The Drowned and the Saved: The Effects of Violence on Language

Abstract: A 5 page discussion of the impact that violence has on our language. Uses the book, The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi to describe the effects that violence inflicted by the Nazis in the Jewish concentration camps had on Levi and on the language of the time. Emphasizes the continuing moral degradation of our language and points out that the term 'Musselmanner', which became Auschwitz slang for those close to death from starvation and privation in the concentration camps means more than just the physical appearance, it means the loss of will. Concludes that the mass production of Musselmanner, the moral and ethical starvation we are experiencing on an ever-increasing basis, has resulted in the destruction of life and language.

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Catagory:

Subcatagory: European History

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