Set against the backdrop of Naples, the characters in Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend are immersed in a world of violence, ignorance, and poverty. Under this shadow, Elena and Lila struggle to define the past of their parents from their own future. In fact, it is the weight of despair that allows small moments of joy to become vibrant within the story; as James Wood describes, “deprivation gives details a snatched richness” (Wood 10). The luminosity of moments like when Elena travels to Ischia, when the two girls purchase Little Women, and lighting fireworks on New Years Eve, are integral to the depiction of brilliant friendship between them. Therefore, it is not coincidental that when the girls experience fleeting moments of childhood bliss, …show more content…
Without these moments, it would be impossible to tell the well rounded story of their lives and friendship, for it is truly the simple moments of joy that make life compelling. A central moment of joy for Elena is spending a summer in Ischia with Maestra Oliviero’s cousin Nella. She describes “for the first time I was leaving home […] the neighbourhood and Lila’s troubles grew distant, and vanished” (Ferrante 209), and within this joy she “blossomed” (209). Life in Ischia is diametric to the neighbourhood Elena leaves behind. Nella is described as kind, enthusiastic, and encouraging, while Elena’s mother is seen as bitter, and resentful. The kindness Nella shows Elena by sewing her a new bathing suit, is a simple gesture, however, to the girl who has only known a world of “parental threat” (Wood 10), this action of affection unlike …show more content…
The excitement of New Years Eve comes from the lighting of the fireworks, as Elena describes, people “shouted with joy and hugged each other” (174), and the children were filled with “a fearful wonder” (174). In this moment the people, so full of anger, seem to reconcile, and the neighbourhood changes from dangerous to “a celebratory atmosphere of growing excitement” (174). This joy illuminates the childhood Elena could have had; one in which neighbours are friends, and past grudges fall away like they are nothing. However, the competitive and violent nature of the neighbourhood, emerges as the night progresses. When Rino and his friends fail to surpass the firework show put on by the Solara family, they turn to hurling insults at them from the street. This is not received kindly by the Solara brothers, who return with gunfire, as Elena describes “in order to win, [they] were shooting at us” (178). It is here, enclosed within the joy of fireworks and the threat of gunfire, that Lila experiences her first episode of “dissolving margins” (89). This episode represents the loss of innocence in both girls, and adds a new layer of complexity to their relationship. Elena begins to yearn for a deeper understanding of her best friend, emphasizing the secretive nature of Lila and her ultimate desire to
To keep her daughter’s “virtue” intact Macaria beats her. In this way the mother establishes complete control over Marcela’s sexuali...
In “Confetti Girl”, the narrator disagrees with her father and questions how much he cares about her and in “Tortilla Girl”, the narrator questions if her mother was taking her into account of her new plans. Tension is shown to be caused in the stories “Confetti Girl” and “Tortilla Sun” due to the parent and narrator not having the same point of view. In this story, a young girl named Izzy lives alone with her mother. One day, the mother surprises her by explaining that she is going to Costa Rica to do some research, and that Izzy is going to her grandmother’s house while she is away.
...approval by their family and the people around are considered as the most common trend between teenagers around the world and are used throughout the novel. Josephine was first introduced to the reading knowing that she was unsure of her identity and how she was searching for acceptance from her grandmother due to her illegitimacy. Marchetta created Josephine’s characteristic as one that the readers can truly understand and allow them to be able to feel a connection and a relation between the characters in the novel and themselves; it can make them realize that this is a social issues that each generation of teenagers face on a daily basis. The characters in the novel accompanied by the themes such as stereotypes and social statuses supported the author’s idea of creating a novel in which comment on the social issues and reflect reality within the novel.
One night Rodolfo overhears Sofia from the attic telling her mother that she is engaged; he is not happy about it but eventually comes to terms and accepts for Sofia to get married. Meanwhile he also tries to connect with his smaller daughter Ana Paula since he has come to realize that his relationship with his older daughter is non-existing. Eventually the family finds out that he has been staying in the attic and Miriam allows for him to move back into the guest room. They agree that he will live there until Sofia’s wedding day. During this time he begins to work on the leaks of the house and restores the house for Sofia’s wedding, meanwhile both Miriam and Rodolfo seem to miss each other and find connections again yet they don’t admit it to each other as well they both stop seeing their lovers. The day of the wedding comes and Rodolfo keeps his word and moves out to his own apartment. The divorce also goes through although it seemed they both new they were making the wrong decision. In the end Rodolfo gains the courage to take serenade to Miriam and they get together again. Sofia ends up getting the blessing from her parents to get married, Victoria gets a scholarship to go study journalism abroad and Ana Paula has gained more attention from both her parents. Rodolfo finds the perfect job that pays well and Miriam comes to feel like more than just a house wife, also they do end up
Write-up: Mama Elena is a stern and bitter woman who oppresses Tita to be her caretaker through the family tradition. She keeps Tita from her true love, Pedro, and it is later revealed that Mama Elena herself once suffered from a lost love, embittering her for the rest of her life. Any child of her is deemed unworthy when he/she does something that is against her "rules." She takes this to the extreme where the rules are imposed on her more "public family," John Brown and Pedro included. Her stern stature is noted when her daunting gaze makes the Revolutionary general Juan Trevino uneasy. Eventually, her pride and distrust is revealed to be her major flaw which causes her death.
