One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Tiurin returns with the work assignments. He sends the Estonians, Senka, and Gopchik to take a large box for mixing mortar to the power station, and sends the others to get tools, clear snow, light stoves, and fetch water and sand. Shukhov and Kilgas are to lay bricks on the second story after lunch, but first they need to find a way to cover the gap in the stove room so that it will retain heat. Kilgas and Shukhov are often paired together, and they have developed a mutual respect and call each other Vanya. Kilgas has hidden some roofing felt, but before fetching the roll, Shukhov runs to the spot near the repair shop where he hid a good trowel. As they cross the work site, Kilgas and Shukhov pass men from another squad attempting to dig holes in the frozen ground. Shukhov advises them to build fires to thaw the ground, but they aren’t allowed to. Kilgas leads them to the prefab building where he hid the roofing felt, and he and Shukhov carry it upright between them, so the guards won’t catch them with the material.

The mechanical lift is broken, so all the materials must be carried up to the second floor. The box for mixing mortar breaks, and the stovepipe is in disrepair. Tiurin reassigns the prisoners to new tasks: Shukhov repairs the stove pipe, Kilgas fixes the mortar trough, and Senka takes down the stair railing to create laths to tack up the roofing felt. If one person slacks, the whole squad is punished, so the squad members enforce hard work. Shukhov focuses on his work while Fetuikov and others bring in loads of sand and are scolded by Tiurin for stopping to stand by the stove. Tiurin leaves to turn in the work report: ”That was what kept the men fed. He had to prove that work which hadn’t been done had been done, to turn jobs that were rated low into ones that were rated high” (65). Gopchik brings wire to hold the stovepipe and asks Shukhov to teach him how to cast his own spoon. They continue working, and a truck delivers a load of bricks. Pavlo, Kilgas, and Shukhov go outside, and Shukhov is surprised to see the sun high in the sky. When they go back inside, Pavlo yells at a group of men sitting by the fire and tells them to go move bricks. Shukhov, Kilgas, and Senka work on hods to carry bricks; then, Pavlo gives permission them to sit by the fire until lunch.

Shukhov, who has served eight years, has two years left on his term, and the men joke about him having one “bare” foot out the door. He does not know if he will be let out once he has served his term—many prisoners are not. Newer prisoners, including Kilgas, are automatically assigned a 25-year sentence. Shukhov was forced to confess to high treason after he escaped from the Germans, who took him as a prisoner of war. In reality, his troop was starving in the woods and trying to survive on the soaked hooves of dead horses when German forces found them. Shukhov and four others escaped, but when they returned, three of the men were shot and the other two, including Shukhov, were accused of returning to spy for the Germans. Kilgas complains that life is hard in their “special” camp, but Shukhov feels it is easy because they have food and rest, and he doesn’t mind wearing prisoner numbers. Fetuikov argues that the prisoners kill each other, but Pavlo counters that only the “squealers” are killed. The dinner bell rings, and the men put down their tools.

Shukhov, Gopchik, and Pavlo leave for the canteen while the rest of the squad waits in the power station. The canteen is a dirt-floored “shanty” run by a cook and an inspector. The prisoners are served rationed oatmeal, and the cook gives out extra servings to prisoners who help carry the food or wash bowls. All food is shipped to the prison because the steppe cannot support any agriculture. The canteen is crowded. Shukhov collects bowls to return to the kitchen, Pavlo gets in the serving line, and Gopchik goes to fetch the other squad members. Pavlo reaches the serving window, and Shukhov clears people from the tables, then takes the bowls from Pavlo as the cook fills and counts them. The cook has to pause for clean bowls and loses his place counting, and Shukhov tells him they are at 14 when they are really at 16. The cook believes him and gives him two extra bowls. After he finishes his normal ration, Pavlo gives one of the extra bowls to Shukhov and the other to Buinovsky, who, unaware of the extra portions, remained seated after eating because he wasn’t ready to go back into the cold. Shukhov takes Tzesar his bowl of kasha and is jealous that the office is so warm. He overhears the superintendent complaining about the prisoners looting lumber for firewood, and he briefly listens to a conversation Tzesar is having with another prisoner about Einstein. When he realizes Tzesar is not going to offer him food or a cigarette, Shukhov returns to the power station, but on his way he stops to pick up a piece of a hacksaw blade, which he plans to hide in the power station.