These are at the top of my Peace Child Blog
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Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Liberty at Last?
Chapter 17: The Story of Ten Days
Before I write about anything else, I have to say that what Primo Levi and his friends Charles and Arthur have done in these ten days was amazing. Despite the illness impairing them, they were able to find all necessary goods needed to survive along with seven other men. They found enough food not to starve to death, they found enough water not to die from thirst, and they generated heat to warm themselves, with people around who have contagious diseases, some nearly dead. All this was done after more than a year of suffering in the concentration camps, in the case of Primo Levi. Maybe the prolonged stay actually helped him be used to the harsh conditions after the Germans left. Nevertheless, his accomplishments are unbelievable; I probably would have died in a bed shouting for food and medicine.
When Primo Levi met the two Frenchmen who would later become his friends, he “was annoyed that they should be afraid: they had not even experienced a month of the Lager, they hardy suffered from hunger yet, they were not even Jews, but they were afraid.” I found this ironical, since when Levi first entered the camps, those who had stayed a while would have thought similarly towards Levi. He would have equally been afraid and dissatisfied. I then realized this happens everywhere anytime. A person is looked down upon by those who are more experienced or skillful than him, yet he does the same to those who are less experienced or skillful than him.]
Levi also says at one point, “Today I think that if for no other reason than that an Auschwitz existed, no one in our age should speak of Providence.” He basically doubts God’s existence. Although this is contrary to my belief, it is understandable that he has such a view, because the conditions he has went through basically dehumanized him, and they were the worst that a human could ever be in. Likewise, the Hebrews under the control of the Egyptians suffered similar atrocities, and they sometimes doubted God. I wonder if Levi believed in God after he returned to normal life.
Lastly, I think a sentence near the end of the chapter expresses one of the themes portrayed by the book: “A movement of a finger could cause the destruction of the entire camp, could annihilate thousands of men; while the sum total of all our efforts and exertions would not be sufficient to prolong by one minute the life of even one of us.” The Nazis had complete control of the prisoners in the camps (including the Jews), and could kill them at will. The prisoners, on the other hand, could barely do anything to threaten the Germans. As seen in the last chapter, the destruction of a crematorium by a prisoner resulted in the complete destruction by the Germans of the dignity of the prisoners. It is unbelievable and absurd that a group of people can treat another group of people, just as equal as they are, in such a degrading and cruel manner. Yet the Holocaust actually happened, and humans today could only and should make sure nothing like it ever happens again.
Before I write about anything else, I have to say that what Primo Levi and his friends Charles and Arthur have done in these ten days was amazing. Despite the illness impairing them, they were able to find all necessary goods needed to survive along with seven other men. They found enough food not to starve to death, they found enough water not to die from thirst, and they generated heat to warm themselves, with people around who have contagious diseases, some nearly dead. All this was done after more than a year of suffering in the concentration camps, in the case of Primo Levi. Maybe the prolonged stay actually helped him be used to the harsh conditions after the Germans left. Nevertheless, his accomplishments are unbelievable; I probably would have died in a bed shouting for food and medicine.
When Primo Levi met the two Frenchmen who would later become his friends, he “was annoyed that they should be afraid: they had not even experienced a month of the Lager, they hardy suffered from hunger yet, they were not even Jews, but they were afraid.” I found this ironical, since when Levi first entered the camps, those who had stayed a while would have thought similarly towards Levi. He would have equally been afraid and dissatisfied. I then realized this happens everywhere anytime. A person is looked down upon by those who are more experienced or skillful than him, yet he does the same to those who are less experienced or skillful than him.]
Levi also says at one point, “Today I think that if for no other reason than that an Auschwitz existed, no one in our age should speak of Providence.” He basically doubts God’s existence. Although this is contrary to my belief, it is understandable that he has such a view, because the conditions he has went through basically dehumanized him, and they were the worst that a human could ever be in. Likewise, the Hebrews under the control of the Egyptians suffered similar atrocities, and they sometimes doubted God. I wonder if Levi believed in God after he returned to normal life.
Lastly, I think a sentence near the end of the chapter expresses one of the themes portrayed by the book: “A movement of a finger could cause the destruction of the entire camp, could annihilate thousands of men; while the sum total of all our efforts and exertions would not be sufficient to prolong by one minute the life of even one of us.” The Nazis had complete control of the prisoners in the camps (including the Jews), and could kill them at will. The prisoners, on the other hand, could barely do anything to threaten the Germans. As seen in the last chapter, the destruction of a crematorium by a prisoner resulted in the complete destruction by the Germans of the dignity of the prisoners. It is unbelievable and absurd that a group of people can treat another group of people, just as equal as they are, in such a degrading and cruel manner. Yet the Holocaust actually happened, and humans today could only and should make sure nothing like it ever happens again.
