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Emily Sun

Mrs. McNeil

ENG3UB

17 December 2019

The Role of Imagery in Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s ​One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

How does mankind survive without depending entirely on basic needs? In ​One Day in the

Life of Ivan Denisovich​ by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, even when the Gulag prisoners are in the

face of endless torture where cold and hunger constantly bite into their skin, the resilience of the

human spirit prevails, which is an important message within the literature. Solzhenitsyn

fundamentally uses imagery to deliver his message towards the audience as imagery develops

mood, demonstrates character developments, and establishes the main theme, that is, survival

requires the resilience of the human spirit. Solzhenitsyn uses the essential role of imagery

throughout ​One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich​ in order to teach the world that not only do

individuals depend on basic necessities to survive but also the resilience and courage of the

human spirit.

Imagery not only evokes the mood of agony and despair but also sympathy and awe,

strengthening the readers’ comprehension of the novel’s lesson. Here, images describe an old

prisoner who has been in the camps for an extremely long time:

In the camp you could pick him out among all the men with their bent backs because he

was straight as a ramrod...he’d lost all his hair...he chewed the bread with his hard gums

like they were teeth...his big rough hands with dirt worked in them…You could see his

mind was set on one thing–never to give in. (Solzhenitsyn 171-2)

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Immediately, the old man’s appearance such as “he’d lost all his hair” (172) and “he chewed the

bread with his hard gums” (172) sparks the readers’ impression of any poor, old man who is

weak and goner-like, arousing their sympathy. However, it is clear that the old man is

determined to survive as sitting “straight as a ramrod” (171) shows that he refuses to let the harsh

environment break him down. In addition, the fact that one “could see his mind was set on one

thing–never to give in” (172) just by looking at the old prisoner’s appearance shows how

powerful his resilience is. When the readers perceive the resilient characteristics of the old man

in the face of such a hostile environment, it provokes deep respect and admiration from the

readers. Thus the great contrast between the old man’s rugged appearance and his strong actions

allows readers to understand the importance of resilience and how it greatly impacts one’s life. In

addition, many image patterns within the literature demonstrate how the prisoners are tortured:

“the cold here outside the camp with a wind blowing was biting Shukhov’s face” (41), “into the

bitter cold in the darkness with an empty belly” (30), “it wasn’t so bad opening up their clothes

now, they were nearly home” (146). “Cold” is repeated several times along with “darkness” and

“empty belly”, attacking the senses of the readers allowing them to feel as desperate, unpleasant,

and cold as the prisoners. Even so, Shukhov and the other prisoners call their worn barracks

“home”, which is a symbol of comfort and happiness, juxtaposing the true conditions of their

barracks. This makes the readers pity the prisoners who call their shabby barracks “home”,

which helps them to understand that regardless of how desperate the Gulag is, the prisoners’

resilience retains their hope for survival as they cherish every chance of survival as a blessing.

By letting the audience experience the desolation of the Gulag and observe how perseverance has

changed the prisoners’ lives, imagery evokes empathy and admiration from the audience towards
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the prisoners which causes them to value the importance of the message. Not only is mood an

important tool for conveying the message of the novel but also motif that demonstrates character

advancement.

Throughout the novel, imagery establishes faith as a motif, which is key to show

character development allowing readers to understand the great impact resilience and courage

have on one’s life. The motif of faith is greatly reflected in Alyoshka:

Alyoshka looked at the sun and rejoiced...His cheeks were sunken, he lived only on his

ration and didn’t earn anything extra...The camp didn’t worry them–it was like water off

a duck’s back. (Solzhenitsyn 49)

The image of “rejoiced...sunken [cheeks]” (49) shows that Alyoshka’s spirit is unaffected by the

devastating environment due to his strong faith as the torture he has experienced is like “water

off a duck’s back” (49), although he suffers from the lack of basic needs. This proves that his

faith has given him resilience to survive, which is more important than basic necessities. Faith

greatly develops Shukhov’s character throughout the novel: “Shukhov gave him one of the

cookies...It was true he didn’t have very much but he could always earn something,” (202). Since

the beginning, Shukhov has always expected a return of favour. Yet at the end when Alyoshka

shares his faith with Shukhov, Shukhov’s first act of generosity indicates that he has expanded

his view on basic needs such as “cookies” and starts to lean more towards faith. The taste of

“cookies” is sweet, contrasting the bitter nature of the Gulag and they are one of the few things

that can bring temporary joy to a prisoner. Shukhov starts to let go of these temporary desires as

he has learned that faith, a long-lasting element, can bring resilience and joy to his life. There is

confidence in the SKAZ narrator’s tone, “it was true he didn’t have very much but he could
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always earn something” (202), which portrays the faith developing within Shukhov’s spirit that

gives him the will and courage to take on any opportunity to survive. Imagery establishes faith as

a motif in order to demonstrate significant character developments used to convey the literature’s

message. The aspect of mood and motif slowly builds up throughout the novel, eventually

revealing the main theme.

Imagery develops tones that are used to determine one of the main themes in the

literature: basic necessities are often not the most crucial elements for survival, instead, it is the

resilience of the human spirit. The imagery of “winter after winter, summer after summer —he

still had a long time to go” (47) delivers the gloomy tone of the narrator as the repetition of

“winter” and “summer” depicts the never-ending amount of time Shukhov has spent and has to

spend in the Gulag. The narrator’s distressed tone is delivered through this quotation: “there

were three thousand six hundred and fifty-three days like this in his sentence, from reveille to

lights out,” (202-3) which makes the audience feel sorry for Shukhov as they recognize the awful

amount of time Shukhov has spent in the camps. However, the tone that is reflecting Shukhov’s

feelings also sounds quite joyful: “...he’d a lot of luck today. They hadn’t put him in the

cooler...And he’d gotten over that sickness...it had been almost happy,” (203). Here, Shukhov

demonstrates his resilience through the tone of the SKAZ narrator as it shows that Shukhov feels

almost happy in such a hopeless and demoralized environment. This proves the theme to be

genuine since with the resilience of the human spirit, Shukhov is able to find happiness and hope

that allow him to persevere through the most desperate moments. The quotation, “he’d gotten

over that sickness” (203), delivers a hopeful tone in contrast with the imagery of “sickness” that

symbolizes a physical torture every individual has experienced. Through the use of imagery to
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develop tones, readers are able to experience the cooler-like life of Shukhov and see how he has

triumphed over his misfortunes using resilience, helping them understand the importance of the

theme: often the resilience of the human spirit is crucial for survival. Given these points,

Solzhenitsyn greatly teaches the audience to be resilient no matter what as it is one of the most

significant yet hard to obtain characteristics that keeps one standing through life.

Imagery is an important tool for delivering Solzhenistyn’s message to the world that no

matter how miserable life is, it is important to have the resilience of the human spirit for survival.

Not only is imagery used to evoke mood but also show character developments as well as

generating the theme, that is, to survive means to have the resilience of the human spirit, which

allows readers to perceive Solzhenistyn’s message to a great extent. The Gulag was one of the

tragic legacies created by the Communist tyranny. Similarly, looking at the aggravating

incidences today that threaten the lives of many victims due to hunger, war, poverty, and

violence, it is important to understand that these factors will strip away many basic necessities

from the individuals. Achieving the resilience of the human spirit is fundamental for survival as

well as obtaining happiness and a sense of purpose.

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Works Cited

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. ​One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.​ Trans. Max Hayward and

Ronald Hingley. New York: Bantam, 1963. Print.