Journal Entry 2

February 25, 2007

Chapter 2. On the Bottom

A sign on the door of the concentration camp said, "Work gives freedom" ... This phrase is ironic because the two words imply opposite meanings. Work gives an impression of labor whereas freedom gives an impression of relaxation. If work gave freedom, I predicted that the conditions of the camp was harsh and brutal. This prediction was proven to be correct when reading through this paragraph.
* Then for the first time we became aware that our language lacks words to express this offence, the demolition of a man. In a moment, with almost prophetic intuition, the reality was revealed to us: we had reached the bottom. It is not possible to sink lower than this; no human condition is more miserable than this, nor could it conceivably be so.

If there wasn't enough words to describe the horrific conditions of the camp, what more is there to say?
I was scared and stunned by the fact that nothing was left of them but their naked body and the work they had to do in order to obtain freedom. It already seemed as though their spirits had died out and had long gone where it belonged... Being on the bottom was having a body that is not even yours...

This chapter shows a better understanding of Primo Levi's character. He mentions that whoever believes that they will survive is mad. This implies that HOPE was not a possibility in the concentration camp. Primo Levi's way of survival was accepting everything that may come to him - even death. He lived everyday expecting nothing and believing in nothing. This is hard to imagine because I've never been in his shoes. The more simplistic you were, there was a better chance of survival. In the torturing experience, Levi found that everything was useful, and so I learned to appreciate many of the my values.