The Real World, The Unreal World and The Suffering in Between with Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life Ivan Denisovich and Camus" The Plague.
by Jennie Nguyen.
There are two worlds that people live in, the real and the unreal. The unreal is a world full of stories, a person's personal getaway. Most people read novels to try to escape the real world, to leave reality behind and the unbearable aspects of it, such as anger, fear and hurt. However the unreal world is relatively close to the real world and can take the traveler by surprise. All humans have experienced physical and mental pain, but the character never realizes that the characters in the novels are humans too. The authors of these novels are writing about what they know, conflict and human suffering. Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life Ivan Denisovich and Albert Camus" The Plague are perfect examples of the capacity of human suffering in society. Both authors try to portray the distress and torture a person can feel, although the situations are quite extreme the emotions and lessons that need to be learned are the same.
Early in One Day in the Life Ivan Denisovich we are shown that Ivan suffers physically and mentally. The concentration camp not only affected Ivan's body but also his mind. The lack of true trust and the feeling of being enslaved is keeping Ivan from being happy. He has hardly any time to devote to himself or to think about what he once called home.
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Apart from the sleep, the only time a prisoner lives for themselves is ten .
minutes in the morning at breakfast, five minutes over dinner, and five at .
supper (Solzhenitsyn p.14).
He had less and less cause to remember Temgenovo and his home there.
Life in the camp wore him out from reveille to bedtime, with not a second .
for idle reflections (p.107).
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Furthermore the work load took all of his time and strength and he suffered from the terrible conditions of it.
