The concept of the term desolation is seemingly complex in nature as the heterological word is used to outline a state of complete emptiness or destruction. A word used by others to depict the wounds of those who no longer feel the tugging urge to reveal their secrets. It is within Survival in Auschwitz where Primo Levi construes this life and provides context to this profound word as he outlines the extent to which under severe conditions of hunger, cold, illness and constant fear plastered on the faces of thousands, men were transformed into beasts. Levi’s memoir depicts the necessity that to survive in Auschwitz required a purging of ones self respect and human dignity as the Holocaust proved that morality is adaptable in extreme circumstances, outlining how justice and morality become insignificant in the fight for survival. Through the use of powerful literary devices such as Imagery, Levi is able to manifest the harsh realities of desolation and the extent to which the theme of exposure to perpetual dehumanization is inevitable throughout the memoir, forcing one to resort to mental, physical and social adaptation in order to retain ones life and personality.
During World War II, Auschwitz was regarded as the most effective concentration camp established by the Nazi regime in pursuit of the “Final Solution” (Auschwitz: The Camp of Death, 19 May 2017) and it is here that one can deduce the extent to which the theme of desolation as well as dehumanization were both present within the walls of the Lager but also thus similarly and as precisely reflected within the pages of the memoir as Primo Levi delves into what it means to be human, and how language forms the basis of this identity through the dehumanization and delegitimizing of ones self where it’s denied. It is through Levi’s use of Imagery, allegoric representations such as the name standing for the identity of an individual and dehumanizing metaphors to describe the inmates along with intertextual references such as allusions to the “Tower of Babel” and references to “Dante’s Inferno” to truly highlight how this ‘world of worlds’ was successful in their barbaric attempts in the process of the extermination of the Jewish population from Nazi Germany.
Levi provides an intellectual and profound description of the ambiguous life in the Lager, followed by cruel and vivid descriptions of the thousands of individuals within it as he vividly records the relentless attempts of the SS guards to dehumanize the victims through the use of nudity, arbitrary language, and violence as he describes himself and the prisoners as “phantoms.” Levi uses a host of bestial metaphors to represent this, describing the prisoners in animalistic terms such as ‘tired beasts’, ‘ants’, as ‘sheep hiding in the corners to protect themselves’, ‘shadows’ and ‘cringing dogs’, all re-echoing with different tongues the extent of Levi’s focus on this perpetual theme of dehumanization. “The stages of dehumanization are marked by being physically stripped, the elimination of one’s name, the tattoo on one’s left arm, the cancellation of normal human relationships… and the cancellation of every horizon, past and future.” Thus directly creating a parallel to the dehumanization process of the individuals incarcerated in Auschwitz in the replacement of their names with numbers, “ They see us reduced to ignoble slavery, without hair, without honor and without names… For them we are ‘Kazett’, a singular neuter word.” (Levi, P.83) It is from this quote that we can see the role of Imagery on dehumanization within the camp as it is through Levi’s use of descriptive language that the reader gains a deeper understanding of the extent of the barbarism causing desolation. It is however worthy to mention the deeper cultural significance of this process as the surnames of those of Jewish faith contain direct links to their ancestors therefore tearing apart the history of their families with the replacement of a degrading number, relating back to the animalistic treatment of the victims. Levi continues as he connotes within his most striking chapter, “The Drowned vs The Saved” on the categorical realms of individuals within the camp. It is here where Levi adapts a more vulnerable, intimate and more focused tone as he aims to highlight the antithesis between the two extremes within the Lager. Levi states, “An emaciated man, with his head dropped and shoulders curved, on whose face and in whose eyes not a trace of a thought is to be seen.” (Levi, Pg. 90) From this quote the reader understands the impact of Levi’s use of imagery to describe the dehumanized and desolated victims known to those in the camp as ‘the Drowned’ as he depicts every inch and crevice of the man’s body as well as the emotional appearance as the phrase stated, “… whose face and in whose eyes not a trace of a thought is to be seen.” (Levi, Pg.90) thus demonstrating the emotional drainage and solitude experienced by these individuals creating a direct parallel to desolation within the camps as those of “the Drowned” are commonly nicknamed Musselman, “the men in decay” (Levi, Pg.89)
It is however, furthermore evident towards the beginning of the novel as the reader is able to fully grasp the harsh realities that accompany these victims upon entrance to the camps stating, “There is no where to look in a mirror, but our appearance stands in the front of us, reflected in a hundred livid faces.” (Levi, Pg. 26) as Levi outlines the reality the victims face as they realize their language lacks words to express the demolition of man as this use of profound imagery reveals to the reader the prophetic intuition of the reality revealed to the victims at the time; they had reached the bottom. It is through this abysmal use of imagery that desolation is expressed to the utmost highest degree constituting that the only remainders of a seemingly whole person is through the heaving in their chests from the hearts which would rather stop. “They have no story, they followed the slope down to the bottom, like streams that run down to the sea.” (Levi, Pg. 90) a profound description of the Musselman finished working in the gas chambers. It is through the combination of simile and imagery that the reader is able to visualize the emptiness that the victims of “the Drowned” experience as the comparison drawn between a slope to a stream evokes a melancholic and numb tone referencing loneliness and the concept that sinking is the easiest of matters. Levi continues stating, “ they are non-men who march and labour in silence, the divine spark dead within them, already too empty to really suffer.” (Levi, Pg. 90) furthermore supporting the aforementioned statement adding to this sense of desolation and belittlement of these victims as Levi’s use of the phrase, “ too empty to really suffer” outlines the depth of this extreme emotion of solitude.
Levi uses the power of language as an advantage in his attempts to recreate the life in the Lager within his profound memoir, Survival in Auschwitz. It is from the aforementioned statements that one can deduce the extent to which the literary device of imagery had a large impact on Levi’s ability to effectively express the theme of dehumanization as well as desolation within the novel.