Wino Johari Reflection 1

Primo Levi’s The Molecule’s Defiance and Stable/ Unstable are the best passages. In the Molecule's Defiance, the author immediately uses symbolic comparison to introduce anti-fascism's harmonious idea. Levi sees the philosophies of chemistry as the ideal resistance to fascism. In the passage, we are shown the author's fascination with matter and how the gradual mastery of the elements has widened his world view. Fascism opposed liberalism and the free character of expression. Through the passage, the author defies these fascist behaviors by merely studying a molecule and its inner workings. On the other hand, Stable/ Unstable chapter raises questions about language and matter. In the passage, the author shows the fragile stability of various elements. The passage induces a thought trail that establishes a language's nature as an abstract exchange of meanings only understood by relatable parties. "In an atmosphere rich in oxygen, wood is stable and less like a billiard ball placed in the horizon…it can remain there for a long time, but the tiniest push, or even a faint breath of air will make it move." Here the author demonstrates a deeper understanding of the inner workings of matter to living. In the other passage, the author discusses how a thermograph went from functioning in the morning to full unreliability by the end of the day. These quotes show the proneness of thoughts and ideas to strong notions such as fascism. Anti-fascism is based on sound concepts of belief and spirit for them to defeat the fascist ideals truly. The followers of such doctrines must separate themselves from impurities and therefore seek higher truths.