September 28th, 2015

9/28/2015

“Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.” ― Primo Levi.

What does Levi mean by this? Do you agree? Provide evidence to support.

32 Comments

Dylan pudelka

9/28/2015 02:41:43 pm

I think that levi is wrong I belive that evil is all around us we just cant see them with the naked eye. I think hes wrong because hes just putting it into his time in the holocaust but some people see monster and some even interact with this monster that's why I think he its wrong about the monsters

Kaylee Cuomo

9/28/2015 03:08:10 pm

When Levi says this, I think he is referring to humans being monsters. He is saying, some people are dangerous and some people are not. When he says "monster" he doesn't mean it literally. Levi is trying to explain how cruel people can be by emotions and actions. I do agree with Primo Levi. He states that there are a lot of bad people in the world but there is a small amount of very dangerous people surrounding us in everyday life.

Aimee Bachman

9/28/2015 07:18:54 pm

I believe what Levi is saying is that monsters are all around us, there aren't many in our lives but they are powerful in many ways.But, what he is describing is different from your average monster. The monster most people thing of is like the one above, something that you should be afraid of, but what if the monster was you. If you look in the mirror it isn't something to scream about, but it should be something to think about, what is the first thing we point out, 'My hair is messed up.' or ' I look stupid' we our the biggest critic in our lives. We always look for ways to make our self better,mostly thinking of what others think about us. When we are upset about something we criticize our self making us feel worse. We lose self confidence when we worry. We think about how we can't do things and not about what we can . We focus on the bad things in life and not about whats good . We worry over bad things in the present and not the good in the future. If you look in the mirror why look at those dark corners why don't you look at the things that no one else has, your you, something different, something no one can replace. Be your self stop worrying about what others think, stop moping about what might happen, stop fighting your self, be you.

Andrew Peck

9/29/2015 09:07:44 am

They mean that there are monsters in the world today and that there are too few to have them be harmful to the people living in the world today. He also says that the common man is more dangerous and he means that they are so few numbers of them to have any problem to the world and everyone on it. Also they are explaining that the thing that people thought was fake is in reality true and in the world today. Lastly, they are showing that although they are here, does not mean that they are dangerous.

Justin waehler

9/29/2015 01:21:34 pm

Levi is saying that monsters do exist, but there are very few to be harmful to people. He also said that the common man was more dangerous. What he means by that is that there are less monsters than people, and so there are more people to cause harm than monsters can. He also says that the functionaries are ready to attack without even thinking or asking questions. What he means by that is monsters will come in and attack without question. Some people will do the same, but others will think about what they are doing. I think that Levi is saying that a monster is functioned to not think about what they are doing, but people are designed to think about what they are doing.

Emily Devine

9/29/2015 05:38:47 pm

I think when Levi refers to the word "monster", he is referring to ho evil some people can be. Levi is saying that "the common man", maybe meaning people that you are close to, is more dangerous. I agree with Levi because there are all different types of people in the world, and some can be more dangerous or more harmful than we think.

RJ Mays

9/29/2015 05:50:22 pm

I think what Levi means by this is that monsters there might not be many of them but they can leave devastating effects on our life. People like Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden made huge effects such as the holocaust and 9/11. But they are not very powerful and they by themselves cannot do much. But if people do not thunk before their actions this can lead do bad things like I said before.Yes I agree with this because Hitler did not take over Germany by himself he got endless supporters because of their loss in WWI. Then this led to him blaming everything on the Jews, which led him to write a book Mien Kampf, and because the people did not see that he was wrong he got into power and killed millions of innocent people.

Jonathan Edward Soda the second m8

9/30/2015 09:43:30 am

'' the common men,'' explains the whole meaning behind the evil in the world. Monsters aren't creatures they are men and women. 9/11, Boston bombing, and every war that has been declared by us monsters. People are blinded and brain washed to fight and cause terrorism. Those are just the big examples, what about bullying and hatred on social media. People have killed themselves because of twisted stories that are negative. The world is a battery with negatives on both sides.

Tess Peters

9/30/2015 03:41:36 pm

First sentence reminds of people who say "i used to be afraid of monsters under my bed but i realized the monsters are inside me". But there is not enough monsters in ourselves to be considered dangerous. That's where the second sentence comes in, More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.” It is saying that today society is more dangerous than the monsters inside us. That the people in society act without knowing what is being done. People in society do not stop and ask themselves "is what im doing okay? Is it harming others? Is it physically or emotionally killing someone?" So the entire phrase says that the monsters inside us do not harm us, we are harmed by the people that surround us in society emotionally and sometimes physically. Yes i do agree with this quote.

