“Better to die on your feet than live on your knees.” ’ Shestakov pronounced the sentence with an air of pomp. We weren’t friends, just acquaintances. The lucky man barely said hallo to his Moscow acquaintances. He couldn’t help but know that there was no escape. Condensed Milk, a short story from Varlam Shalamov Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov ( June 18, 1907 – January 17, 1982), was a Russian writer, journalist, poet and Gulag survivor.
The refusal is a risk, and relies on the idea that the cans are a small cost to Shestakov; the climax occurs when the protagonist takes this risk and gets away with it, saving his own life. United States Involvement in the Korean War: Causes and Effects
Enormous and blue as the night sky, the can had a thousand holes punched in it, and the milk seeped out and flowed in a stream as broad as the Milky Way. Enormous and blue as the night sky, the can had a thousand holes punched in it, and the milk seeped out and flowed in … Borden’s original product, which was made from skimmed milk and lacked nutrients, was even blamed for contributing to a contemporary rickets epidemic in children.As a result, Borden’s first two factories failed and only the third, in Wassaic, New York, produced a usable product that was long lasting and needed no refrigeration. Shestakov watched me with sympathy.‘You know,’ I said, carefully licking the spoon, ‘I changed my mind.
Go without me.’ Shestakov comprehended immediately and left without saying a word to me.It was, of course, a weak, worthless act of vengeance just like all my feelings. By doing so, the protagonist gets the best possible result out of the current situation; receiving essential nourishment without giving in to what he knows is a sham of an escape attempt. All that smacked of books was forgotten. Joseph Stalin & Soviet Propaganda: Techniques & Examples
All rights reserved. Post-Civil War U.S. History: Help and Review But the milk, the condensed milk…I fell asleep and in my ragged hungry dreams saw Shestakov’s can of condensed milk, a monstrous can with a sky-blue label. Everyone looked out for himself here.‘Have a smoke,’ Shestakov said and he handed me a scrap of newspaper, sprinkled some tobacco on it, and lit a match, a real match.
Condensed Milk is one of the autobiographical stories of Varlam Shalamov, who spent more than 20 years in Stalin's gulags during the middle 20th century.
It was the last thing I wanted to think of.‘I have a map,’ Shestakov said sluggishly.
“I do not write memoirs; nor do I write short stories. Who had set him up here and at what price? He was taken away, and I met him again at a different mine six months later. Everyone stood and watched as I ate.
. I stared at Shestakov’s feet with sincere admiration, even delight. Virginia SOL - World History & Geography 1500 to Present: Test Prep & Practice
His writing is honest and concise, poetic, but never melodramatic. But the milk, the condensed milk… I fell asleep and in my ragged hungry dreams saw Shestakov’s can of condensed milk, a monstrous can with a sky-blue label.
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Narrated in the first person, this short story is one episode in the life of a Russian labour-camp inmate. World History: Middle School I was staring at the bread when Shestakov called to me.I’d known Shestakov on the ‘mainland’, in Butyrki Prison where we were cellmates. I can’t live like this any longer.
He didn’t say hello to me, but there was really no reason for him to act that way.
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We lacked the strength to experience emotions, to seek easier work, to walk, to ask, to beg… We envied only our acquaintances, the ones who had been lucky enough to get office work, a job in the hospital or the stables – wherever…
European History Study Guide At least one person from our cell didn’t wear foot rags.
I have a map.I closed my eyes and thought. I sat down so as to be comfortable and drank the milk without any bread, washing it down from time to time with cold water. I’ll bring you some … canned food.
‘Berries, vitamins. –‘0K,’ I said, opening my eyes. The Cold War: Definition, Causes & Early Events I finished both cans. AP World History: Exam Prep You had to eat it with a spoon, smear it on bread, or swallow it slowly, from the can, eat it little by little, watching how the light liquid mass grew yellow and how a small sugar star would stick to the can…‘Tomorrow,’ I said, choking from joy. What type of government did Russia have during... I have a map.’I closed my eyes and thought. The first Canadian condensery was built at Truro, Nova Scotia, in 1871.
‘Condensed milk!’I returned to the barracks and closed my eyes.