n my opinion this is heroic. Shukhov’s crafty skills and physical strength also are heroic traits that are displays throughout the book. He thinks of things in a different perspective than most of the other prisoners in the camp. He has a systematic way of thinking about everything he does. For example, when he saw the chunk of metal in the snow. He didn’t have any specific need for it at the time he found it, but he thought maybe it could be useful to him at another time. He was also always doing little tasks to help other prisoners in the camp, while at the same time looking out for himself. This shows that Shukhov knows what it takes to survive in the camps. He also thinks this way when he is working. Shukhov states: “If your working for human beings, then do a real job of it, but if you work for dopes, then you just go through the motions.” (p. 14) He knows how to do enough work to stay alive, and no more. This is a heroic trait that most of the other prisoners didn’t have. Ivan Denisovich Shukhov is not a romantic hero, he doesn’t fix things or rescue people. He is a man of great interior strength and courage. Surviving the concentration camp alone would constitute as a hero. He is very experienced and skilled in the way the camps work and he uses this quality to help others in the camp. Maintaining ones dignity in a situation like this, is a very hard task to accomplish, and this is just what Shukhov did. Shukhov is a man with the power to rise above terrible situations and be strong, which in turn, he is a hero. ...
