Summary Of If This Is A Man By Primo Levi

The reason why the definition of losing humanity is so wildly ranged is because losing humanity means losing oneself. A person slowly begins to forget who they are and what they believe in. We saw this with a SS soldier and how he was raised in a way not to degrade people, but followed society and murdered hundreds of innocent people. It can now be seen among the prisoners, as they forget what it is like to be treated as an individual as they are “deprived of everyone he loves, and at the same time his house, habits, his clothes, in short, of everything he possesses: he will be a hollow man, reduced to suffering and needs, forgetful of dignity and restraint, for he who loses all often loses himself.” (If this is a Man, 33).

In If this is a Man by Primo Levi focuses on different people her met throughout this incarceration and how they helped him maintain his humanity,

Levi stated “To destroy a man is difficult, almost as difficult as to create one: it has not been easy, nor quick” (If this is a Man, 156). It is still hard to define exactly what humanity is and what it means to lose humanity, because humanity is defined by the person and only the person can understand when they lost oneself. In many cases it is too late when they discover this, such of that of the dying SS soldier. But for others they may once again gain it back, such as that of the prisoners or even the SS soldier realizing over a year later the crime he committed was unmoral and inhumane. However, no matter if a person loses their humanity forever, or they gain it back eventually, that person will never be the same. Their ideal of the world, the people around them and themselves are forever change. The only hope is that these people educate others, in hope of preventing these horrific events from happening once