Periodic Table

Periodic Table Reflection
The first chapter was almost impossible to follow due to all of the Hebrew and the large words that Primo Levi uses. The gratuitous use of Hebrew language really took away from the meaning of the first chapter. His use of language and even the writing style seemed to change after the first chapter, Argon. The book seemed to be a mix of stories that were put together to tell the story of Primo’s life. The friendship he finds throughout the book made me feel warm inside, because I knew what he had to go through in Auschwitz. My favorite part of the book had to be Primo’s random travels into the Alps of Italy. I have always wanted to go to the Alps, so this was just another way for me to experience the Alps through someone else eyes. I was amazed at the amount of detail taken into consideration for all of the sections of the book. The part with the lab beaker exploding due to left over potassium that mixed with water in the air. He actually went back and looked for clues to tell him what went wrong. This tells me that he is not self-absorbed because he is willing to write about a mistake he made. He then tells his superior of what happened when he did not need to, this shows that he had a great deal or respect and was very responsible. One thing that really surprised me was that he did not seem to make friends very easily. I do not know how he can remember all that has happened throughout his life. I would think that he would try to block out his past due to the torturous nature of the death camps, but he embraces his past and wants to share it with others. Primo Levi confused me with his constant comparison of fascism to chemistry. I could not grasp the concept that he was trying to convey by comparing the two. I am amazed by chemistry and the way things are put together, so I enjoyed reading his stories of the chemistry labs and all the stuff he made.