Village Of Valle Del Sole O example essay topic

Introduction Superstition is a belief or practice generally regarded as irrational and as resulting from ignorance or from fear of the unknown. It implies a belief in unseen and unknown forces that can be influenced by objects and rituals (Webster's Dictionary). Superstitions have a central role in Lives of the Saints, by causing conflicts between the Innocente family and the villagers of Valle Del Sole. Superstitions act as social control for the characters in the novel and often bring out the worst of everyone in the Valle Del Sole community. Thesis Superstitions function as a powerful control in the Lives of the Saints, by driving the plot, the settings and the conflicts in the novel.

SUPERSTITIONS DRIVE THE PLOT o "If this story has a beginning, a moment at which a single gesture broke the surface of events like a stone thrown into the sea, the ripples cresting away endlessly, then that beginning occurred on a hot July day in the year 1960, in the village of Valle del Sole, when my mother was bitten by a snake". (Ricci 7) Immediately when the novel begins, superstitions are introduced into the story. The superstition of snakes is used indirectly in the opening sentence of the first chapter, by referring to the beginning of the story as the incident when Vittorio's mother was bitten by a snake. This visibly shows that superstitions will be used throughout the plot. o " 'And what were you doing in the stable?' he said finally. 'Oh, And'o, basta!' my mother said. 'What does anyone do in the stable?

I was feeding the pigs!' Now my grandfather, who seemed to have been paying much more attention to Di Lucci's driving than to this conversation, swivel led his head towards the back seat again. 'I thought you fed the animals this morning. ' 'I was checking their water,' my mother said impatiently. She turned away towards her window. 'I didn't have time to fill the troughs this morning. ' Bumbling Di Lucci, man of light.

Did he know something of what had gone on in our stable, of those blue eyes that had swooped down on me? Or was he just following the villagers' instinct that beneath every simple event there lurked some dark scandal? At any rate, he succeeded now in causing a ripple to appear on the surface of my mother's calm; and if his small discovery made little difference in the long run, it gave him at least a claim to priority". (Ricci 21). This quote talks about the trigger incident which caused the entire village of Valle del Sole to come to know about Cristina's affair. Because of Di Lucci's superstitions of snakes, his curiosity caught Cristina off guard and forced her to lie about her actions.

Her father noticed that she had contradicted what she said in the morning, and thus questioned her actions. This caused Di Lucci to doubt her honesty, and assume that she was having an affair. Because the village was so small, news traveled fast and therefore, once Di Lucci discovered the scandal, all the villagers soon learned about it as well. o " 'Fools!' she shouted now. 'You tried to kill me but you see I'm still alive.

And now you came to watch me hang, but I won't be hanged, not by your stupid rules and superstitions. You are the ones who are dead, not me, because none of you knows what it means to be free and to make a choice, and I pray to God that he wipes this town and all its stupidities off the face of the earth!' " (Ricci 184) One of the main events in the plot occurs when Cristina fights against the villagers of Valle del Sole because she does not want to be insulted because of her different views on superstitions. She believes that the villagers are condemning her not only because of her actions, but also because they believe that her snake bite was a sign of God's punishment for her actions. She herself does not believe in the villagers's uperstitions and leaves the city to separate herself from their small-minded personalities. SUPERSTITIONS DRIVE THE SETTINGS o " 'I warn you, Crist'i, you " ll bring a curse on everyone around you.

It's only for your father that people have kept quiet till now. But with the snake everyone has started to talk". (Ricci 57) o "There were few who doubted that snakes, whatever their other properties, were agents of the evil eye, which the villagers feared far more than any mere Christian deity or devil, and which they guarded themselves against scrupulously, by wearing amulets of garlic of wolves' teeth and by posting goat horns above their doorways". (Ricci 11) These quotes describe the type of superstitions that are held by the people of Valle del Sole. It shows that in the little Italian village setting, superstition controls the villagers, who fear and follow these beliefs more than their own Catholic faith. It is evident that superstitions play a major role in their social environment and manipulate the behaviour of the villagers towards the Innocente family. o " 'God will make his judgments,' said Giuseppina.

