Primo Levi's Periodic Table

As Primo Levi tells of his trial and tribulations before, during, and after the holocaust in The Periodic Table, he expresses each story through identifying with elements in the Periodic Table. In this way, he exemplifies scientifically, a paradigm for understanding how the world works. In some chapters, the element serves as a reminder of an incident in Levi’s life, but in others the element serves as a metaphor or symbol to dramatize a specific period in Levi’s past. In the chapter “Argon”, he compares the members of his family to the inert gases in the Periodic Table. He states that his ancestors present many similarities to the gases. (Levi 4) Their thriving activity in the world, earned them a living and food on the table. Levi also defines

Levi’s ancestor did not have to experience the life as a prisoner to the Nazi’s as he did. Levi was stripped of all his needs and independence during the war. In “Argon” you can see Levi longing for the independence his ancestors had before the war. During the war, science was the apparent survival component to Levi’s life. His strong passion for science was what kept him alive. In the chapter “Potassium”, Levi states "Chemistry, for me, had stopped being such a source. It led to the heart of Matter, and Matter was our ally..." (52) Literally, Levi is stating that by using components of matter he would be able to defeat the enemy. Metaphorically, Levi is saying that chemistry is his savior. The elements chosen by Levi are significant to his own personal struggles, but also to seek and understand universal truths. Throughout the novel, science is used as a survival component in response to the rise of Nazism and the war. The use of Levi’s knowledge in science allowed for a better future, a future where there would be peace and Nazism would be

Radio BBC is a source that in my opinion, poorly analyzed Levi’s writing by trying to add extra effects and disrupting the order of the book. The series does not begin with the first chapter “Argon”, it begins with the chapter “Vanadium”. To summarize “Vanadium”, it tells of Levi sending a copy of his book If this is a man, to a boss of lab he worked in while in Auschwitz. “Argon” begins by telling of Levi’s ancestors and how they are compared to inert gases. When Radio BBC decided to start the series with “Vanadium” they left out the aim for Levi’s writings. The aim to get the reader to understand the importance of science and how it can relate to human relationships. The comparison of his ancestors to inert gases was the beginning of telling how science is important. “With each story building on the last, by adding something more to the bigger questions that he is challenging about the war, Nazism, our ability not to see what is in front of us. Unravel that order and the deeper truths within the book are lost.” In this statement, Kate Chislom, author of the article “Radio 4’s dramatic disruption of Primo Levi’s The Periodic Table is unforgivable”, is expressing how she the interpretation by Radio BBC. I agree with this statement because when you analyze Levi’s writings, I don’t believe it is to be unraveled as it will lose its importance of telling the