If This Is A Man By Primo Levi

Words: 1876
Pages: 8
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What can you say about the way the book is written (style)? What is the tone of the book and how does it create impact at different times? What sort of relationship does Levi establish with the reader?

Introduction - Context
If This is a Man is a memoir written by Primo Levi. It is written over the time span of a bit over a year, from December 1943 till January 1945. Primo is a young chemistry graduate hiding out in an Italian resistance gang, when he is captured by the Italians and placed in a concentration camp. With in weeks of being captured, he is on a train with the other Jews to the notorious concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz. It is here at Auschwitz, where Primo explores the darkest …show more content…
Primo Levi writes if this is a man as a memoir, which is a non-fictional collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events, both public or private that took place in the author's life. Primo does this as to have the greatest impact on the reader. This impact is achieved as memories take away any possible chance of the gruesome details and events being lessened in the readers mind by the association of it being fictional writing. Primo could have written a fictional story within the confines of reality about Auschwitz, but chose not to as he knew his story wouldn’t have as greater impact on the reader if he did. This comes at great detriment to Primo, as by writing the memoir he would have had to relive the ordeal. Through being written as a memoir also means that it is written in first person, which likewise greatens the impact of his writings. First person achieves this impact as it is being told from Primo’s point of view, therefore making the readers imagine themselves in Primo’s place; they picture themselves in his situation experiencing what he experienced. This personalization and connection between Primo’s character and the reader is instrumental in creating emotional impact, as the reader is easily emotionally persuaded by Primo’s …show more content…
His use of imagery and symbolism helps to build the connection between his character and the reader as it makes the mental image more vivid, along with building the unhuman representation of the Jews. A brilliant example of this from the text is dehumanising imagery. Primo is constantly describing the Jews as non-human creatures such as “phantoms’, ‘machines’, ‘beasts’, ‘cringing dogs”, whilst also emphasising German cruelty towards them. By doing this he associates the characteristics of the non-human figures with the Jews, and not only manufactures the racial segregation between the Jews and the Germans, but also manufactures the human and inhuman segregation between German and beast. After this segregation is established early in the memoir, the imagery is used as a constant reminder of its
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