cial trowel wasboth a symbol of joy and hope. Shukhov was a skilled man. A^lack of skilled labor in the camps^ made any man with any skillwhatsoever a commodity (Wilson 270). When he had been free hehad been a carpenter. Therefore, he knew which tools he wouldwork with best. Also, by hiding his special trowel every night,Shukhov was able to have something which was completely his. Inthe camps, ownership of anything was a rare and specialoccurrence. Shukhov ^rolled away a small stone and stuck hisfingers in a crack. There it was! He pulled it out^(Solzhenitsyn 61). Such hope and joy from a tool isincomprehensible to the modern reader. It is not only tools from which Ivan Denisovich is able tofind hope but people as well. Once inside the power plant, ayoung prisoner named Gopchik comes to Ivan Denisovich and askshim if he will teach him how to make a spoon out of aluminumwire. Ivan then reflects upon his feelings for Gopchick andcomes to some realizations about humanity:Ivan Denisovich liked this little rascal Gopchik (hisown son had died young, and he had two grownupdaughters at home). Gopchik had been arrested fortaking milk to Bendera partisans in the woods. Theygave him the same sentence a grownup got. He wasfriendly, like a little calf, and tried to pleaseeverybody. But he could be sly too. He ate the stuffin the packages he got, all by himself, at night. Butcome to think of it, why should he feed everybody? (Solzhenitsyn 69) Shukhov does not get any food from this young boys packages andhe doesn^t feel any animosity although he is constantly starvinghimself. Ivan Denisovich respects this young boy and possiblyeven lives vicariously through his youthfulness. The fact thatIvan Denisovich respects this young boy is remarkable in theharsh conditions of the camp. Shukhov respects others because herespects himself. Terras states that ^Ivan Denisovich is asurvivor, not because he will steal from or inform on hi...