“The Last One”
Chapter 16: The Last One
“To destroy a man is difficult, almost as difficult as to create one: it has not been easy, nor quick, but you Germans have succeeded.”
“We lifted the menaschka on to the bunk and divided it, we satisfied the daily ragings of hunger, and now we are oppressed by shame.”
A major symbol pervades this last part of the chapter. Until now, there have been prisoners who constantly were against the Germans, and strived to keep their status as humans against the atrocity of the persecution. Despite the infinitesimal number of these people, they still kept some of the humanity of the prisoners alive, as they opposed the Nazi’s goal to deprive the prisoners of their dignity. However, “The Last One” has finally been put to death. He who committed the final “crime” against the Germans by exploding a crematorium at Birkenau was executed. This is more than just a death of a single prisoner. This death symbolizes the final destruction of the prisoners’ humanity, as the first quote above says. They have been focused in surviving rather than keeping their dignity as human beings, and gradually this it has diminished. When the last person to actively advocate this dignity was executed, the destruction of man in the camps was complete.
I could feel the guiltiness and shame Primo Levi and Alberto felt as they saw the sight and couldn’t do anything of it. They have realized that they have only concentrated on surviving, taking advantage everyday, yet they did not even think of retaining their status as equal human beings as the Germans.
It worries me that there are less people in the world today who are like “The Last One”; a vast majority of people are concerned about their wealth and prestige. I am certainly not saying I am not one of those. We all should strive to think more of what is best for human kind and promote good morality in the world.
“To destroy a man is difficult, almost as difficult as to create one: it has not been easy, nor quick, but you Germans have succeeded.”
“We lifted the menaschka on to the bunk and divided it, we satisfied the daily ragings of hunger, and now we are oppressed by shame.”
A major symbol pervades this last part of the chapter. Until now, there have been prisoners who constantly were against the Germans, and strived to keep their status as humans against the atrocity of the persecution. Despite the infinitesimal number of these people, they still kept some of the humanity of the prisoners alive, as they opposed the Nazi’s goal to deprive the prisoners of their dignity. However, “The Last One” has finally been put to death. He who committed the final “crime” against the Germans by exploding a crematorium at Birkenau was executed. This is more than just a death of a single prisoner. This death symbolizes the final destruction of the prisoners’ humanity, as the first quote above says. They have been focused in surviving rather than keeping their dignity as human beings, and gradually this it has diminished. When the last person to actively advocate this dignity was executed, the destruction of man in the camps was complete.
I could feel the guiltiness and shame Primo Levi and Alberto felt as they saw the sight and couldn’t do anything of it. They have realized that they have only concentrated on surviving, taking advantage everyday, yet they did not even think of retaining their status as equal human beings as the Germans.
It worries me that there are less people in the world today who are like “The Last One”; a vast majority of people are concerned about their wealth and prestige. I am certainly not saying I am not one of those. We all should strive to think more of what is best for human kind and promote good morality in the world.
Endless persistence until death
Chapter 15: Die drei Leute vom Labor
The description of the Germans by Primo Levi caught my attention, as he said the Russians are coming and that the end of the war is near. Levi says, “They are Germans. This way of behavior is not meditated and deliberate, but follows from their nature and from the destiny they have chosen. They could not act differently: if you wound the body of a dying man, the wound will begin to heal, even if the whole body dies within a day.”
This last phrase gave me a moment of realization. True, Germans do what they do not only because they are ordered to do so, but because it is their nature, at least according to Primo Levi. But does this only apply to Germans? In my opinion it applies to everyone, including the prisoners in the concentration camps as well as people of today. The prisoners, while being deprived of almost everything they could be happy about, they still have a small amount of hope (mentioned in Chapter 13), almost unrecognizable, that keeps many of them surviving through times of difficulty. They continue their struggle to live despite the discouragements given by the harsh environment, right until the moment they die. Similarly, we keep our hopes up even in disadvantageous situations. For example, in a sports game, even if our team is losing with a large score margin with the other team, we still hope that our team will win until the moment we lose.
The metaphor given by Levi that compares the Germans with a human body was very accurate and catching. I found it very truthful to Germans and every living being in the world, including plants, insects, and animals. It reminded me that one will continue to persist, whether consciously or unconsciously, even in hopeless situations.
The description of the Germans by Primo Levi caught my attention, as he said the Russians are coming and that the end of the war is near. Levi says, “They are Germans. This way of behavior is not meditated and deliberate, but follows from their nature and from the destiny they have chosen. They could not act differently: if you wound the body of a dying man, the wound will begin to heal, even if the whole body dies within a day.”
