One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Time Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Paragraph). We used H.T. Willetts's translation.

Quote #10

Well, it was no joke - he'd robbed more than five hundred men of more than half and hour of their time. (784)

The diction here is interesting – time can be "robbed" or stolen in the camps, and time itself is a precious possession for the prisoners.

Quote #11

Ten days! Ten days in that cell block, if they were strict about it and made you sit out the whole stint, meant your health was ruined for life. It meant tuberculosis and the rest of your days in the hospital. (1126)

Though the camp sentences and the days in camp seem almost impossibly long, it's interesting that we get a contrasting picture here, with the idea that a prisoner's health can be totally ruined after just ten days.

Quote #12

Just one of the 3,653 days of his sentence, from bell to bell. (1232)

The final sentences of the book really help to put Shukhov's story in perspective; it's really hard to fathom, or understand, exactly how many stressful and demoralizing days Shukhov has to spend in the camps.