[2] As in many of Solzhenitsyn's works, the author paints a vivid and honest picture of the suffering prisoners and their incompetent but powerful wardens.
The prisoner Nemov, apparently the story's hero, is an honest man serving a term of 10 years for violations of Article 58.
One of the play's clear recurring themes is the idea that Nemov's honesty is worthless in the face of the realities of camp life.
Their dilemma is apparently resolved in the very brief Act IV, at the end of which an injured and dejected Nemov watches Lyuba enter Mereshchun's office yet again.
Most of the play is spent in developing the characters of Nemov and Lyuba as they live and work in total ignorance of each other, and in exploring the realities of camp life.