This last phrase gave me a moment of realization. True, Germans do what they do not only because they are ordered to do so, but because it is their nature, at least according to Primo Levi. But does this only apply to Germans? In my opinion it applies to everyone, including the prisoners in the concentration camps as well as people of today. The prisoners, while being deprived of almost everything they could be happy about, they still have a small amount of hope (mentioned in Chapter 13), almost unrecognizable, that keeps many of them surviving through times of difficulty. They continue their struggle to live despite the discouragements given by the harsh environment, right until the moment they die. Similarly, we keep our hopes up even in disadvantageous situations. For example, in a sports game, even if our team is losing with a large score margin with the other team, we still hope that our team will win until the moment we lose.
The metaphor given by Levi that compares the Germans with a human body was very accurate and catching. I found it very truthful to Germans and every living being in the world, including plants, insects, and animals. It reminded me that one will continue to persist, whether consciously or unconsciously, even in hopeless situations.
Is Kraus committing a sin?
Chapter 14: Kraus
Diligence and industry are qualities that people all over the world hold very valuable. We set honest, hard workers as role models and representatives of people with good morality. It is actually true that these kinds of people benefit the world these days with people increasingly turning deceitful and self-centered. However, does this still apply in the case of Kraus, and all other prisoners in the concentration camps, for that matter?
Kraus worked very hard and restlessly like a laborer does. “He works too much and too vigorously: he has not yet learnt our underground art of economizing on everything… He does not yet know that it is better to be beaten, because one does not normally die of blows, but one does of exhaustion… oh no, poor Kraus, his is not reasoning, it is only the stupid honesty of a small employee.” Primo Levi says that in the camps, exhaustion is more dangerous that the blows one receives from the Kapos and SS soldiers from being insolent. So is it right for a man to be lazy in the concentration camps, while the morals of the outside world regard diligence as one of the greatest values of a person? Is it a sin to be lazy when one would die when worked too hard? Another contradiction between the situation in the concentration camps and the outside world is presented in this chapter.
I heard once that it is a sin to kill oneself, that one should strive to survive as much as possible. According to this statement, one should therefore be lazy in the camps in order to survive, rather than be assiduous and increase the chance of dying. If being insolent, along with committing suicide, is yet another sin, I believe that the latter is a greater sin. Survival is ultimately more important than diligence. This is, however, only an opinion of mine, and others may have different claims to what is right.
Diligence and industry are qualities that people all over the world hold very valuable. We set honest, hard workers as role models and representatives of people with good morality. It is actually true that these kinds of people benefit the world these days with people increasingly turning deceitful and self-centered. However, does this still apply in the case of Kraus, and all other prisoners in the concentration camps, for that matter?
Kraus worked very hard and restlessly like a laborer does. “He works too much and too vigorously: he has not yet learnt our underground art of economizing on everything… He does not yet know that it is better to be beaten, because one does not normally die of blows, but one does of exhaustion… oh no, poor Kraus, his is not reasoning, it is only the stupid honesty of a small employee.” Primo Levi says that in the camps, exhaustion is more dangerous that the blows one receives from the Kapos and SS soldiers from being insolent. So is it right for a man to be lazy in the concentration camps, while the morals of the outside world regard diligence as one of the greatest values of a person? Is it a sin to be lazy when one would die when worked too hard? Another contradiction between the situation in the concentration camps and the outside world is presented in this chapter.
I heard once that it is a sin to kill oneself, that one should strive to survive as much as possible. According to this statement, one should therefore be lazy in the camps in order to survive, rather than be assiduous and increase the chance of dying. If being insolent, along with committing suicide, is yet another sin, I believe that the latter is a greater sin. Survival is ultimately more important than diligence. This is, however, only an opinion of mine, and others may have different claims to what is right.
What is the role of hope in life?
Chapter 13: October 1944
As winter, the season of pain, nears, Primo Levi says that if he knew he would stay for another winter, “and that even now we would go [touch the electric wire-fence], were it not for this last senseless crazy residue of unavoidable hope.
Is hope beneficial? Usually we think hope is being optimistic, and we believe optimism is much better than pessimism, because it gives us a reason and motivation to live. However, should Levi have hope, or is it best not to hope at all? He says in one of the previous chapters that hope is one of the worst things one could have in the camps, because situations do not turn out as one wants them. Not expecting anything would not disappoint a person when he does not hope at all. In this way, hope is rather harmful. However, would Primo Levi have survived if he did not have any hope? According to the quote above, he would have killed himself if not for the “last senseless crazy residue of unavoidable hope.” Essentially, he survived because of the last bit of hope he had, whereas he said himself that hope is not a quality to have in the camps. We can see a clear irony in this contradiction Levi makes in his words. In sum, hope was beneficial to Levi because he was able to survive the camps (assuming that surviving was a good thing for him).
