One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Analysis Paper: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Due: March 5th at 11:59pm CST You will write a 5 page paper about the novel “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Begin by describing the plot of the novel and the novel’s main character, Shukhov. What does one day of life in the Soviet Gulag system entail for this character? How does he, and the other prisoners, survive their imprisonment? The second part of the essay should be a reflection on the importance of this novel to explaining the Russian experience in the period of Stalinism. How was the novel shaped by the author’s experiences? What is the context in which this novel was published in 1962? Was it a political act to publish it, and if so, why did Soviet authorities allow it? Finally, I would like your personal reflection on the content of the novel. Do you think that this novel is an accurate reflection of life in Stalinist Russia? Did you see the novel and its characters as representing a uniquely Russian experience and reaction to that experience, or do you think that it represents universal human experiences?