'It's for nothing she was bitten by a snake. ' " (Ricci 51) This is said by Giuseppina, one of Cristina's old friends, who believes that Cristina deserved to be bitten by a snake. In Valle del Sole, the snake symbolizes the devil and the villagers believe that wherever pride is, the snake will go. Because the villagers do not agree with Cristina's actions, they believe that God has punished her by allowing the 'devil' to bite her.

This demonstrates that superstitions play an intertwined role with religion in the religious setting of the novel. o "That beginning occurred on a hot July day in the year 1960, in the village of Valle del Sole, when my mother was bitten by a snake". (Ricci 7) In the very beginning of the novel, Vittorio introduces the geographical location and time period in which his story takes place. During the 1960's, villages in Italy were very small and were comprise of only a few families. Because of the small amount of families, superstitions were very popular during this time and travelled quickly, especially in Italy. Therefore, superstitions are befitting of the physical settings and the time period of the novel. SUPERSTITIONS DRIVE THE CONFLICTS o " 'Fools!' she shouted now.

You are the ones who are dead, not me, because none of you knows what it means to be free and to make a choice, and I pray to God that he wipes this town and all its stupidities off the face of the earth!' " (Ricci 184) Cristina says this when she leaves the village of Valle del Sole to end her conflict with society. Her disbelief of superstitions creates a rift between her and the villagers, thus making her declare that she will no longer be hanged by the villagers's uperstitions leaves the village of Valle del Sole. o "But my head started pounding then and suddenly I couldn't bear Fabrizio anymore and his stupid grinning. I wanted to make him stop talking, make him disappear, and I picked up a rock beside my foot and flung it squarely at his chest. He deflected the rock with an arm but I threw myself on him, arms flailing, and the two of us fell to the ground, Fabrizio holding out his elbows to ward me off.

'Oh, scimunit', have you gone crazy?' 'It was the snake's fault, you stupid! You " re just a stupid like your stupid father!' 'S'i, s'i, stop, it was only the snake, you " re right, it was only the snake. ' " (Ricci 104) In this incident, Vittorio is conflicting internally, even though he is actually fighting with his best friend, Fabrizio. Once confronted by the truth about his mother, he goes into denial about her actions and places the blame on the snake that bit her. He uses the superstition to cover up his mother's mistakes, and convinces himself that everyone is disrespectful towards his mother because of her incident in the barn. o " 'They say that if a woman goes with another man and gets bitten by a snake, then the next baby she has will have the head of a snake.

And then the only thing you can do'-he made a sudden jabbing motion with a clenched fist, and I started back-'is to kill the baby the minute it's born, and cut out its eyes, so the evil eye won't follow you. ' " (Ricci 124) This scene leads to the conflict between Vittorio and Alredo's gang, in the mountain. Alfredo, Vittorio's enemy, provokes him by using village superstitions to scare him about his mother's pregnancy. The children make him uncomfortable by telling him how to kill a snake baby and how to get rid of the evil eye, thus making him want to run away in fear. Conclusion Superstitions function as a powerful control in the Lives of the Saints, by driving the plot, the settings and the conflicts in the novel. Superstitions have a major effect on how people act in today's society, regardless of the time period we live in.

It is unfortunate to see a family ruined by superstitions and to be condemned for their own beliefs of freedom and individuality. Luckily, in Canada, people are free to believe in whatever superstitions they please, and are not judged by their beliefs or actions. Discussion Questions 1. How do you feel about the way the villagers of Valle del Sole used their superstitions to turn against the Innocente family?

Why? 2. Why do you think Cristina did not believe in the same superstitions that the villagers did? 3. Do you think that the snake was a contributing factor for Cristina's father's behaviour towards Cristina? Why or why not?

4. What are some basic superstitions that you " ve heard of in the past? 5. Does your family have any superstitions that are specific to their cultural background? If so, please state..