What is the theme of the story condensed milk?

Varlam Sharlamov was a Russian writer, journalist, poet and Gulag survivor. He was imprisoned a few times in forced-labor camps in the arctic region of Kolyma. He wrote a lot of short stories about his experiences in these camps, one of them is the short story "Condensed Milk".

The story is written in the first point of view, it is an episode of a Russian prisoner's life. The main theme is the description of the emptiness of a prisoner's life before death. He craved for material satisfaction to lessen the empty, scorched feeling inside. All the prisoner wanted is to escape, but what he was offered by an old acquaintance is the escape in the form of condensed milk. The condensed milk is a symbol of the last joy in the midst of impending death.

I hope it helped you :)

The theme of the story is emotional survival.

Read related link on:

link