "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" is a story about how a man from the people relates himself to a forcefully imposed reality and its ideas. It shows in a condensed form that camp life, which will be described in detail in others, major works Solzhenitsyn - in the novel The Gulag Archipelago and In the First Circle. The story itself was written while working on the novel In the First Circle, in 1959.
The work is a complete opposition to the regime. This is a cell of a large organism, a terrible and inexorable organism of a large state, so cruel to its inhabitants.
In the story there are special measures of space and time. The camp is special time, which is almost motionless. The days in the camp are rolling, but the deadline is not. A day is a measure. Days are like two drops of water similar to each other, all the same monotony, thoughtless mechanicalness. Solzhenitsyn is trying to fit the whole camp life into one day, and therefore he uses the smallest details in order to recreate the whole picture of life in the camp. In this regard, they often talk about a high degree of detail in the works of Solzhenitsyn, and especially in small prose - stories. Behind every fact lies a whole layer of camp reality. Each moment of the story is perceived as a frame of a cinematic film, taken separately and viewed in detail, under a magnifying glass. "At five o'clock in the morning, as always, the rise struck - with a hammer on the rail at the headquarters barracks." Ivan Denisovich overslept. I always got up on the rise, but today I didn’t get up. He felt sick. They take everyone out, line them up, everyone goes to the dining room. The number of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is Sh-5h. Everyone strives to be the first to enter the dining room: they pour it thicker first. After eating, they are again built and searched.
The abundance of details, as it seems at first glance, should burden the narrative. After all, there is almost no visual action in the story. But this, nevertheless, does not happen. The reader is not burdened by the narrative, on the contrary, his attention is riveted to the text, he is intensely following the course of events, real and occurring in the soul of one of the characters. Solzhenitsyn does not need to resort to any special tricks to achieve such an effect. It's all about the material of the image itself. Heroes are not fictional characters, A real people. And these people are placed in such conditions where they have to solve problems on which their life and destiny most directly depend. Modern man these tasks seem insignificant, and therefore an even more terrible feeling remains from the story. As V. V. Agenosov writes, “every little thing for the hero is literally a matter of life and death, a matter of survival or dying. Therefore, Shukhov (and with him every reader) sincerely rejoices at every particle found, every extra crumb of bread.
There is another time in the story - metaphysical, which is also present in other works of the writer. In this time, there are other values. Here the center of the world is transferred to the conscience of the convict.
In this regard, the topic of metaphysical comprehension of a person in captivity is very important. Young Alyoshka teaches the already middle-aged Ivan Denisovich. By this time, all Baptists were imprisoned, but not all Orthodox. Solzhenitsyn introduces the theme of religious comprehension of man. He is even grateful to prison for turning him in the direction of spiritual life. But Solzhenitsyn noted more than once that at this thought, millions of voices arise in his mind, saying: “Because you say so, you survived.” These are the voices of those who laid down their lives in the Gulag, who did not live to see the moment of liberation, did not see the sky without an ugly prison net. The bitterness of loss runs through the story.
Separate words in the text of the story are also associated with the category of time. For example, these are the first and last lines. At the very end of the story, he says that Ivan Denisovich's day was a very successful day. But then he sadly notes that "there were three thousand six hundred and fifty three such days in his term from bell to bell."
The space in the story is also interesting. The reader does not know where the space of the camp begins and ends, it seems as if it flooded all of Russia. All those who ended up behind the wall of the Gulag, somewhere far away, in an unattainable distant city, in the countryside.
The very space of the camp turns out to be hostile to the prisoners. They are afraid of open areas, they strive to cross them as quickly as possible, to hide from the eyes of the guards. Animal instincts awaken in a person. Such a description completely contradicts the canons of the Russian classics XIX century. The heroes of that literature feel comfortable and easy only in freedom, they love space, distance, associated with the breadth of their soul and character. The heroes of Solzhenitsyn flee from space. They feel much safer in cramped cells, in stuffy bar-kas, where they can at least afford to breathe more freely.
