Encapsulating Analysis: Primo Levi provides a cold testimony of survival amidst continued dehumanization. When numbers replace names (Levi, 27), the soul-less mind creates delusions of logic to keep the body moving. Continuous strikes of atrocity can bring about secretive, subtle, and even deep-buried personalities, which may hold dwindling views about fate. Following sheds light on the views that one may holds when put to constant insult: “According to our character, some of us are immediately convinced that all is lost, that one cannot live here, that the end is near and sure; others are convinced that however hard the present life may be, salvation is probable and not far off, and if we have faith and strength, we will see our houses and …show more content…
His state of mind is understandable given the brutality he and his fellows endured. At that point, death seemed to be the cure, but death brings with it other delusions as well. Based on the personalities, people may become ‘lustfully intoxicated’ and ‘deliberately drunk’, or start ‘praying’ (Levi, 15). These latent tendencies spring out in times of hardships when one’s life is at risk. In the Auschwitz, prayer had some other meaning as well besides optimism or pessimism. Prayer was a means of unification with the past, “the grief without hope of the exodus” (Levi, 16). Levi’s account shows the role of testimony as religious practice. Prayer was a grief, not a simple presence or absence of hope. Prayer was the name of the feeling itself. Prayer can make an optimist think that his/her end is near so there is no need for exhausting one’s self with struggle for a newer future. It can be a calming effect, although this effect would depend on the latent tendencies of a person. If we critically analyze strategies of mind, we may realize either extremes, pessimism and optimism, do not represent a complete picture of reality. Life is mixture of good and bad. But when ‘bad’ seems endless, the sense of fear is lost, as Levi states, “we had no more fear” (Levi, 19). Apparently, it was fear that compels one to hold an extreme viewpoint because each view can help one deal with certain dangers of