In the movie The Matrix Reloaded, one of the characters said that “hope is the quintessential human delusion, yet the source of a human’s greatest strength.” I believe that hope is in fact what motivates much of our actions, not in rare situations but in our daily lives. Students study because they hope that the education received will allow them to become successful later in life. Countries fought in the past in wars with hope that each of them will become more powerful than the other. Presidential candidates hope to become elected. While much of what is expected from hope may not become reality, hope is what motivates us and provides the will to live.
As winter, the season of pain, nears, Primo Levi says that if he knew he would stay for another winter, “and that even now we would go [touch the electric wire-fence], were it not for this last senseless crazy residue of unavoidable hope.
Is hope beneficial? Usually we think hope is being optimistic, and we believe optimism is much better than pessimism, because it gives us a reason and motivation to live. However, should Levi have hope, or is it best not to hope at all? He says in one of the previous chapters that hope is one of the worst things one could have in the camps, because situations do not turn out as one wants them. Not expecting anything would not disappoint a person when he does not hope at all. In this way, hope is rather harmful. However, would Primo Levi have survived if he did not have any hope? According to the quote above, he would have killed himself if not for the “last senseless crazy residue of unavoidable hope.” Essentially, he survived because of the last bit of hope he had, whereas he said himself that hope is not a quality to have in the camps. We can see a clear irony in this contradiction Levi makes in his words. In sum, hope was beneficial to Levi because he was able to survive the camps (assuming that surviving was a good thing for him).
In the movie The Matrix Reloaded, one of the characters said that “hope is the quintessential human delusion, yet the source of a human’s greatest strength.” I believe that hope is in fact what motivates much of our actions, not in rare situations but in our daily lives. Students study because they hope that the education received will allow them to become successful later in life. Countries fought in the past in wars with hope that each of them will become more powerful than the other. Presidential candidates hope to become elected. While much of what is expected from hope may not become reality, hope is what motivates us and provides the will to live.
Does time pass quickly or slowly?
Chapter 12: The Events of the Summer
“For living men, the units of time always have a value, which increases in ratio to the strength of the internal resources of the person living through them;… the future stood in front of us, grey and inarticulate, like an invincible barrier. For us, history had stopped.”
This passage made me ponder, first of all, about what it meant, and also about when I feel like Levi felt in this paragraph. First, I think the passage means that time was of no value to the prisoners of the camp; it didn’t matter if time passes quickly or slowly, since all expected to die in the camps. The passage of time only neared their doom, yet they did not regret it. Although it is commonly believed that one should not accept death so easily, trying to survive as much as possible, I guess the conditions in the camp destroyed the prisoners’ will to live at all. Considering this, the attitude in the passage was, in a sense, “right” to have.
I also thought that the passage could mean that when one is in a formidable or undesirable situation, time passes slowly. When I put myself in Levi’s situation, time would definitely pass sluggishly when I work all day long in the cold winter weather without adequate clothing on. Moreover, I also feel this in my everyday life. When I am in class, I often become bored and feel that time does not pass at all, whereas the times I spend with my peers seem to fly by.
Sometimes I wonder why God would make things undesirable like this; “why can’t time pass slowly when I am having fun?” I do not understand, but I know God has a reason for everything, and this is the best way things could be done.
“For living men, the units of time always have a value, which increases in ratio to the strength of the internal resources of the person living through them;… the future stood in front of us, grey and inarticulate, like an invincible barrier. For us, history had stopped.”
This passage made me ponder, first of all, about what it meant, and also about when I feel like Levi felt in this paragraph. First, I think the passage means that time was of no value to the prisoners of the camp; it didn’t matter if time passes quickly or slowly, since all expected to die in the camps. The passage of time only neared their doom, yet they did not regret it. Although it is commonly believed that one should not accept death so easily, trying to survive as much as possible, I guess the conditions in the camp destroyed the prisoners’ will to live at all. Considering this, the attitude in the passage was, in a sense, “right” to have.
I also thought that the passage could mean that when one is in a formidable or undesirable situation, time passes slowly. When I put myself in Levi’s situation, time would definitely pass sluggishly when I work all day long in the cold winter weather without adequate clothing on. Moreover, I also feel this in my everyday life. When I am in class, I often become bored and feel that time does not pass at all, whereas the times I spend with my peers seem to fly by.
Sometimes I wonder why God would make things undesirable like this; “why can’t time pass slowly when I am having fun?” I do not understand, but I know God has a reason for everything, and this is the best way things could be done.
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