War In Bertolt Bercht And Alexander Solzhenitsyn

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War plays a dominant role in Bertolt Brecht’s play “Mother Courage and Her Children”, and Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s novel “One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”. The development of their personalities, make them perceive life in different ways and maybe able to sympathize with those who go through this rough life of as a prisoner or as person who is directly affected by war, World War two for Shukhov and the Thirty Years’ War for Mother Courage. One Day in the Life if Ivan Denisovich illustrates a prisoner’s day in Stalin’s concentration camp. It is seen through Shukhov, a prisoner who has only completed eight of the required ten years. As the plot develops, it becomes clear that their day was barely theirs, “Shukhov never … not to the authorities” Through this, two important aspect of the novel is brought, which is recurrent throughout the novel – confinement and loss of freedom. One character who be said to be the epitome of fear and oppression is Volkovoi, who is described as a “dark, tall, with a scowl, very quick in movements”. The authoritative oppression forces them to be living on the edge constantly held with fear of the unknowns. It is important to keep in mind Stalin’s censorship on information that would most likely ‘morally corrupt’ U.S.S.R.’s image through his eyes. The common thread that connects the characters together is their false imprisonment. Shukhov is one, “According to his dossier, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov had been sentenced for high treason.” The fact that war has made life difficult is visibly evident through Shukhov’s story. Shukhov heeds to the advice “the ones that don’t …… on their buddies.” As the novel continues, it can be seen that there are little anecdotes on surviving the camp. ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ follows the travels of Mother Courage and her three children, Swiss Cheese, Kattrin and Eilef during the

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