Loyalty And Betrayal I Am Not Scared example essay topic

This is a profoundly moral tale of lost innocence and adult cruelty. Do you agree? Ammaniti's novel I'm Not Scared set in Acqua Traverse, Italy 1978 is a powerful text, which explores relevant social themes and issues. Besides being a tale of adult cruelty and lost innocence we cannot ignore the role in which loyalty and betrayal play in the novel. These central themes make this novel a compelling text. In the novel Michelle journeys from a joyful innocent child into a perceptive and wiser youth.

Initially we view Michelle as a child who is very compassionate, willing to "do the forfeit" for Barbara to exempt her from Skull's cruelty. As the story progresses qualities namely courage and loyalty surface in Michelle. These two qualities are most noticeable when he states, "I'm going to see Fillipo... Who's Fillipo? He's a friend of mine".

Michelle's actions show and justify a belief that he has in a sense "lost his innocence". Michelle also shows maturity when he acknowledges that his father may not be a loving man, stating, "Papa was the bogeyman. By day he was good, by night he was bad". He realise's that the adults are cruel and is astounded when he notices his father stating "two ears we " ll cut off.

Two!" . Michelle loses his innocence after witnessing the cruelty displayed by the adults as well as being tested by the notions of loyalty and betrayal. The adults with the exception of Michelle's mother can all be seen as having key roles in the kidnapping. The treatment inflicted on poor Fillipo was inhumane; the text draws parallels from his treatment to the treatment of the dog Togo. Fillipo like Togo struggled when forced to wash and like Togo, Fillipo was very dirty.

Fillipo had to live in his own excretion this can be seen when Michelle lifts the mattress to the hole "A terrible stink of shit was released". The treatment of Fillipo is appalling, this act is magnified by the fact that the adults in the village have children of their own yet are capable of such cruelty. The author portrays Fillipo as identical to Michelle in age and height, the intended effect is to draw parallels with Michelle and show that Fillipo is like any other nine year old. Loyalty and betrayal occurs frequently in the text. Michelle is loyal to Fillipo, he is willing to break a promise he made "on my fathers head". He realise's the suffering Fillipo endures and forms a bond.

He admits openly towards the end of the text that Fillipo "is a friend of mine". Betrayal is also a prominent theme in the story. To key instances of betrayal occur, the first being Salvatore's betrayal of Michelle. Secondly we also must view Pino's betrayal of his family. Salvatore's betrayal was a heart wrenching experience for Michelle. Michelle is beaten by Felice but it is his heart which hurts most, "Salvatore had broken it".

Some readers feel that Michelle betrayed Pino however it has to be said that Pino despite having the best intentions for his family ultimately betrayed them. He was the one who chose to pursue the kidnapping, he did not serve the family well by engaging in the kidnap. Pino betrayed their trust and their belief in him. By Michelle's view, Pino was a kind-hearted father who loved his children dearly. However, he soon became "the bogeyman. When the story ends Pino is faced with the fact that he had shot his son accidentally and that he would face a jail term for his extortion attempt.

The text's main theme is the idea of lost innocence and adult cruelty, however, the importance of loyalty and betrayal must not be ignored. These three themes are the key ideas, which help us to relate to the text and the main character Michelle. These themes are explored in great depth in Ammaniti's I'm Not Scared.