Character Situations in A Day in the Life of Ivan DenisovichIn A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn creates many characters who are memorable to the reader because of their personal situations and their responses to those situations. Through characters such as Ivan Shukhov Denisovich, Fetyukov, Aloyska the Baptist, and the two Estonians, Solzhenitsyn explores the characters' various reactions and the effect of these reactions on other characters' perceptions of them. Ivan Shukhov Denisovich is the protagonist of this novel. He is the character the reader is told about the most. The reader is told that Denisovich has had several serious health problems, has been in prison for almost ten years, and is a skilled worker. Through conversations and actions we learn that Shukhov, although not the highest ranking member of the group of prisoners, is respected and well-liked. His fellow prisoners care enough about him to watch his food when he is not promptly present at mealtimes and to give him an occasional puff of a cigarette. Much of this respect has to do with his attitude. Shukhov is willing to do many things for his fellow prisoners and does more than his share of the work. “Deal with the situation in a positive way” and try to use every opportunity to help the group as a whole (Depoli 1). The two Estonians resemble Shukhov in many ways. They try to look at their situation in a positive light. They are brotherly and share everything to help make life a little better for each other. They cling together “as if neither had enough air to breathe without the other” and are respected for this mutual devotion (Solzhenitsyn 44). At one point Shukhov states that he has met many Estonians, including these two, "and that he has never met a bad one" (44). Because the two men try to work together, they are more popular within the work group than someone like Fetyukov. Fetyukov is the street cleaner. Seeking only to improve his situation, he is shunned by other members of the group. He is called a scoundrel and stoops to using junk thrown away by other prisoners because he "got no help from anywhere" (45). Fetyukov is despised by almost everyone in the group due to his selfishness and unwillingness to work.