Primo Levi- Pain Retold, Is Pain Redoubled"

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"Pain retold, is pain redoubled"
What prompts someone to write about their suffering, and how do they convey a sense of their emotions to the reader?

Primo Levi is a Holocaust war victim, a survivor from Auschwitz, who for years was plagued by guilt because he survived - a feeling that is passed on in Jewish tradition, which I understand being a fellow Jew. Jewish heritage is very important to all Jews; myself included, which is one reason why I can connect with the poet/author, his poems and his other works. Levi decided to write, rather than keep in, his feelings, and subsequently wrote both poetry, and a variety of prose, both fiction and autobiographical.
The emotions in two of his poems, 'Shema' and 'The Survivor' are a melange of guilt, anger and sorrow. Levi feels guilt that he is living when so many he knew are dead, he is angry at how people are forgetting what happened less than 50 years ago, and also sad at what has passed. These emotions are portrayed through various means in 'Shema', the two most effective being repetition of certain thought-provoking words, "…empty eyes…empty womb…" "…cold heart…cold hand…" "…hard heart and eyes…hard like a rock…". These words give an impression of what Levi feels for his captors, while invoking numbness that makes it real. The harsh consonant sounds, "creating cages for captivity" invoke feelings of timidness because of the harsh attack from the words, even after it has been translated from the native Italian.
Levi wrote other books, and in one (Survival In Auschwitz) it struck me how matter-of-factly he wrote down his observations. Although the subjects of his works are the horrors that he saw during his time in the Death-camps, Levi wrote it so people could learn what it was like, so Jews and non-Jews alike could witness the memoirs of a survivor. The description of the number tattooed on his arm, which functioned as an impromptu meal ticket, is registered as merely one more fact of life. "…We became used to showing our number promptly enough not to disorder the daily operation of food-distribution; weeks and months were needed to learn its sound in the German language." Levi documents the mundane life of the camp, a side that is not often seen, laying out his experiences with a reserve...

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...te the past into the present and the future, to expand in knowledge. His works not only captivate and interest, but they convey a deeply personal sense of true experience that makes the stories special and real. From reading his works you not only understand the pain, guilt and anger, but also the need for repentance. Levi believes his repentance comes in telling and re-telling his story.
His work serves as a reminder to everyone- not to let prejudice blind you against evil, to remind people of the great sorrow that happened, and not only does it educate and inform people, it also expresses feelings that should not be forgotten in case another Holocaust should happen. It serves as to inform people, or also remind them of what happened. It is his catharsis, and our education.

Truly, his work is Shema: Listen.

Biography:
Calling of Kindred
IL SISTEMA PERIODICO, 1975 - The Periodic Table
SE QUESTO ? UN UOMO, 1947 - If This is a Man / Survival in Auschwitz
AD ORA INCERTA- or- L'OSTERIA DI BREMA, collected poems
Conversations with Primo Levi by Ferdinando Camon (1989)

Quote:
Chinese proverb, "The Wisdom of the Chinese Sages" published 1987.

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