Hard work, harsh conditions of climate and no food are the hallmarks of life as a Gulag detainee. Many prison novels have documented the horrifying treatment that prisoners received. The description of conditions can vary depending on what the author wants to achieve. Some authors exaggerate horrors to elicit outrage in the reader. Others prefer to portray the horrors more subtly to achieve the same objective. Alexander Solzhenitsyn uses understatement to evoke emotions. Solzhenitsyn employs the literary tool of understatement in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in order to illustrate the extent of the Gulag’s dehumanization. The Gulag’s harsh climatic conditions and physical setting are not adequately described in the novel. The first description is when the prisoners could barely hear the morning’s reveille, as the frost had covered the windows. The author may have meant to show how the Gulag’s prisoners are used this weather. Shukhov is able to feel the extreme cold in the steppe. There, “bare whites stretched to the horizon on both sides and there was not a single twig to be seen.” The barren, desolate land is indicative of the harsh environment that the zeks must live in. The understatement of this example shows how harsh the situation is. As a matter of fact, the majority depend more upon the work report that the actual job itself. 59) . The importance is downplayed here, because six ounces would not seem like much outside of a gulag. But it’s still a lot to prisoners. For them, an extra six ounces can mean the difference between their life and death. The amount done by prisoners to earn a tiny amount of money reflects the dehumanization of the novel. The prisoners’ desire to achieve more is not a result of the food being less than usual. As an example, prisoners who receive a bowl soup consider it more valuable than the freedom they have, as well as life in general, both past and present. The narrator uses this comparison to highlight the atrocities the prisoners endure, comparing food and even the deprivation from food with freedom. They have a purpose to work for, a goal to strive towards, and the means to survive. The Zeks are given the impression that the soup is all that matters to them. The prisoners are so dehumanized that they can only care about their survival. Gulags dehumanize many innocent men, who have committed no real crimes. The Gulag forces men who are already struggling to understand their situation to adapt to the inhumane treatment that even real criminals would find. Buinovsky criticises his guards, saying they “do not behave like Soviet people …… or communists.” (page 34). Buinovksy thinks that prison guards go against the Communist Code and treat prisoners badly because of their absurd regulations and rules. Irony and understatement are evident in his criticism of prison guards for being “bad” communists. Buinovsky represents the ideal communist, even if communists were the ones who sent him to Gulag. The guards should not be called communists because they lack a moral code, and are unjust. Solzhenitsyn’s description of Shukhov’s Squad member, who was arrested, fled and was later recaptured, is a simple one. Many of the zeks were dehumanized, despite the fact that they did not belong in Gulag. Solzhenitsyn is trying to downplay the dehumanization that has taken place by presenting the captures as if the event was unimportant and as though it were a constant occurrence. It is not their fault that the innocent men who are in Gulag have been trapped there, giving it an appearance of constant fear. The novel’s ending gives readers a sense of how important understatement is in the novel. Shukhov, as he reflects on the past day, realizes “today was almost happy.” (pg. This statement is important because it has an effect on how readers interpret the novel. Shukhov, for example, was punished by being made to mop up the guardhouse’s floors. His squad then went to work outside in the freezing cold. The use of understatement in the novel makes the day seem anything but good. Solzhenitsyn, however, uses understatement in a more dramatic way. This shows that the prisoners are so abused and mistreated that even a single day of survival is considered a good thing. Shukhov does his job well and feels more connected to his spiritual side after talking with Alyoshka. Shukhov concludes the novel by listing the number of days left on his sentence. The statement is so direct that it may sound bearable but in reality he is barely surviving. Shukhov’s perception of time has become distorted by the harsh conditions he’s been living in for many years. It seems that his daily reaction is largely determined by the work he does. Work is what causes the day’s passing to be so rapid. The ambiguous, understated ending adds to the irony. Shukhov was punished and treated badly for not getting up on time after waking sick. Shukhov experiences a bad day because of his constant work, harsh weather and other circumstances. Shukhov insisting that it was a great day makes you wonder what a terrible day would have been like. The mistreatment he received from the Gulag prison wardens portrays a man who is suffering and has no way to escape. The addition of “almost” alters the meaning. Shukhov can use “almost”, which could be horrifying or acceptable. Solzhenitsyn leaves it up to the reader whether he wants the story to end on a pessimistic or optimistic note. Subtle dehumanization is the theme of this novel. Solzhenitsyn employs understatement in order to bring out the harshness of the Gulag. Solzhenitsyn employs understatement to show how brutality and mistreatment of the men became commonplace during Stalin’s rule. It makes the reader feel appalled at the subhuman conditions and treatment that the narrator calls “normal.” The narrator’s description of these prisoners is horrifying, as he describes them as being treated in a way that would be considered normal. This is why the use of understatement gives the reader of One Day in Ivan Denisovich a clear, concise picture of what these prisoners endured.