The main character of the story becomes a man from the people - Ivan Denisovich, a peasant, a front-line soldier. And this is done consciously. Solzhenitsyn believed that it is people from the people who ultimately make history, move the country forward, and bear the guarantee of true morality. Through the fate of one person - Ivan Denisovich - the author shows the fate of millions, innocently arrested and convicted. Shukhov lived in the countryside, which he fondly remembers here in the camp. At the front, he, like thousands of others, fought with full dedication, not sparing himself. After being wounded - back to the front. Then the German captivity, from where he miraculously managed to escape. And for this he now ended up in the camp. He was accused of espionage. And what kind of task the Germans had given him, neither Ivan Denisovich himself nor the investigator knew: “What kind of task, neither Shukhov himself could come up with, nor the investigator. So they left it just - the task. By the time of the story, Shukhov had been in the camps for about eight years. But this is one of the few who, in the exhausting conditions of the camp, did not lose his dignity. In many ways, his habits of a peasant, an honest worker, a peasant help him. He does not allow himself to humiliate himself in front of other people, lick plates, inform on others. His age-old habit of respecting bread is still visible today: he keeps bread in a clean rag, takes off his hat before eating. He knows the value of work, loves it, is not lazy. He is sure: "who knows two things with his hands, he will also pick up ten." In his hands the matter is argued, the frost is forgotten. He takes care of the tools, tremblingly follows the laying of the wall, even in this forced labor. The day of Ivan Denisovich is a day of hard work. Ivan Denisovich knew how to carpentry, could work as a mechanic. Even in forced labor, he showed diligence, laid a beautiful even wall. And those who did not know how to do anything carried sand in wheelbarrows.
The hero of Solzhenitsyn has largely become the subject of malicious accusations among critics. According to them, this integral national character should be almost perfect. Solzhenitsyn, on the other hand, portrays an ordinary person. So, Ivan Denisovich professes camp wisdom, laws: “Groan and rot. And if you resist, you will break." It was negatively received by critics. Particular bewilderment was caused by the actions of Ivan Denisovich, when, for example, he takes away a tray from an already weak convict, deceives the cook. It is important to note here that he does this not for personal benefit, but for his entire brigade.
There is another phrase in the text that caused a wave of discontent and extreme surprise from critics: “I didn’t know myself whether he wanted the will or not.” This idea was misinterpreted as Shukhov's loss of hardness, of his inner core. However, this phrase echoes the idea that prison awakens spiritual life. Ivan Denisovich already has life values. Prison or freedom will not change them, he will not refuse it. And there is no such captivity, such a prison that could enslave the soul, deprive it of freedom, self-expression, life.
The system of values of Ivan Denisovich is especially visible when comparing him with other characters imbued with camp laws.
Thus, in the story, Solzhenitsyn recreates the main features of that era when the people were doomed to incredible torment and hardship. The history of this phenomenon does not actually begin in 1937, when the so-called violations of the norms of state and party life begin, but much earlier, from the very beginning of the existence of the totalitarian regime in Russia. Thus, the story presents a clot of the fate of millions of Soviet people who are forced to pay for their honest and devoted service with years of humiliation, torment, and camps.
Plan
- Memoirs of Ivan Denisovich about how and why he ended up in a concentration camp. Memories of German captivity, about war.
- Memoirs of the protagonist about the village, about the peaceful pre-war period.
- Description of the life of the camp.
- A good day in the camp life of Ivan Denisovich.
In to the world peasant life We are immersed in Russia by the poem of Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov “Who should live well in Rus'”. Nekrasov's work on this work falls on the time after the peasant reform of 1861. This can be seen from the first lines of the Prologue, where wanderers are called "temporarily liable" - this is how the peasants who emerged from serfdom after the reform were called.
In the poem “To whom it is good to live in Rus'”, we see the diverse images of Russian peasants, learn about their views on life, find out what kind of life they live and what problems exist in the life of the Russian people. Nekrasov's image of the peasantry is closely connected with the problem of searches. happy person- the purpose of the journey of seven men across Rus'. This journey allows us to get acquainted with all the unsightly aspects of Russian life.
One of the main images of the poem is considered to be Savely, with whom the reader gets acquainted in the chapter "Feast - for the whole world." The life story of Saveliy is very difficult, like that of all peasants of the post-reform era. But this hero is distinguished by a special freedom-loving spirit, inflexibility in the face of the burden of peasant life. He courageously endures all the bullying of the master, who wants to flog his subjects to pay tribute to him. But all patience comes to an end.
So it happened with Saveliy, who, unable to endure the tricks of the German Vogel, as if by chance pushes him to the pit dug by the peasants. Savely, of course, is serving a sentence: twenty years of hard labor and twenty years of settlements. But do not break him - the Holy Russian hero: "branded, but not a slave"! He returns home to his son's family. The author draws Savely in the tradition of Russian folklore:
With a huge gray mane,
Tea, not cut for twenty years,
With a big beard
Grandpa looked like a bear...
The old man lives apart from his relatives, because he sees that he is needed in the family, while he gave money ... He treats only Matryona Timofeevna with love. But the hero's soul opened up and blossomed when Matryona's daughter-in-law brought him a grandson Dyomushka.
