Beyond Testimony: The Literary Design of Primo Levi’s If This Is a Man

Abstract

Throughout his life Primo Levi insisted that If This is a Man (Survival in Auschwitz) was simply a memoir and not a work of literature. But there is considerable evidence in his narrative that invites us to challenge that claim. This essay examines such evidence. Levi the writer introduced certain motifs that suggest he was very much concerned with the structure of his work. For example, he introduces a journey motif, elaborates its significance in the chapter called “The Canto of Ulysses,” and reminds the reader at crucial moments that transports continue to arrive at Auschwitz to discharge their victims. And after the Germans leave, the reader realizes that a new journey is about to begin, though its destination and consequences are uncertain. This theme is developed in the work’s final chapter, “The Last Ten Days,” which Levi admitted was one of the first that he had written. A simple memoir does not begin at the end, at least in the writer’s imagination. As the Germans abandon the camp, Levi and his fellow inmates in quarantine are left behind, and he begins to date his entries. We are reminded that we have left the timeless landscape of atrocity and entered the world of time, as the narrative assumes the form of a diary, a clear transition to the world of literature. Of the ten sick inmates in Levi’s barrack five have died and five remain alive when Soviet troops arrive, leaving the reader in a limbo of ambiguity as life and death continue their rivalry beyond the pages of this so-called memoir. As autobiography If This is a Man offers an account of Levi’s experience in the anguished atmosphere of Auschwitz, but its literary design avoids celebrating his survival and instead carefully leads the reader toward a search for mental clarity amidst the physical chaos of the camp.