... call is particularly short, because it is cold, and the campguard does not want to stay outside for long. It is still pitch-black when Ivan Denisovich Shukhov gets up. Shukhov almost never oversleeps, since by waking up early he can have ninety minutes of free time before the prisoners assemble to go ... Tiurin's job is going to be to convince the authorities to send another squad, and he will have to bribe them with salt pork. Commentary Ivan Denisovich Shukhov wakes up to the same setting he has woken up to for several years. As one of millions of prisoners in the Siberian labor ... in...

• Word Count: 1884
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

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 sti...

• Word Count: 1531
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School