Symbolism In Solzhenitsyn's One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich

The sun and the moon have long been seen as a dichotomy through various cultures. Day and night, hot and cold; the list can continue with different interpretations. But, in a Gulag labour camp, where “a convict’s thoughts are no freer than he is” (40) – subjected only to the unjust oppression by the Soviet government – their ideas of what the sun and moon can mean is significantly repressed to ideas of misfortunes that are perpetuated by the camp and the government. In Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the sun and the moon are symbols of two ideas that derives from the prisoner’s experience in the Gulag camp: incarceration and enlightenment. Although the sun is often thought as empowering, the prisoners in the camp perceive it as the start of a long day full of laborious pain forced upon them by the unforgiving guards and camp system. On the other hand, after a long day of strenuous labour, when the prisoners look up to the …show more content…
But in Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisochich, he goes against predetermined ideas that are inspirational. The sun symbolizes incarceration, while the moon symbolizes enlightenment. The sun indicates a day of backbreaking work, while the moon gives a tranquil setting for enlightenment. And through this contemplation, we can understand the extent of how the camp and the Soviet government have blighted them. Even through this novel, it still presents the sun and the moon as a dichotomy along with two distinguishing ideas. Maybe Solzhenitsyn’s idea of the sun and the moon is not as different as other traditional ideas. Because through this novel, Solzhenitsyn encompassed his life as an author and his motives for this book in one narrative about one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich; despite many adversities imposed against you, once you overcome them, you will become a stronger person who will inspire many others to do the