Primo Levi's If This Is A Man

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Primo Levi’s If This is a Man recounts with scientific and horrifying accuracy, Levi’s ten-month incarceration in Auschwitz. He encounters various individuals, who’s actions enabled him to survive and grow through the ordeal, in particular Charles, a 32-year-old French political prisoner who stayed with him in the camp hospital’s, the Ka-Be, room 13. In the final chapter of the memoir, Chapter 17: The Story of Ten Days, Charles, a teacher who had entered the camp the week before, is introduced. Although his memoir is structured like a novel, Levi does not dwell on the atrocities committed by the Nazis, but rather describes, with clinical detachment, the effects that actions have on the people around him, hence his keen observation of Charles, who’s actions had far reaching effects in the Ka-Be. With freedom in sight, chapter 17 not only signifies …show more content…

The prisoners already had intense physical proximity as the Nazi had turned them into cattle by herding masses in attempt to break spirits. The emotional closeness that ensued as a result of this extreme physical proximity ended up becoming a positive, creating a support network. Levi’s, however, had been taken from him when Alberto, his best friend of many years, left on the final march. Charles provided that lost connection, “…felt ourselves become men once again. … the eight invalids did not lose a syllable, even those who did not understand French.” (Levi, 2004, p191) Charles’ sincerity transcend the language barriers, allowing the prisoners, most importantly Levi, to trust and confide in him. Charles emphasises the need for and normalises the notion of real friendship which Levi often thanks him for. Levi condemns the camp for forcing men to wait for their neighbour to die so that they can eat which contrasted against Charles’ selfless, friendly

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