Mrs. Elbakry

10/1/2015 12:01:55 pm

Excellent, Tess! Nice analysis of the quotation.

Morgan Hines

9/30/2015 04:05:59 pm

What Levi means by this is that men are basically monsters because of the cruel things they can do. Also how men are willing to follow the crowd and do things everyone else is doing even if it’s wrong. I agree with this because modern history proves this. One thing that comes up in people’s minds when we say men are evil is the holocaust. But people forget about modern monsters like terrorist. Terrorist kill the innocent for no reason just because of their beliefs or for no reason at all. The reason these terrorist groups start is all just because of one person who starts them. People just follow and do tasks without reason. It’s exactly like a nightmare come to life. But terrorist aren’t the only modern monsters there are many more that just shows how the human race can become monsters. For example how in North Korea the people are brain washed or they are fearful of their leaders. People with power can be so influential that people think that it’s right and forget their morals. Monsters aren’t just mythical they are real. Even though they are not the ones from our nightmares they are still close to it. Whether it’s by influence or a human’s insanity real monsters do exist in our world.

Michelle Schroh

9/30/2015 04:56:41 pm

I think he wants to tell us, that there are some people in the world who wants to do bad things to us. So that these people are like monsters. We have these people evrytime around us, but we don´t realize it. I agree with him. There are not many people who are like that, so they can´t do something really bad, but these people are just like monsters.

Anthony Pelaccia

9/30/2015 05:16:31 pm

I think that Levi is trying to say about how Monsters exist, Is referring to bad/ Evil People. I did research on this quote about when it was published. I have concluded that it was published, during the time of the holocaust. So i think that what he means by Monsters exist, he is trying to talk about in this quote that is Adolf Hitler. In my Mind he was a monster because of all the destruction he caused. It is estimated that 5.9 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. But, this quote does not apply to the time of the holocaust, this quote be described by other bad/evil people before this quote was made or after this quote is made. So I do agree with Levis when he says the "“Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions."

Emily Devine

9/30/2015 06:43:49 pm

I think when Levi refers to the word "monster" he is referring to bad people. Levi is saying that "the common man", maybe meaning people that we are close to are more dangerous. People that we know and love can turn their backs on us anytime. I do agree with Levi. There are all different types of people in the world, and some can be more dangerous or harmful than we think. When Levi says that the functionaries, the common man, is ready to act without asking questions, he means that sometimes people can hurt you no matter what the situation is.

Kayle Golding

9/30/2015 06:50:03 pm

I think Levi means that there are people in the world who believe in actual monsters, people check under their beds before going to sleep or they make sure that their closet doors are shut. Even if these monsters that few believe in were real, they still wouldn't be as harmful as the monsters in the real world... Us. I do agree with Levi because, there are monsters in this world and nothing is stopping these monsters from harming those around them.

Faith Collins

9/30/2015 07:07:35 pm

When Levi says, “Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous.” I think he means that literally if monsters exist in this world they would be less dangerous than “common men.” I agree with Levi, during the time he said these statements monsters were not as dangerous as people just like you and I. With something like the Holocaust going on at that time people were the most dangerous thing. He is trying to show how evil people can be, and how some people are just so much more dangerous than “monsters."

matt kayfus

9/30/2015 08:43:00 pm

They are saying that there might be monsters that our parents always told us about that hide under our bed, but the true monsters are the people that walk among us. we are oblivious to those "monsters" that walk among us, but we look out for the ones that are hiding in our closets and under our bed. What we need to do is forget about the ones hiding from us in our room, and look out for the ones that we live with in our everyday life. there are more monsters living with us people than the scary ones in your dreams, so in real life there is more danger from all the people monsters then the few scary ones your mother warned you about in your closet.

Lee Braley

9/30/2015 09:26:46 pm

When Levi says that monsters exist around us I think he is talking about the few cruel people in the world. I think this because there are cruel people around us we don't know them enough for them to be dangerous. The common men are more dangerous because they just go about their life without asking questions or believing in others.

Meghan Tully

9/30/2015 10:01:39 pm

What Levi means when he says "Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be dangerous." He is not talking about monsters but he is actually talking about humans. What Levi is trying to say is that their are very few humans that are dangerous that can harm others with words or actions. Humans make assumptions without actually asking questions. This causes conflict between people because they may not know the whole side of the story. Some humans are dangerous to people, just like monsters would be dangerous to people.

Mrs. Elbakry

10/1/2015 12:03:25 pm

Very good! Insightful response, Meghan.

Joann

9/30/2015 10:12:52 pm

I somewhat agree with what Levi is saying. He says that monsters aren't as scary as human man. I agree with this statement because man is all around us, we trust them, we work with them daily. But they can just as much ruin our lives or become a monster. Figuratively speaking. Take the holocaoust for an example. The wrong was done by man. That is a pure example of a monster because they killed thousands amoung thousands of there own kind. That, is a true monster.

