3,4 & 5 "Initiation", "Ka-Be" & "Our Nights"

• Engels
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)
• GCSE

How does this image relate to the reading you have done so far? 

What is an initiation? 

1. an occasion when something starts (noun).
2. an occasion when someone is first introduced to an activity or skill (noun). 


3. a special ceremony or responsibility that signals the acceptance of someone into a group​ (noun). 
   

How do these definitions relate to Levi’s experiences so far?​ Answer in your exercise book. 

The Tower of Babel - allusion 

Do some reasearch about Babel and The Tower of Babel. What it it? What human sin does it represent? 

Language and communication 

• Babel: comes from the Bible story of the Tower of Babel - Genesis 11: 1-9 Old Testament. 
  
• Humanity was trying to build a tower that would reach the heavens and as they all spoke one language, this was easy. But God punished humanity for its pride by creating multiple languages, so nobody could understand each other therefore the tower could not be completed. 
• The behaviour that was punished was human pride, disobedience, and the consequences of challenging divine authority.
  

Language and communication 

In the camps, there is similar confusion. Language in the camp is difficult as there are no words to articulate the horror of what is happening. Even Levi is an outsider from other Jews because he can’t speak Yiddish (the Judaeo-German language spoken by Ashkenazi Jews).

Steinlauf

• “Ex-sergeant Steinlauf of the Austro-Hungarian Army, Iron Cross of the ‘14-’18 war” – a German who fought in WW1 and was awarded Germany’s highest military honour is now rotting away in a concentration camp. His loyalty was meaningless.
• Levi begins to neglect himself and stop washing because it seems pointless, but his encounter with Steinlauf gives him a little hope.
• This is their only resistance to the dehumanising treatment they receive; to maintain the routines of their old lives and be defiant about their humanity.
  

Steinlauf

1. What is the purpose of this extract?

2. How does Levi achieve this purpose? What techniques does he employ?

Steinlauf

Anaphora

Tricolon 

Metaphor 

Repetition 

Inclusive pronouns 

Verb usage & choice 

Em dash (instead of a colon)

Alliteration 

Structure of content

Find examples and explain their effects on the content 

Goals for today 

018 and  characterisation 

Comparative investigation 

Information regarding the fate of the prisoners 

Root of the week - Poly 

Poly - is a prefix from Greek that means "many" 

We can remember the meaning with the word 

Polygon = a two- dimensional figure that has many sides and angles 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Polysyllabic 

Word of the day

Polysyllabic (adj) - a word having more than one syllable 

How many syllables does the most polysyllabic word in English have, do you think? 

The teacher encouraged her student to replace his short words with longer, polysyllabic ones. 

19-syllable word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

Null Achtzehn 

" He is Null Achtzehn. He is not called anything except that, Zero Eighteen, the last three figures of his entry number; as if everyone was aware that only a man is worthy of a name, and that Null Achtzehn is no longer a man. I think that even he has forgotten his name, certainly he acts as if this was so. When he speaks, when he looks around, he gives the impression of being empty inside, nothing more than an involucre* like the slough* of certain insects which one finds on the banks of swamps, held by a thread to the stones and shaken by the wind." 

pgs 46 - 47

* one or more whorls of bracts situated below and close to a flower, flower cluster, or fruit

* the exoskeleton left behind when an insect grows 

Null Achtzehn - Zero Eighteen 

1. Explore the description of 'Null-Achtzehn'. What idea does he represent? What techniques are used? 
   
2. In what way can he be considered a foil to Steinlauf? 
   
3. What idea does Levi want to convey to us through these two characters? 
   

Tone 

Pick an adjective that describes the tone of the description of Steinlauf and one that describes the tone of the description of Null-Achtzehn 

Goals for today 

Example comparative paragraph 

Information regarding the fate of the prisoners at Ka-Be

Consideration of 'Heimweh" 

The Kapo system and music in the camps 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Polymath

Word of the day

Polymath (n) - a person who knows a lot about many different subjects

The Greek scholar Eratosthenes was a great polymath, being a musician, astronomer, poet, inventor of the term geography and mathematician.

Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting these two characters. Consider the stylistic choices made and the tone. Use the two adjectives  you chose in your response and quotation to support your ideas  

In If This is a Man, Primo Levi contrasts the characters of Steinlauf and Null-Achtzehn to illuminate differing approaches to survival and human dignity within the dehumanizing context of Auschwitz. Steinlauf, a former soldier, embodies resilience and the insistence on maintaining humanity despite the appalling circumstances. Levi describes him with a tone of admiration, recounting how Steinlauf insisted on actions like washing even in the camp: "Steinlauf [...] asks me severely why I do not wash." Water, in this context, symbolically represents moral superiority and a choice to preserve his dignity and as a form of resistance.  In contrast, Null-Achtzehn represents the antithesis of Steinlauf; he is depicted as entirely dehumanized and passive. Levi describes him with a detached and clinical tone, metaphorically stating that Null-Achtzehn "gives the impression of being empty inside." His name has been lost symbolising the loss of his human identity. While Steinlauf symbolizes the possibility of retaining one's humanity, Null-Achtzehn exemplifies its obliteration. Through these contrasting depictions, Levi employs tone and figurative language  to emphasize two extremes of responses to horrific adversity.

Ka-Be - The sick Bay

Levi’s admission to Ka-Be means that he is viewed as “economically useful” (presumably because of his chemistry knowledge) and that the camp has some further purpose in mind for him than just manual work.

 This purpose will be one of several factors that leads to his ultimate survival

Yet the cruelty continues – sick prisoners are forced to stand naked in the cold for hours.

The crematoria 

• The first hints of the crematoria are mentioned – those prisoners whose conditions are serious are not considered worthy of treatment and are gassed then cremated.
  
• By 1943, four crematoria were operational in Auschwitz, and were capable of burning around 8000 bodies a day.
  
• For those selected from Ka-Be, their journey is silent, without any grief, anger, or even comfort from their comrades – yet another form of dehumanisation.
  
• They cannot even react to death appropriately anymore.
  
• “Without display or anger, massacre moves through the huts of Ka-Be every day, touching here or there.”
  

"Heimweh" 

Homesickness 

"Longing for ones home" 

"A strong desire to return to some past period or situation we can never revist or recover"

1. What elements might Levi be yearning for? 

2. Apply these definitions to Levi's experiences so far. 

What is the purpose of this extract? 

What stylistic auhorial choices are made in this extract? 

Imagery: 

Visual 

Auditory 

Tactile 

Kinaesthetic 

Contrast 

dark & light

Rhythmic 

sentence 

structure

First person 

Anaphora - repetition 

Modality 

Symbolism 

Food & shelter

Direct speech 

Language connection

Close detail 

number belief

Tone

Dream-like