Carpenters, Dry Rations Summary

Carpenters

Potashnikov is on the verge of freezing to death. Potashnikov would like to stay alive, though there is little that he can do, as he is forced to work in the cold each day. He just saw another man die in his sleep, never waking up. Every day is 60-C degrees below, for the last two weeks. Potashnikov goes to the morning work line-up. A supervisor asks for carpenters, and Potashnikov and another man step forward. Both are intellectuals who know nothing about carpentry, but hope that they can fake it. They go to the carpentry shop and there is a very warm furnace there, making them comfortable. The two men are told by the supervisor to make thirty axe handles a day, which they have no ability to do. The supervisor finds out that they are not...