Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Primo mentions at one point that "the Lager [camp] was pre-eminently a gigantic biological and social experiment" (9.2). What do you think he means by this? What conclusions can you draw from this experiment? What conclusions might the Germans have drawn?
- Who are Primo's true friends? In what ways does the concentration camp change the definition of "friendship"?
- What is the meaning of the curse that Levi provides at the end of his poem that prefaces the book?
- All prisoners, including Primo Levi, entered Auschwitz under the infamous words of the looming sign, "Arbeit Macht Frei," which translates as "Work Makes You Free." (Take a look and see for yourself how it might feel to walk under this sign.) What are some possible meanings for this phrase? What might "freedom" mean in a camp where escape is impossible?
- What are some of the techniques that the Nazis used in the camp to completely dehumanize their prisoners? How does Levi show the effects of this?
- Primo spends some time discussing the differences between those he considers "the drowned" and "the saved." What are some of these differences, and how are they significant?
- Do you get the impression that Levi is religious? What does he seem to say about the role of a God in the events he describes?