In A Key Passage From Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s One Day In The Life Essay, Research Paper
The mood in any passage in literature is often
defined as the sentiments that are impressed upon the reader through the reading
of that passage. Evidently, considering the differing experiences of the
readers, the mood created in each will not be exactly the same. However, one can
consider certain universal elements in a passage which more than likely produce
a similar effect in most readers. This is the approach one must take if they are
to objectively analyse the mood created by an author in a key passage from one
of that author’s works. The selected passage from One Day In the Life of Ivan
Denisovitch contains such elements, of the kind which are likely to impress upon
most readers a certain mood. Such elements include the diction, or the careful
choice of words which, in description of people and events, have such
denotations and connotations as to inspire a certain feeling in a person, and
the which is contained within the passage. Each of these are capable of
providing a mood which is in stark contrast to the overriding tone of the entire
novel. This is the case in the selected passage, and the precise reason that it
is, in fact, a ‘key’ passage. Because its mood is an abberation from that of the
rest of the novel, an account of drudgery and of suffering, it is significant
for the ray of hope it lends to the reader who takes on the struggles of
Shukhov. It is the mood of this passage which, amidst a much darker picture
stands out as a light, lit by the elements of the passage which creates this
mood. The diction of the passage is a principal reason that it is able to impress
upon the reader a mood of excitement, of sentiment bordering on happiness, in a
setting which does not lend itself to such feelings. Such words that show
Shukhov’s intense focus on the task, taking a joy in his work and leaving all
other thoughts behind, are those which are the purveyors of the aforementioned
mood and the hope which follows. This focus and feeling on the part of Shukhov
is communicated in the passage whereby the descriptor “with zest” is added to
describe the his work. Even one without a complete understanding of the word
“zest” could be inspired by its presence in the text. To the human ear, the word
has such a sound that it very much fits the attitude which it describes. The
word could not suggest any mood other than that which is created within this
very passage. Other words found within the passage have similar effects, those
produced by the phonetic character of the word, but also by the denotation or
accepted meaning of the words. For example, the adjective “zealously”,
describing Shukhov’s chopping of the ice upon the wall, is quite like the word
“zest” in the mood which it suggests. Similarly, when “Shukhov tackled the wall
as if it was his own handiwork”, the excitement and intensity of the task is
effectively produced through the verb of the sentence. To tackle anything
suggests a certain vigor on the part of the tackler, a vigor that would be more
foreign in a prison camp than in any other setting that life provides. In such a
way as these words accomplish their tasks, diction becomes one of the most
effective means of impressing upon a reader a mood, or of suggesting certain
feelings to them. A very simple image is presented in this passage which also has a pronounced
effect upon the reader. It is “that distant view where sun gleamed on snow”
which can have a profound impression on anyone alert to that which they are
reading. The image which is formed is such that few readers would be unaffected
by it. The first element of the image is the sun. Unless the sun is portrayed as
being oppressive, as it might under a great deal of heat, it has no negative
connotations. Therefore, the only effect it might have upon the reader is a
positive one. That the sun should gleam on snow suggests a cold clear day, one
which can be exhilirating and cause one’s blood to rush. This exhiliration, like
Shukhov’s vigor, also does not seem be a very good fit to the setting of the
novel, which is partly what sets this passage apart. Essentially, what
Solzhenitsyn has done is to chose an image of the weather, which is so central
to the human experience that few would not feel the effects of the image in
their reading of the passage. If no such passage as this existed in this novel, perhaps less acclaim might
have fallen its way. Its inclusion reflects a certain genius on the part of the
author, who is able to make such stark contrast an effective tool in telling of
life in a Soviet prison camp. It is primarily the mood of the passage, that of
exhiliration, of excitement and of zest for life, which produces this contrast
with the rest of the novel, which mires more in depression and oppression. It
would seem that mood, indeed, can take hold of a reader, for nothing short of
that would inspire hope in a setting which provides a wholly bleak outlook. The
ability to impress upon the reader such a mood can truly be said to be part of
Solzhenitsyn’s genius and is telling of the overall value of One Day in the Life
of Ivan Denisovitch, which through its harsh realism and honesty, is a warning
of the brutality and cruelty of which we humans are capable.