The Uncontrollable Mind

Chapter 5: Our Nights
As I read about Levi’s description about the nights he and the prisoners had, I actually saw a correlation between their nights and mine, although theirs is much more severe in many respects. So I was able to imagine at least a bit of how they felt when they prepared to sleep, slept, and woke up
Both the people in the concentration camps and I hurry when we prepare to sleep. Right before the day ends, a bell rings and the question “Wer hat kaput die Schuhe?” is asked to fix a few pair of boots. Here, many rush frantically to have their shoes repaired, as the shoes play a very important role in keeping one from being severely hurt. Like these people, I also rush to finish my homework at night. I do not do much during the day, but when midnight nears and I become more and more tired, I start to rush in doing my homework, because I know I will be more tired as I get less sleep.
When Primo Levi described the dreams he had and the effects of it on his sleep, I could slightly relate myself to it. Levi says that the dream usually repeats things he encounters during the day, and it is usually bad ones that he does not like. Although I don’t have bad dreams that much, I am sometimes haunted by ones that reflect the stresses I have during the day, such as studies or relationships. I sometimes feel like I didn’t get a good night’s rest because of these dreams, like Primo Levi; he is constantly awoken by the dreams, stopping him from resting comfortably.
When the campers wake up with the sound of ‘Wstavac,’ which is the wake-up call, the rush starts again. “The entire hut enters without transition into frantic activity.” This is like me rushing in the morning to prepare myself for school; I take a shower, eat breakfast, dress up, and brush my teeth in a matter of a few minutes. Even before this activity, the process of waking up itself is a torture. Levi describes it as “a moment of too acute pain for even the deepest sleep not to dissolve as it approaches.”
Although I barely know any of the suffers that the people in the concentration camps went through, I was able to make a slight connection to them as I read this chapter. They have a similar night life as me, only numerous times worse.