SOUL AND BODY 2 (Parts 2-6)

Connections with other texts:

©       Links to We (Zamyatin), the lack of privacy. Recorded conversations. In We these can be listened to by the guardians, in The Unbearable Lightness of Being they are placed on the radio. Inspires fear of saying the wrong thing. Links to If This is a Man (Levi), all privacy is taken.

©       Shame to do with going against the belief of the rulers. Shamed in front of the general population. “I am great” says a cipher in We (Zayatin) and he is shunned, excluded because he thinks in a different way. In The Unbearable Lightness of Being having one’s private conversations shared on the radio in a way in which makes the speaker look bad.

©       Links to If This Is A Man (Levi), shaming others to make oneself look good. Men did this to survive in Auschwitz, in the microcosm of Tereza’s childhood home and in the macrocosm of Prague an individual is sunned to make one, or a group appear better. Tereza’s mum reads Tereza’s diary to make herself look better, the others laugh along inflicting more shame on Tereza. The Secret Police make themself look better by making Prochazka look worse. They show people thought of as superior/idols as showing the poorer daily behaviour done by the general public.  ‘People slander their friends at a drop of a hat, but they were much more shocked by the much-loved Prochazka than by the much-hated secret police. Poor behaviour is expected by the group thought of as being bad (secret police, Nazis in the concentration Monowitz-buna). On the other hand, good behaviour is expected from popular people who are looked up to, so when bad behaviour is seen from them it seems much worse. Undermines the faith that the general public have in them.

©       Benefits of having contacts links to If This is a Man (Levi). Through a line of people, starting from Tomas, Tereza is able to go to the sauna once a week. In the concentration camp, it is helpful to know people such as nurses, people outside the camp when working, people with a higher rank, certain skills/greater strength etc.