Alpine Winter on the way to Auschwitz
"Through the slit, known and unknown names of Austrian cities, Salzburg, Vienna, then Czech, and finally Polish names. On the evening of the fourth day, the cold became intense: the train ran through interminable black pine forests, climbing perceptibly. The snow was high. It must have been a branch line as the stations were small and almost deserted."
Here, the author paints a picture of what should be a beautiful alpine scene, but it is juxtaposed with the evil of what is happening. The prisoners' collective body heat is not enough to warm them against the extreme cold outside. Travel is meant to bring the spirit of adventure as one experiences new places, but this image only implies terror and discomfort as the prisoners are herded against their will.
Morning Routine
"And now, oh, so early, the reveille sounds. The entire hut shakes to its foundations, the lights are put on, everyone near me bustles around in a sudden frantic activity. They shake the blankets raising clouds of fetid dust, they dress with feverish hurry, they run outside into the freezing air half-dressed, they rush headlong towards the latrines and washrooms. Some, bestially, urinate while they run to save time, because within five minutes begins the distribution of bread, of bread-Brot-Broid-chlebpain-lechem-keynér, of the holy grey slab which seems gigantic in your neighbor's hand, and in your own hand so small as to make you cry."
All of the senses are engaged in this description of the morning routine in the camp. Levi likens the movement of all the men rushing out of bed to an earthquake, showing that the room was not built to safely accommodate so many people. Readers can easily imagine the scene, seeing the dust rising from the blankets as the prisoners shake them out and feeling the cold shock of the outside morning air.
Dreams of Food
"One can hear the sleepers breathing and snoring. Some groan and speak. Many lick their lips and move their jaws; they are dreaming of eating, that is also a collective dream. It is a pitiless dream which the creator of the Tantalus myth must have known; you not only see the food, you feel it in your hands, distinct and concrete, you are aware of its rich and striking smell; someone in the dream even holds it up to your lips but every time a different circumstance intervenes to prevent the consummation of the act."
This is an image that comes frequently to the starving prisoners: food that is available, familiar, and delicious. Their senses are taunted by this impossible dream. The specific type of food is not specified in this image, but it doesn't matter—everyone will dream of their favorite foods. However, the dream always ends with the dreamer still hungry, showing how the reality of the situation overrides dreams.
The Sun
"Today, the sun rose bright and clear for the first time from the horizon of mud. It is a Polish sun, cold, white, distant and only warms the skin, but when it dissolved the last mists of a murmur ran through our colorless number, and when even I felt its lukewarmth through my clothes, I understood how men can worship the sun."
This is the first time that Levi is touched by the beauty of the surrounding landscape. There has been nothing from the outside natural world that has helped the men during their imprisonment except for this springtime sun. Levi appreciates its warmth, its glow, the way in which it warms even the coldest of gray skin, and the color that it brings to an otherwise brown-gray world. The external landscape represents the prisoners' feelings, and on this day, they experience a taste of happiness.