Savely began to look at the world in a completely different way, thawed at the sight of the boy, he became attached to the child with all his heart. But here too evil fate trips him up. Star Savely - fell asleep when he was babysitting Dyoma. The hungry pigs killed the boy... Savely's soul is torn from pain! He takes the blame on himself and repents of everything Matryona Timofeevna, telling her about how much he loved the boy.
Savely will spend the rest of his long life of one hundred and seven years, praying for his sin in the monasteries. Thus, in the image of Savely, Nekrasov shows a deep commitment to faith in God, combined with a huge reserve of patience of the Russian people. Matryona forgives grandfather, understands how Savely's soul is tormented. And in this forgiveness too deep meaning revealing the character of the Russian peasant.
Here is another image of the Russian peasant, about which the author says: "lucky too." Savely acts in the poem as a folk philosopher, he reflects on whether the people should endure a disenfranchised and oppressed state. Savely combines kindness, simplicity, sympathy for the oppressed and hatred for the oppressors of the peasants.
ON THE. Nekrasov in the image of Savely showed the people, gradually beginning to realize their rights, and the power to be reckoned with.
“There was also a lucky man” ... With such ironic words, the image of grandfather Savely is introduced into Nekrasov's poem. He lived a long difficult life and now lives out his life in the family of Matrena Timofeevna. The image of Savely, the Holy Russian hero in Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is very important, because he embodies the idea of Russian heroism. The theme of the strength, endurance and long-suffering of the people in the poem grows from chapter to chapter (remember the story of a strong man at the fair, which serves as a prerequisite to the story of Savely) and is finally resolved in the image of the hero Savely.
Saveliy comes from remote forest lands, where even "the devil has been looking for a way for three years." The very name of this region breathes with power: Korega, from “mangle”, i.e. bend, break. A bear can cripple anything, and Savely himself "looked like a bear." He is also compared with other animals, for example, with the elk, and it is emphasized that he is far more dangerous than a predator when he walks through the forest "with a knife and a horn." This strength comes from profound knowledge its edge, complete unity with nature. One can see Saveliy's love for his land, his words “My forest! ” sound much more convincing than the same statement from the lips of the landowner Obolt-Obolduev.
But in any, even the most impassable region, the master's hand will reach. Saveliy's free life ends with the arrival of a German manager in Korega. At first, he seemed harmless and did not even demand the due tribute, but he set a condition: to work off the money by logging. The simple-hearted peasants built a road out of the forest and then realized how much they had been deceived: the gentlemen came to Korezhina along this road, the German brought his wife and children, and began to draw all the juice out of the village.
"And then came hard labor
Korean peasant -
Ruined to the bone!”
For a long time, the peasants endure the bullying of the German - he beats them and makes them work without measure. A Russian peasant can endure a lot, that's why he is a hero, - Savely believes.
So he says to Matryona, to which the woman replies with irony: such a hero and mice can seize. In this episode, Nekrasov outlines an important problem for the Russian people: their lack of response, their unpreparedness for decisive action. No wonder the characteristic of Savely coincides with the image of the most motionless of epic heroes- Svyatogora, who at the end of his life has grown into the ground.
"Untolerate - the abyss, endure - the abyss." This is how the bogatyr Savely thinks, and this simple but wise folk philosophy leads him to rebellion. Under the word he invented, “Naddai!” the hated German manager is buried in the ground. And although Savely ends up in hard labor for this act, the beginning of his release has already been made. For the rest of his life, the grandfather will be proud that he, at least “branded, but not a slave!”
But how does his life go on? He spent more than twenty years in hard labor, another twenty were taken away from the settlements. But even there, Savely did not give up, he worked, he was able to raise money, and, returning to his homeland, he built himself and his family a hut. And yet his life is not allowed to end peacefully: while his grandfather had money, he enjoyed the love of his family, and when they ended, he met with dislike and ridicule. The only consolation for him, as well as for Matryona, is Demushka. He sits on the old man's shoulder "like an apple in the top of an old apple tree."
But a terrible thing happens: through his, Savely, the fault of the grandson dies. And it was this event that broke the man who went through the whips and hard labor. The grandfather will spend the rest of his life in a monastery and wandering, praying for the remission of sins. That is why Nekrasov calls him Holy Russian, showing another feature inherent in all the people: deep, sincere religiosity. "One hundred and seven years" lived grandfather Saveliy, but longevity did not bring him happiness, and strength, as he bitterly recalls, "left over trifles."
