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Survival in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich There are certain universal things that humans need to survive. Among these are food, clothing, shelter and understanding. The book One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich written by Alexander Solzhenitsyn shows us personally how the characters can survive the harsh conditions of an imprisonment camp. Survival of the fittest reigns in the camp because of the shortage of basic survival essentials. The story takes place in a Russian prison camp after World War II. Ivan Shukhov Denisovich, the main character, is sentenced to a prison camp after having been a prisoner of the Germans during the war. The camp conveys a hopeless situation that only human integrity can overcome. To overcome these hardships the prisoners in the book each utilize different approaches to cope with the environment of the deathful camp. The different characters in the camp included the guards, the gang bosses, assistant gang bosses, cooks, squealers, and prisoners. With all their differences, each group had a common goal of survival. Ivan makes a point in the book that they are all prisoners, even the guards. Ivan states that, "if a prisoner escapes the guard would take his place" (Pg. 114). The gu