This part of the story contrasts Ivan, a have-not, with the wealthier prisoners who are lucky enough to receive additional food in packages from home. Even the supposedly egalitarian Soviet system has not eliminated "privilege," and the camp is a reflection of society as a whole. Ivan does not begrudge anybody the packages — some of the people he likes receive them. That is, Kilgas and Gopchik receive packages, but Ivan has decided that his own family cannot spare any food from home. Therefore, he has considerately forbidden his wife to send him any parcels. He knows that he can supplement his food rations by skill and cunning, and he enjoys his little rewards, like the extra bowl of mush at midday, more than if he were receiving food which he would know that his family could not spare.
Solzhenitsyn again shows his contempt for Caesar and his fellow intellectuals. In the scene in which Caesar ignores Ivan, who is doing him a favor, and engages in a lengthy discussion of the latest theater productions in Moscow, we see the black irony of the situation. That is, in the midst of starving men, such a discussion of "theater productions" (which none of the men will ever see) is absurd. But neither Caesar nor his fellow art connoisseur feel any affinity with the other prisoners and their fate. They themselves are well fed and can debate the latest issue of the Moscow Evening News, while Ivan has to struggle to survive. Soon afterward, Caesar has to rely on Ivan's cunning and loyalty — and on his hunger — to keep possession of the food in his package. In this scene, however, Caesar condescendingly lets Ivan have his supper — a morsel for a beggar.
