If This is a Man response

The poem at the beginning set the tone of the piece for me. It was somber and powerful, but also uplifting in a way because it reminds you how much you really have. To sum up the poem in one sentence, I would say "Don't take things for granted." I would describe the narrator as strong, determined, realistic, intelligent and scrappy. I think this helps me sympathize with him; he tells the facts as they are without overdramatizing things (as far as I can tell) and that makes the story feel authentic. The moments that stood out the most for me were the paragraphs of description such as what things were prohibited in the barracks, or how they were arranged. These left an impression on me because they gave such a vivid idea of how life was in this memoir and I was impressed by how detailed they were while still feeling like part of a narrative.