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One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich

One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich

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Dignity Under Duress: The Oppression of the Individual

In One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, a former Russian soldier from World War II, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, is wrongfully sentenced for treason and sent to a Siberian work camp. The prisoners live in bitter cold with few resources and strenuous working conditions. Survival depends on cooperation with the officials and other prisoners. All actions during the day are structured by officials, but even so, Shukhov manages small actions of defiance to maintain his personal morals and principles. In an environment centered on the destruction of the spirit of the individual, Shukhov escapes the detached autonomy that many others succumb to. The theme of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,

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