How does the author of condensed milk develop the theme of the story

This Russian writer and journalist of the twentieth century is the author of the powerful short story "Condensed Milk." Shalamov survived imprisonment in a Soviet gulag, and this is the setting of his short story.

The theme of the story is survival, especially emotional survival, as the prisoners try to find anything that keeps their spirit from dying along with their overworked and underfed bodies.