In the poem “To whom it is good to live in Rus'”, Savely embodies precisely this, deeply hidden power of the Russian peasant and his enormous, although not yet realized, potential. It is worth waking up the people, convincing them to give up humility for a while, and then they will win happiness for themselves, that's what Nekrasov says with the help of the image of the hero Savely.
Artwork test
(372 words) The heroes of N. Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Rus'" on their way met the "Holy Russian hero" Saveliy, whose image is of great importance in the work. He embodies the main qualities of the Russian people, which distinguish him from all others. On the one hand, these properties are the key to happiness, and on the other hand, the curse of the common man.
At the time of the poem, Saveliy is already a hundred-year-old man. He lived hectic life which led him, proud and brave, to humility and repentance. Being an ordinary peasant, he was completely subject to the German clerk. The master sent him to manage his lands. Vogel for 17 years of activity completely ruined the wards. Exhausting work and the black ingratitude of the boss prompted Saveliy and other peasants to crack down on the oppressor. In this situation, the phenomenal patience of the Russian people is manifested - they have endured a terrible attitude for almost two decades! But here comes another dark side the soul of a Russian person is the senselessness and ruthlessness of rebellion, which A. Pushkin spoke about. They buried the living clerk in the hole he ordered to be dug. Then the hero and his friends were sent to hard labor, which, for all its torment, did not break the spirit of these people. Savely does not put corporal punishment in a penny: “Bad rags there,” he complains. It is also known that he fled several times, and the punishment did not bother him either. This speaks of the courage, endurance and fortitude of a simple Russian peasant. His craving for freedom and inner independence amaze and make him admire him as folk hero. But after hard labor, life in the settlement and all the dramatic events, he comes to the hardest test - the pangs of conscience. They were awakened by the death of his great-grandson. Savely didn't watch it, and Dema was eaten by pigs. Then the strong man and the thunderstorm of the settlement begins to hide before our eyes and constantly disappears at the boy's grave. He is aware of the guilt not only before Matryona, but also before everything. christianity for the blood that stained him Strong arms. unwavering moral basis his character makes itself felt when we see the extent of his repentance: he leaves the world for a monastery in order to completely surrender to sorrow and regret.
Saveliy's potential is enormous: he learned to read and write in prison, and had remarkable strength. But such a hero must be given the right direction, because they themselves cannot complete their rebellion to the end, they cannot carry it out honestly and without unnecessary cruelty. Because people's intercessor is Grisha Dobrosklonov, who should incline the people to goodness, which follows from his last name.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!
One of the main characters of Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Rus'" - Savely - the reader will recognize when he is already an old man who has lived a long and hard life. The poet draws a colorful portrait of this amazing old man:
With a huge gray mane,
Tea, twenty years uncut,
With a big beard
Grandpa looked like a bear
Especially, as from the forest,
Bending down, he left.
Savely's life turned out to be very difficult, fate did not spoil him. In his old age, Savely lived in the family of his son, father-in-law Matryona Timofeevna. It is noteworthy that grandfather Saveliy does not like his family. Obviously, all households have far from the most best qualities, and an honest and sincere old man feels this very well. In his native family Saveliy is called "branded, convict". And he himself, not at all offended by this, says: “Branded, but not a slave.
It is interesting to observe how Saveliy is not averse to playing a trick on his family members:
And they will annoy him hard -
Jokes: "Look
Matchmakers to us!" Unmarried
Cinderella - to the window:
AN instead of matchmakers - beggars!
From a tin button
Grandfather fashioned two kopecks,
Threw up on the floor -
Father-in-law got caught!
Not drunk from drinking -
The beaten one dragged on!
What does this relationship between the old man and his family indicate? First of all, it is striking that Saveliy is different both from his son and from all relatives. His son does not possess any exceptional qualities, does not shun drunkenness, is almost completely devoid of kindness and nobility. And Savely, on the contrary, is kind, smart, outstanding. He eschews his household, apparently, he is disgusted by pettiness, envy, malice, characteristic of his relatives. Old man Savely is the only one in her husband's family who was kind to Matryona. The old man does not hide all the hardships that have fallen to his lot:
"Oh, the share of Holy Russian
Homemade hero!
He's been bullied all his life.
Time will reflect
About death - hellish torments
In the next worldly life, they are waiting.
Old man Savely is very freedom-loving. It combines qualities such as physical and mental strength. Savely is a real Russian hero who does not recognize any pressure on himself. In his youth, Savely had remarkable strength, no one could compete with him. In addition, life used to be different, the peasants were not burdened with the hardest duty to pay dues and work off corvée. Savely says:
We did not rule corvee,
We didn't pay dues
And so, when it comes to judgment,
We will send once in three years.
