One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Reading Questions for 93-137

1. What term would use for a fellow student who was a “stankhanovite?” Are you one of those? Explain.

2. What does the bricklaying tell you about Shukov, about what sort of man he is? Details?

3. As a writer, what does Solzhenitsyn do to make the building of the wall as exciting as possible? As a writer, how does he build tension over such a simple thing? What words and images does he use?

4. Why are the men so willing to work hard on the wall?

5. What characteristics make Fetyukov so disagreeable?

6. How had the previous throat-slitting at the camp helped Shukov’s gang when Der showed up? Explain.

7. How did the guards and the prisoners cooperate to get extra firewood into the prison camp?

8. What does the segment about K-460, the Moldovan spy, tell you about the camp, escape, the prisoners, the guards, Soviet paranoia, etc.

9. How do you feel about the third person narrator now? Is it working for you? Would you prefer a first-person tale from Shukov’s point of view instead? Give some textual examples to support your opinion.

10. Do you think someone like Shukov could smuggle something dangerous onto a plane past airport security today? Feelings?

11. Could you survive what these men went through for ten or more years? Would be able to resist making a run for it and hoping the guards would shoot you in the back?