If This Is a Man

Levi reveals very little about his former life before he is imprisoned in Auschwitz, and no one else seems to talk about their lives before imprisonment, either. Why?

Levi claims that language is written by the privileged to describe experiences within privileged conditions. Suffering, in what he calls a “free” world, is entirely different than suffering in Auschwitz. A different language is needed, then, to communicate the suffering of Auschwitz. Are there any moments in the memoir where you see this new language being created?

The title of Levi’s memoir is If This Is a Man. Levi defines manhood in Lorenzo’s care for him, so why is the title not simply This Is a Man? How does the “If” change the meaning of the title and the memoir, too?