In such circumstances, the character of the young Savely was tempered. Nobody pressured her, nobody made her feel like a slave. In addition, nature itself was on the side of the peasants:
Dense forests all around,
Swamps all around,
Not a horse ride to us,
Not a foot pass!
Nature itself protected the peasants from the invasion of the master, the police and other troublemakers. Therefore, the peasants could live and work in peace, not feeling someone else's power over them.
As you read these lines, remember fabulous motifs, because in fairy tales and legends people were absolutely free, they were in charge of their own lives.
The old man tells how the peasants dealt with the bears:
We were only concerned
Bears... yes with bears
We got along easily.
With a knife and with a horn
I myself am scarier than the elk,
Along the reserved paths
I go: "My forest!" - I scream.
Saveliy, like a real fairy tale hero, claims his rights to the forest surrounding him. It is the forest - with its untrodden paths, mighty trees - that is the real element of the hero Savely. In the forest, the hero is not afraid of anything, he is the real master of the silent kingdom around him. That is why in old age he leaves his family and goes into the forest.
The unity of the bogatyr Savely and the nature around him seems undeniable. Nature helps Savely to become stronger. Even in old age, when years and hardships have bent the old man's back, you still feel remarkable strength in him.
Savely tells how, in his youth, his fellow villagers managed to deceive the master, to hide the wealth from him. And although we had to endure a lot for this, no one could reproach people for cowardice and lack of will. The peasants were able to convince the landowners of their absolute poverty, so they managed to avoid complete ruin and enslavement.
Savely - very proud man. This is felt in everything: in his attitude to life, in his steadfastness and courage with which he defends his own. When he talks about his youth, he recalls how only weak-minded people surrendered to the master. Of course, he himself was not one of those people:
Excellently fought Shalashnikov,
And not so hot great Incomes received:
Weak people gave up
And the strong for the patrimony
They stood well.
I also endured
He hesitated, thinking:
"Whatever you do, son of a dog,
And you won't knock out your whole soul,
Leave something!"
Old man Savely bitterly says that now there is practically no self-respect left in people. Now cowardice, animal fear for oneself and one's well-being and lack of desire to fight prevail:
Those were the proud people!
And now give a crack -
Corrector, landowner
Drag the last penny!
Savely's young years passed in an atmosphere of freedom. But peasant freedom did not last long. The master died, and his heir sent a German, who at first behaved quietly and imperceptibly. The German gradually became friends with the entire local population, little by little he observed peasant life.
Gradually, he got into the confidence of the peasants and ordered them to drain the swamp, then cut down the forest. In a word, the peasants came to their senses only when a magnificent road appeared along which it was easy to get to their godforsaken place.
And then came the hardship
Korean peasant -
thread ravaged
The free life was over, now the peasants fully felt all the hardships of a servile existence. Old man Saveliy speaks of people's long-suffering, explaining it by the courage and spiritual strength of people. Only the truly strong courageous people they can be so patient as to endure such mockery of themselves, and so generous as not to forgive such an attitude towards themselves.
And so we endured
That we are rich.
In that Russian heroism.
Do you think, Matryonushka,
The man is not a hero?
And his life is not military,
And death is not written for him
In battle - a hero!
Nekrasov finds amazing comparisons, speaking of people's long-suffering and courage. He uses folk epic speaking of heroes:
Hands twisted with chains
Legs forged with iron
Back ... dense forests
Passed on it - broke.
And the chest? Elijah the prophet
On it rattles-rides
On a chariot of fire...
The hero suffers everything!
Old man Savely tells how for eighteen years the peasants endured the arbitrariness of the German manager. Their whole life is now in the grip of this cruel man. People had to work tirelessly. And every time the manager was dissatisfied with the results of the work, he demanded more. Constant bullying by the Germans causes the strongest indignation in the soul of the peasants. And once another portion of bullying made people commit a crime. They kill the German manager. When reading these lines, the thought of higher justice comes to mind. The peasants have already managed to feel absolutely powerless and weak-willed. Everything they held dear was taken from them. But after all, a person cannot be mocked with complete impunity. Sooner or later you will have to pay for your actions.
But, of course, the murder of the manager did not go unpunished:
Buoy-city, There I learned to read and write,
Until they decided us.
The solution came out: hard labor
And weave in advance ...
The life of Savely, the Holy Russian hero, after hard labor was very difficult. He spent twenty years in captivity, only closer to old age he was free. Savely's whole life is very tragic, and in old age he turns out to be the unwitting culprit in the death of his little grandson. This case once again proves that, despite all his strength, Savely cannot withstand hostile circumstances. He is just a toy in the hands of fate.
