During World War II, a Russian government agency called the Gulag administered the Soviet forced labor camp system. These camps housed approximately fourteen million people. About half of these prisoners were imprisoned without trial. The conditions in these camps were inhumane and resulted in the deaths of approximately 60% of all Soviet prisoners. As shown in Alexander Solzhenitsyn's novel, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” the only way to survive in these labor camps is to stay fed. Not only do you need to stay nourished physically, but you also need to be nourished mentally. In order to eat "properly", they must possess certain qualities that allow them to get a head start on the other prisoners in order to survive. To survive, prisoners must maintain a sense of dignity and individuality in a camp manner whose main goal is to destroy all individual personalities. Although it is very difficult to do this in a camp where mattresses have no sheets, prisoners are strip searched in freezing weather, prisoners are called by a random series of numbers and letters, and all other living conditions are intolerable. you have to find something to hold on to that allows them to survive mentally. Shukhov does several things that allow him to remain courteous in the most difficult conditions and maintain his dignity. For example, at each meal, he removes his cap before eating in order to maintain a sense of civility. Furthermore, Shukhov is unlike the other prisoners in that he has a eating spoon which he hides in his boot. This spoon seems to make him feel special and different from everyone else, which is exactly the feeling the camp is trying to destroy... middle of paper ...... pension. Even though one must maintain one's dignity in To Survive, they still must pay respect to those in a higher position in the camp. Shukhov continually tries to kiss others in order to get more food. By performing certain cooking tasks, such as cleaning bowls, Shukhov earns extra rations, not only for himself, but also for the rest of his gang. Shukhov goes so far as to wait in line at the parcel office for the higher-ranking prisoner, Tsezar, in the hope that he will repay him with his extra rations. Even though Solzhenitsyn only writes about one day at the prison camp, it is obvious to the reader what is essential for survival. Each prisoner may have different ways of going about their daily "routines" to acquire the essentials they need, but all prisoners have the same intention: to survive until the next day...