Life in the gulag is very difficult and, with multiple year sentences, the reason to live is a question in every inmates mind. The physical toll of the subzero temperature, sleep depravation, intense physical labor, and malnutrition causes prisoners to wonder if they will ever get out of the perdition. There are also the examples of men who were told they would be out in 5 years and have been in 10 years without being released. The men now have no trust in the government and never believe they will be released. Despite all the hardships the men face and mental struggles they have there is still a glimmer of hope that they will one day be free. They believe they might one day hold their wives in their arms and eat a home cooked meal. They also have become very attached to their squad and feel as close as family. They would not want to hurt their squad’s morale or leave a person who acts as a brother or a father behind to suffer alone. Many men have been in the camp for so long they would not know what to do if they were to live another type of life. Many have even lived in other camps and if they were free would not know how to support themselves. Life in the gulags is a daily struggle for survival, but there are reason
Many of the men in the camp do not remember what freedom is like, and felt like they served a better purpose in camp. All they have are the memories in their head about what life outside the camp used to be like. Many men have been in the camp for five or more years and still have plenty of time left on their sentence. “Now he didn’t know whether he wanted freedom or not” sums up certain prisoners attitude. This shows the changes that have occurred in some of their minds. The new prisoners count down the days to release, but as time progresses they become accustomed to camp life. The prospect of freedom becomes frightening. How much has the world changed since going to prison? Would life outside the camp be any better than inside? How would a prisoner be treated in the real world? These are the questions that weighed on the inmates, and all the questions they could not answer. The only thing they know of what life is like in their village now is through the letters they receive from their loved ones. The world is constantly changing and after ten years of living a controlled lifestyle and not doing what you used to do for a living a person might have serious trouble readjusting. Shukov was a farmer in his village, but his wife has sent him letters about how all the men now are carpet painters and Shukov does not know this trade. He is worried he could get out and not be able to make a living because of how everything has changed. The government and the people around him might treat Shukov differently because he has been in a camp for many years and no one but himself knows the real reason he went. Many people might side with the government and not believe that he was wrongly sent. Alyosha sums up his reasons for possibly not wanting freedom when he states, “Why do you want freedom? In freedom, your last grain of faith will be choked with wheat. You should rejoice that you are in prison. Here you have time to think about your soul.” Alyosha feels that he is at one with the Lord in the camp. Here he has no outside distractions to separate him from his Savior. He cannot freely worship but that only helps him grow closer to God because he must go through hardships to praise his creator. He also believes God has a plan for every
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