Primo Levi
As mentioned above, before Levi was detained in Auschwitz, he was disciplined in chemistry. This biographical contextualization is established in a New York Times article, “The Complete Works of Primo Levi.” Writer Edward Mendelson reveals that until the age of twenty-four, or until he was taken captive, Levi “studied chemistry at Turin and worked as a chemist.” This small fact of his life is presented to have a great deal of power in his memoir. Levi’s background in chemistry not only increased the duration of his life, it led to his insight that “the Lager [camp] was pre-eminently a gigantic biological and social experiment” (Levi 80). Additionally, in an interview, Levi once stated, “I write precisely because I am a chemist” (Mendelson,
“The Complete Works of Primo Levi”). These details divulge exactly why Levi’s writing excludes any tones of emotion or hatred. The “quiet, undramatic lucidity of” his writing makes “clear how deeply his work as a chemist shaped his unsettling work as a moralist and his unique vision of psychology and history” (Mendelson, “The Complete Works of Primo Levi”). Considering he was not equipped to handle the brutal slave work enforced in the concentration camps, Levi opted to his strongest assets, observation and supposition. From his theory of happiness in “The Journey” (6) to his categorization of the prisoners in the “Drowned and the Saved” (80), Levi’s scientific mentality is apparent throughout his entire memoir. Levi’s background in chemistry not only affected his observations and writings about his experiences in Auschwitz, it also transformed his outlook on humanity. In the chapter, “The Journey,” Levi describes his trek of being captured and deported along with hundreds of other Jewish people. He illustrates the train in which “six hundred and fifty men” (6) were transported to Auschwitz and the reflection that ensued during their lengthy migration. With the “certainty of death,” Levi expresses that “sooner or later in life everyone discovers that perfect happiness is unrealizable, but there are few who pause to consider the antithesis: that perfect unhappiness is equally unattainable” (6). In trying to come to terms with his inevitable death, he uses his intellect to create a notion encasing one of the most prevalent conceptual struggles of human kind. This struggle is tremendously amplified for those in his train, who are painfully awaiting and trying to accept their possible demises. Furthermore, in the chapter, “The Drowned and the Saved,” Levi identifies and defines two categories in which every prisoner subjected to the camp’s conditions will inevitably fall into. The first grouping, the drowned or the “Muselmann” (Levi 81), includes men who do not adapt to their new realities in the camp. He explains that they do not have friends, do not attempt to gain extra rations of bread and are labelled as “the weak, the inept, those doomed to selection” (Levi 81). The second category, the saved, are those who are able adapt and will do anything in their power to survive. Levi labels these men as “monsters of asociality and insensitivity” (84) because they regularly depend on lying and stealing to survive. Both of these examinations of human character exemplify Levi’s constant practice of science and reason.
“The Complete Works of Primo Levi”). These details divulge exactly why Levi’s writing excludes any tones of emotion or hatred. The “quiet, undramatic lucidity of” his writing makes “clear how deeply his work as a chemist shaped his unsettling work as a moralist and his unique vision of psychology and history” (Mendelson, “The Complete Works of Primo Levi”). Considering he was not equipped to handle the brutal slave work enforced in the concentration camps, Levi opted to his strongest assets, observation and supposition. From his theory of happiness in “The Journey” (6) to his categorization of the prisoners in the “Drowned and the Saved” (80), Levi’s scientific mentality is apparent throughout his entire memoir. Levi’s background in chemistry not only affected his observations and writings about his experiences in Auschwitz, it also transformed his outlook on humanity. In the chapter, “The Journey,” Levi describes his trek of being captured and deported along with hundreds of other Jewish people. He illustrates the train in which “six hundred and fifty men” (6) were transported to Auschwitz and the reflection that ensued during their lengthy migration. With the “certainty of death,” Levi expresses that “sooner or later in life everyone discovers that perfect happiness is unrealizable, but there are few who pause to consider the antithesis: that perfect unhappiness is equally unattainable” (6). In trying to come to terms with his inevitable death, he uses his intellect to create a notion encasing one of the most prevalent conceptual struggles of human kind. This struggle is tremendously amplified for those in his train, who are painfully awaiting and trying to accept their possible demises. Furthermore, in the chapter, “The Drowned and the Saved,” Levi identifies and defines two categories in which every prisoner subjected to the camp’s conditions will inevitably fall into. The first grouping, the drowned or the “Muselmann” (Levi 81), includes men who do not adapt to their new realities in the camp. He explains that they do not have friends, do not attempt to gain extra rations of bread and are labelled as “the weak, the inept, those doomed to selection” (Levi 81). The second category, the saved, are those who are able adapt and will do anything in their power to survive. Levi labels these men as “monsters of asociality and insensitivity” (84) because they regularly depend on lying and stealing to survive. Both of these examinations of human character exemplify Levi’s constant practice of science and reason.