Elias Lindzin is a Jewish man who is short, stout, powerful, and potentially insane. Seemingly untiring and several times stronger than most of his fellow prisoners at Auschwitz, Elias’s strength distinguishes him from his peers. Added to this is his unstoppable humor, which motivates him to constantly yells, dances, or makes incomprehensible but grandiose-sounding speeches. Levi describes Elias’s to demonstrate how those least-suited to polite society may find they thrive in the environment of the camp. Against all the odds, Levi observes, Elias even seems happy.