The Drowned and the Saved

Take a closer look at the titles of each chapter in The Drowned and the Saved. Which of the titles contains the most powerful emotional impact in your opinion? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Levi developed a relationship with his German translator. Discuss the tone he uses when discussing his eventual acceptance of working with his translator.

In the preface to the book, Paul Bailey asserts that Primo Levi did not forgive the Germans for what they did. In your opinion, do some Germans deserve forgiveness? Why or why not?

For Levi, writing about his experience and his participation in a Special Squad had a therapeutic quality. Why do you think this was? Consider his reputation as a humanist in your response.

Of all the humiliations Levi describes, which one is the worst and why? Explain in detail how your selection is particularly dehumanizing and damaging to an individual’s psyche.

Levi is dismayed by the stereotyping and over-simplifying of the story behind his and others’ imprisonment. What do you think needs to take place to ensure that this trend does not gain momentum and dominate future re-tellings of this time in history?

Select one letter from a German, or one passage from a letter, that Levi includes in the final chapter of his book. Analyze this letter and write a character sketch of the writer as you imagine him or her to be, based on Levi’s descriptions and the language used in the letter itself.

Reflect on Levi’s discussion of the particular language of the Lagers. Do you understand his explanation as a kind of jargon or as a secret code, or both? Use evidence from the text to support your argument.