Chapter 11 "The Canto of Ulysses," Summary and Analysis

The Chemical Kommando is held together but is set to work performing menial tasks such as scraping rust from the inside of holding tanks or carrying heavy loads of chemical compounds—certainly not work requiring any knowledge of chemistry. One member of the work group is Jean, a young man who is appointed assistant to the Kapo. Unlike most men in authority, Jean is friendly and genuinely concerned about the men in the group. Whereas Alex is violent and abusive, Jean is friendly and contemplative. Jean takes a liking to Levi and frequently summons him to perform particularly light work assignments. One day, Jean and Levi walk together to fetch the lunch soup ration; the trip is about one and a half miles, round trip. On the walk Levi recalls...