How does Ivan Denisovich represent what it takes to survive?

A stalanist labour camp is deffinately not the place you want to end up in. They were designed to break a person's physical, emotional and spiritual dignity. They kept prisoners like Ivan barely alive so they could suffer the inginities of camp life. Ivan Denisovich does what it takes to survive. He saves scraps of bread for harder times. He knows where and how to trade items. He knows what guards to avoid and when to avoid them. He does the best work he can do with what he has. This makes him worth keeping around.