In many situations, faith and endurance is the key to survival and the only way to keep one from degrading under social and physical oppression. One day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is a novel that depicts the journey of a convict, Ivan (Shukhov) Denisovich, through one day of his sentence at a Stalinist work camp designed to physically and mentally test the prisoners. His hopefulness and camaraderie spirit with those in his bunk sustain him throughout his sentence and inspire readers. The novel Grapes of Wrath (1939) written by John Steinbeck is a moving tale of the Joad family fighting to survive the Great Depression. Through their journey we see moments of weakness even in the strongest of the group and
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Steinbeck uses a variety of unique techniques to communicate his message and create emotion within the tale. The way he structures the novel is rather interesting and creates a sense of foreshadowing in certain moments of the story. Steinbeck intercepts the chain of events throughout the narrative with short plots or ideas, which are coded through symbolism. An example of this is the story of the land turtle that begins in Chapter 3. The turtle in his attempt to cross a highway is hit by cars and thrown flying into the air, however his desire to reach the end of the road is never extinguished. The turtle is a symbol of the migrant workers who venture across the country in hopes of better lives with great perseverance and blind faith. The turtle, Shukhov and the Joad family are all quite similar in the way that they persist with no guarantee that their quest will end in happiness, however their faith saves them all despite setbacks and difficulties at every stage. (Insert …show more content…
"Alyoshka, who was standing next to Shukhov, gazed at the sun and looked happy, a smile on his lips. What had he to be happy about? His cheeks were sunken, he lived strictly on his rations, he earned nothing. He spent all his Sundays muttering with the other Baptists. They shed hardships of camp life like water off a duck's back." (36) The Baptist is a humble man who acts as an inspiration to other inmates especially Ivan and this idiom illustrates Alyoshka’s ability to block out the destructive atmosphere that is within a jail. Solzhenitsyn also uses Alyoshka to inspire Shukhov and we see this take place in their final conversation before bedtime. Alyoshka prompts Ivan to end his pursuit for materialistic things and instead aim to fulfil his spiritual needs. Ivan responds by handing Alyoshka a biscuit and this voluntarily sacrificing of a worldly good suggesting that Shukhov has placed his spiritual needs before his physical and material needs. "Shukhov went to sleep fully content. A day without a dark cloud. Almost a happy day ". (139) This statement emphasises Shukhov’s optimism and how he is a survivor and through his sense of tranquillity demonstrates how faith offers strength in the face of
Steinbeck uses a variety of unique techniques to communicate his message and create emotion within the tale. The way he structures the novel is rather interesting and creates a sense of foreshadowing in certain moments of the story. Steinbeck intercepts the chain of events throughout the narrative with short plots or ideas, which are coded through symbolism. An example of this is the story of the land turtle that begins in Chapter 3. The turtle in his attempt to cross a highway is hit by cars and thrown flying into the air, however his desire to reach the end of the road is never extinguished. The turtle is a symbol of the migrant workers who venture across the country in hopes of better lives with great perseverance and blind faith. The turtle, Shukhov and the Joad family are all quite similar in the way that they persist with no guarantee that their quest will end in happiness, however their faith saves them all despite setbacks and difficulties at every stage. (Insert …show more content…
"Alyoshka, who was standing next to Shukhov, gazed at the sun and looked happy, a smile on his lips. What had he to be happy about? His cheeks were sunken, he lived strictly on his rations, he earned nothing. He spent all his Sundays muttering with the other Baptists. They shed hardships of camp life like water off a duck's back." (36) The Baptist is a humble man who acts as an inspiration to other inmates especially Ivan and this idiom illustrates Alyoshka’s ability to block out the destructive atmosphere that is within a jail. Solzhenitsyn also uses Alyoshka to inspire Shukhov and we see this take place in their final conversation before bedtime. Alyoshka prompts Ivan to end his pursuit for materialistic things and instead aim to fulfil his spiritual needs. Ivan responds by handing Alyoshka a biscuit and this voluntarily sacrificing of a worldly good suggesting that Shukhov has placed his spiritual needs before his physical and material needs. "Shukhov went to sleep fully content. A day without a dark cloud. Almost a happy day ". (139) This statement emphasises Shukhov’s optimism and how he is a survivor and through his sense of tranquillity demonstrates how faith offers strength in the face of