ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVICH

SETTING

• Labor Camp
• Soviet Union 1951
• Unspecified location
• Camp feels oppressive and inescapable

SYMBOLS

• Ivan's Spoon: makes him feel unique to other prisoners.
• Bread: represents physical nourishments. Aloyshka's reference to the Lord's Prayer.
• Tsezar's Parcel(gift): symbolizes pleasures in life and all the good things on Earth.

CHARACTERS

• Each character represents a way of how to live in a horrible condition.
• Shukov: is significant because being the main protagonist, we see everything through his eyes. Shukov is an honest character that doesn't withhold information that is important to the plot line.
• Alyoksha: although he is in a labor camp, he still holds onto his religion which is significant because many prisoners would give up on their religion but he stay devoted.

MOTIFS

• Isolation and Imprisonment
• It suggests that society outside of the prison is just as insane and it isn't functioning.
• Each character represents sections of society and it gives insight of what the outside world is.

Plot
A group of prisoners trying not to go insane in this prison and trying to make the best of a bad situation.

TONE

• Anger
• Exhaustion
• Silence
• Writer wants readers to feel what prisoners experienced.