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 while they were in existence. About half of these prisoners were imprisoned without trial. The conditions inside these camps were inhumane and with this approximately 60% of all Soviet prisoners died. As seen in Alexander Solzhenitsyn's novel, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” he shows that the only way to survive in these labor camps is to stay fed. Not only do you have to stay physically nourished, but you also have to be mentally nourished. To keep themselves “properly” fed, they must possess certain qualities that allow them to gain a leg up on other prisoners so that they can survive. To survive, prisoners must maintain a sense of self-dignity and individuality in a camp environment whose primary 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 searched in freezing weather, prisoners are called by a random collection of numbers and letters, and all other living conditions are intolerable, something must be found to hold on to that allows them to survive mentally. Shukhov does several things that allow him to remain civilized under the harshest conditions and maintain his dignity. For example, at every meal, he takes off his cap before eating to maintain a sense of civility. Furthermore, Shukhov is inimitable from other prisoners because he has an eating spoon that 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... compensation. Even if one must maintain their dignity in To survive, they must still pay homage to those who occupy a higher position in the field. Shukhov continually tries to kiss others to get more food. By carrying out some of the cook's duties, 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 a long line at the parcel office for the higher-ranking prisoner, Tsezar, in the hope that he will repay him with his extra rations. Although Solzhenitsyn writes only about one day spent in the prison camp, it is evident to the reader what is essential for survival. Each prisoner may have different ways of going about their daily "routine" to acquire the essentials they need, but all prisoners have the same intent: to survive until the next day..