Free Writing Revision
Prompt 8: What does book say about existentialism? How does that compare to your own view of "why we are here"?
Why am I here? Why do I exist? What purpose do I have in this world? If you’ve encountered these questions before, you just found yourself in the middle of an existential crisis. Life is filled with many unanswerable questions. Life is strange -- I guess that’s what scares people. People are held back from so many opportunities in life, simply because of the lack of hope. Whether you’re a student in high school or an athlete, we are all continuously looking for our purpose in life. But how can we live life to the fullest? It’s not guaranteed that everyone has the same mindset or lives in the same environment to think in a similar matter. People have different purposes in life, and that’s okay. It’s up to us to motivate ourselves to find that purpose. Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s influential book, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, captures the behind-the-scenes of the barren environment of the Soviet prison. Life as a prisoner wasn’t easy, “Ivan Denisovich has accepted the camp as a given, a stage set on which he is merely an actor who must play a part, whether he likes the set or not. Ivan Denisovich's main goal is to survive"(Solzhenitsyn x). Think of a life as a huge play. You’re the main act, and every person that comes and goes are part of it. The story may be enjoyable, or it could be a complete mess. You may not like it, but evidently you find ways to finish the play successfully. No matter the circumstances, we must treat life with value -- be hopeful and appreciative.
The main character of One Day, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, experiences an unimaginable life in prison. His everyday life consisted of work, work, and more work. No freedom whatsoever. Surviving with a small ration of supper and growing haggard, Shukhov and his fellow prisoners dealt with freezing weather and the disdainful guards. There was no point in expostulating against them. Despite the severe circumstances of the gulag, Shukhov gradually found things to appreciate each day. “Let your work warm you up, that was your only salvation” (Solzhenitsyn 6). Although he faced an endless amount of work in the cold weather, work was what kept him from illness. Thus, he learns to appreciate the work he is given. Shukhov’s purpose to survive was one thing. But what he hoped for a long time was freedom. “Freedom meant one thing to him--home. But they wouldn't let him go home” (Solzhenitsyn 163). The only thing that was holding him back was the prison. Contradictory to what I mentioned in the beginning, Shukhov is hopeful. But he isn’t held back because of his lack of hope. He simply had no way of controlling his life in a such a constrained environment. Towards the end of the novel, Shukhov begins talking to Alyosha, who was very religious. Alyosha’s way of interpreting life with God got Shukov thinking and “...he didn’t know either whether he wanted freedom or not” (Solzhenitsyn 163). Alyosha told him how he should rejoice that he was in prison. It gave them time to think about their soul. Although Shukhov didn’t get his freedom that he hoped for, his new knowledge and insight about hope and appreciation allowed the readers of One Day to take inspiration to a way to live with satisfaction.
Living life successfully requires hopefulness, appreciation, and awareness of others. Ivan Denisovich lives a harsh, bedraggled life, one that many of us were not aware of until One Day was published. Though we commiserate their story, what we see behind the barbed wires is not all about devastation or cruelty. We see the life of people, creating a path for themselves to be grateful for what they have. Much like Terry Fox, a cancer diagnosed man who managed to run across Canada. One day he’s just a man with an amputated leg. The next day he’s an inspiration to all of Canada and almost the entire the world. He found his purpose -- to raise money for cancer research -- irrespective of the circumstances. All in all, as long as we have hope and be appreciative, we can successfully live life with a purpose.
Works Cited
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. New York, N.Y.: New American Library, 2009. Print.
The main character of One Day, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, experiences an unimaginable life in prison. His everyday life consisted of work, work, and more work. No freedom whatsoever. Surviving with a small ration of supper and growing haggard, Shukhov and his fellow prisoners dealt with freezing weather and the disdainful guards. There was no point in expostulating against them. Despite the severe circumstances of the gulag, Shukhov gradually found things to appreciate each day. “Let your work warm you up, that was your only salvation” (Solzhenitsyn 6). Although he faced an endless amount of work in the cold weather, work was what kept him from illness. Thus, he learns to appreciate the work he is given. Shukhov’s purpose to survive was one thing. But what he hoped for a long time was freedom. “Freedom meant one thing to him--home. But they wouldn't let him go home” (Solzhenitsyn 163). The only thing that was holding him back was the prison. Contradictory to what I mentioned in the beginning, Shukhov is hopeful. But he isn’t held back because of his lack of hope. He simply had no way of controlling his life in a such a constrained environment. Towards the end of the novel, Shukhov begins talking to Alyosha, who was very religious. Alyosha’s way of interpreting life with God got Shukov thinking and “...he didn’t know either whether he wanted freedom or not” (Solzhenitsyn 163). Alyosha told him how he should rejoice that he was in prison. It gave them time to think about their soul. Although Shukhov didn’t get his freedom that he hoped for, his new knowledge and insight about hope and appreciation allowed the readers of One Day to take inspiration to a way to live with satisfaction.
Living life successfully requires hopefulness, appreciation, and awareness of others. Ivan Denisovich lives a harsh, bedraggled life, one that many of us were not aware of until One Day was published. Though we commiserate their story, what we see behind the barbed wires is not all about devastation or cruelty. We see the life of people, creating a path for themselves to be grateful for what they have. Much like Terry Fox, a cancer diagnosed man who managed to run across Canada. One day he’s just a man with an amputated leg. The next day he’s an inspiration to all of Canada and almost the entire the world. He found his purpose -- to raise money for cancer research -- irrespective of the circumstances. All in all, as long as we have hope and be appreciative, we can successfully live life with a purpose.
Works Cited
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. New York, N.Y.: New American Library, 2009. Print.