The Commander of Auschwitz
Richard Baer is the titular figure of entry in the non-fictional essay section of the book. He was the commander of Auschwitz while Levi was there and one of the less infamous figures in the story of Nazi atrocities. Lack of infamy does not equate with lack of evil, however. Baer was the book’s central symbol of the real malevolent center of an ideological inhumanity such as that which rose to power in Germany: those who lack the character even to be wicked on their own and instead can only attain such force in the world as the result of the perversion of seemingly positive attributes like loyalty, fidelity and even a measure of docility.
The Tommy-Gun
The titular weapon of the “The Tommy-Gun Under the Bed” has a provenance of mystery, a meaning of ambiguity and a future of unknown potential. It is a symbol of the reawakening of Europe from the darkness of World War II in which everything that had existed before and somehow still managed to be around afterward could not but taken on new meaning as a result of the substantial changes to society across the board.
The Metamir
The mirror-maker of that story is bored with making mirrors designed to reflective objective reality. He creates a optics-defying invention called the Metamir which allows people to see themselves as others see them when placed stuck to the forehead adhesive. The Metamir is clearly intended to symbolize perceptual truth unfiltered by censorship. It is thoroughly unadulterated honesty and, not surprisingly, a commercial flop
Apollo 8
The successful launch and return to earth of Apollo 8 is situated as a major milestone in the history of humanity. An epochal moment straight out of Kubrick’s 2001. Levi sees in this mission the fantastical ability for man to control nature and establish the species as truly something great and special and worthy. Coming from a Nazi concentration camp survivor, this assertion should not be underestimated.
The Interviewees
In “Five Intimate Interviews” the journalist interviews a variety of animals including a herring gull, mole and giraffe. The interview approaches the animals much as any human would: with the expectation a mole is different from a giraffe, but one giraffe is pretty much the same as another and so on. Turns out that each of the animals is every specific individual who wants to be treated as such. The symbolism here should be fairly obvious.
