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                                                A day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

In the book “A day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, true heroes are absent, with only anti-heroes, due to the increased struggle for human dignity and unjust punishment. The two problems demonstrated in the novel should be why the true heroes rise and fight for what is right in society. The protagonist Shukhov is detained in the Stalinist labor camp, whose objective is to compromise the detainee's spiritual and physical dignity. The situation there is pathetic, with mattresses lacking sheets, humiliation by prisoners through naked searches at low temperatures, and low bread amount that is 200 grams per individual as food. “A convict perspective is no freer that he is. They retreat to the same place and repeatedly worry over same issue” (219) . The prisoners' spirituality interferes with the prisoner's spirituality by erasing their identity by mixing their names with letters and numbers. In such a society, no character has the guts to rise and face a threat to humanity, creating platforms for anti-heroes.

Shukhov passively resists the move to dehumanize him though the heroism in him is not seen because he fails to confront the situation. The character demonstrates that the only way to resist the bid to dehumanize dignity is not openly defiant but through creating an individual belief system. Does it mean that there are no willing heroes to confront and protect the human dignity of the hero? During the meals, despite his anger level, he will push to remove the cap before taking food connected to his upbringing, with the perspective of his upbringing influencing civilized behavior. “Next was taking the cap off his shaven head; despite the cold weather he couldn’t let self-eat wearing the cap” (85). The bid to rise to heroism is brought down by Fetyukov, who continues with scrounging and begging for craps. Fetyukov's anti-hero behavior makes Shukhov continue being treated as human despite his continued fight and resisting falling into submission. He continues to insist on his human dignity, leading to an underground war declaration targeting the state holding him. The book shows no true heroes but only individuals determined to bring possible heroes down.

The author is creating a particular...