HIS 242
Study Questions On Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

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  1. What "number" was Ivan?
  2. Why was this novel allowed to be published in 1962? How did it fit into the process of destalinization in the Soviet Union?
  3. Why was Ivan in the camp?
  4. Was there an informal code of behavior in the camp? Did the camp administration succeed in dehumanizing the prisoners?
  5. With what sorts of crimes had the prisoners been charged?
  6. Why did Solzhenitsyn write One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich?