This Way For The Gas Ladies And Gentlemen Analysis

Informal Reading Response 5 Tadeusz Borowski’s This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen is comparable to Primo Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz, since they both offer first-hand accounts of life inside of Auschwitz. Despite the obvious similarities between the two books, it is important to recognize and consider the differing perspectives offered by each author. The most apparent difference between Tadeusz Borowski and Primo Levi is that Borowski was a political prisoner in Auschwitz, while Levi was a Jew. This meant that they had markedly different experiences in the camp, since non-Jews were afforded special privileges and were not subject to the constant fear of being sent to the gas chambers. Another intriguing difference between the two books is the narrative style. When recounting his …show more content…
Levi presents the first-hand account of his experience in Auschwitz, accompanied by his feelings and commentary along the way. In Borowski’s account, he tends to make frank statements, from which the reader can glean their own meaning. An example of this is when Borowski nonchalantly inserts that “Between throw-ins in a soccer game, right behind my back, three thousand people had been put to death.” (Borowski, 84) It is clear to the reader what he is getting at, but this line comes in the middle of a story and Borowski offers no further commentary or context for it. Borowski also frequently implements satire in his writing, something that is found much less frequently in the writing of Levi. For example, Borowski writes, “When the war is over, they will count up the marks in their notebooks—all four and a half million of them. The bloodiest battle of the war, the greatest victory of the strong, united Germany. Ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Führer—and four crematoria.” (Borowski, 39) This willing use of satire creates a vastly different tone in the writing of