Keith Graham

9/30/2015 10:56:02 pm

I think what Levi means by this is that the real monsters out there are the type of people who will do terrible things and not think about what is the right thing to do. Thats what he means in the second sentence where he says, "More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions." The first sentence means that, without the "common man" talked about in the second sentence, these monsters wouldn't have enough power over anybody to cause any harm. Its the persuasion of these people that gives them power.

Mrs. E

10/1/2015 12:04:04 pm

Good answer, Keith.

Earl Curnan

9/30/2015 11:16:29 pm

I truly believe that Levi was trying to tell us to think of your actions and that there maybe monsters in this world, but there is no monster more terrifying then the common man. All humans (common men) act without any thought of how we might effect the people around us. When Levi says functionaries he means to act to out our duties. One of the flaws we have as humans is that we don't ever take the time to think about are planned actions. In a way I believe that he was trying to tell us to think before we do anything. Cause maybe, just maybe Levi really regrets not thinking before taking direct action. I do agree with Levi we need to think before we do anything life changing.

Mrs. Elbakry

10/1/2015 12:05:27 pm

Nice job, Earl! Insightful response.

Antonio Fernandes

10/1/2015 08:23:53 am

Levi is referring to a monster as a evil person. I think Levi is wrong I believe this because evil has always been around. Almost every where you go there's evil. But there is always some one that isn't evil. That you wouldn't think is a monster. But he is saying the common man that means its getting worst but it isn't, people are doing things no one would have done before.

Jared Pettinella

10/1/2015 10:24:07 am

What he is trying to say here is that people can become monsters themselves. The people that become these monsters are the type of people that have a negative affect on society. The affect they have is so strong that it is stronger than what positive people can do. He is not physically talking about monsters that hide under your bed at night, he is talking about other people in our society that have so much negative power that they are mentally unstoppable. People with this amount of negative power have a scary affect on humans and that is why they use the metaphor "monsters".

Jack Moran

10/1/2015 04:44:51 pm

It depends on the reader to decide what a monster is, it could be a spider, a lion, or even maybe the sun. When Levi said this he was referring to the by-standers. To him a monster isn't a beast or vicious man eating being, its the person who will willingly do something not knowing whether they are hurting someone or not. When he says there are few real monsters hes talking about the leaders of those who don't make their own decisions. If people were to decide right from wrong those who believe in wrong would not have any power because they have no followers to support their wrong doings.

Sam Martino

10/1/2015 05:27:55 pm

When Levi says this, I think he is referring to humans and how they can be monsters. He is also saying how many people can be dangerous. Levi doesn't actually mean that there are monsters out there but that the people are the monsters. He also said the at they are more dangerous than the common man. But this person is not a common man. These "monsters" can be dangerous and you have to watch out for them. But what he is saying that there are bad people in the world but they all aren't bad.

Lauryn Tuttle

10/1/2015 06:07:42 pm

What I think Levi means by this is that he is referring to a monster as an evil person or someone who is dangerous. Everytime we hear the word "monster," the first word that pops into our head is the one that he was demonstrating in that picture. But what if the monster wasn't a scary creature that we think about today. What if it's someone you know or what if it is actually you? Most people in this world judge others to make themselves feel better. Everyone is always insecure about them selves everytime they look in the mirror. "I look horrible. This outfit makes me look fat. My hair looks gross." People need to stop worrying about what everyone else around them thinks. That just makes them feel even worse. People need to be happy with themselves and not care how other people think of you. Just be happy with yourself, and you can achieve big things.

Besime Kalici link

10/1/2015 06:44:17 pm

I agree with Levi's statement because it is true that there are monsters all around us but there are very few monsters that are truly dangerous.Some people who look scary and intimidating can be the most sweetest, caring person in the world, while some who could look beautiful on the outside with a nice face and a sweet smile could be the most nastiest, meanest person ever. Not everyone could be a monster by their looks but their personality. A monster does not need to have claws or a face all scarred but to be a true monster is to act inhuman instead of looking inhumane. Any one can be a monster, whether its a stranger or a neighbor, a family member or a friend, anyone could be a monster.

Justin Berger

10/1/2015 07:22:20 pm

I think Levi means that something that isn't common isn't dangerous. If there are monsters they won't be dangerous because you never see them. The common man is something dangerous because there so common. Each person does stuff everyday without asking questions. Nothing changes and nothing will ever change if you don't ask question. You have to act differently to be different. This is why the common man is dangerous. They never change.

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September 28th, 2015

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