Although most of these peoms are not happy ones, the collection ends on a comforting note. Pages 75-81 explore family, love and laughter – three things important to a good life.
Diamant’s magic enables a romance to flower from violence and the formulation of a “voiceless cipher” into an ingenious being transpire (1). She forces the reader see that in the eyes of trial and tragedy, happiness and love, we find reflections of ourselves no matter the age gap. She emphasizes that such a task could not happen if not for the “scolding, teaching, cherishing, giving, and cursing one with different fears (2),” that “summon up the innumerable smiles, tears, sighs and dreams of human life” (321). All this, Diament reminds all females, can be sequestered in the red tent.
This story is about the friendship of too girls from very different families. Carlotta is a darker skinned girl whose family is "new money". She wants to go to Scared Heart Academy for her high school education. Scared Heart does not let in girls of her skin tone. The school has been financially struggling and Carlotta's father donates money to the school, which in turn get her accepted in to the school. Since she is new money she was not "locked up" in her home her whole life. She knows the town and tells her friend Merceditas all about the way things are there. The other girl, Merceditas come from a very wealthy family who has been this way for gene...
In this chapter Reyna is reunited with her father, however she is disappointed of their detachment. Even though, she has complicated relationships with both of her parents with the inclusion of this scene the reader learns of the relationship between her and Mago. To Reyna this sisterhood bond is valuable and fundamental to Reyna’s growth. Due to the emotional distance between Reyna and her parents the siblings foster a stronger bond as an act of resilience against their complex relationships with their parents. Taking in consideration the achievements of Reyna Grande as an author, aside of growing up in poverty and the difficult relationship with her parents is an act of personal resilience. By sharing her story Grande can foster community resilience for those that find representation in her work. Also, due to her vulnerability and act of letting the reader into her healing process, her narrative creates a sense of empathy in the reader and for those with similar experiences solidarity and
As a teen, Rayona is in a confusing period of life. The gradual breakdown of her family life places an addition burden on her conscience. Without others for support, Rayona must find a way to handle her hardships. At first, she attempts to avoid these obstacles in her life, by lying, and by not voicing her opinions. Though when confronting them, she learns to feel better about herself and to understand others.
Josies aspirations reach much farther than that of her families ambitions for her life. It is at this point in time where a classic example of culture clash begins. Josie feels the need to rebel against the stero-typical female in an Italian culture. This determination stems from her education and desire to step away from her Italian life and responsibilities, breaking away not only from her family and their narrow mindedness but also the entire Italian culture. This is a major leap for Josie who aspires to be the first Alibrandi female to take control of her life. This motivation of freedom is strong in Josie and her rebellious ways demonstrate this.
The narrator does not hesitate to show how much Honoria and Charlie care for each other. Though Honoria was just a little girl, growing up without a father is still harsh. Still her love for Charlie is unconditional, and questions about the past are not brought up. Their strong relationship is alm...
When Elena knocked on Eugene’s green door, she had a lot of hope to study with Eugene and getting to know him better. But when Eugene’s mom answered the door, she told Elena to leave and that she was not welcome in Eugene’s home. “‘What’s wrong? Didn’t you hear what I said?’ She seemed very angry, and I finally snapped out of my trance. I tu...
Gilbert wanted the audience to have an idea of her experience in Italy. Describing how she felt when she was in the streets of Naples and as she observed her surroundings, she wanted to get her audience comfortable to the sense of her trip, feeling how different the atmosphere is in Naples, “I instantly love Naples. Wild, raucous, noisy, dirty, balls-out Naples. An anthill inside a rabbit warren, with all the exoticism of a Middle Eastern bazaar and a touch of New Orleans voodoo. A tripped,out, dangerous and cheerful nuthouse (Gilbert 175), she says. Gilbert uses this to set the scene of Naples, Italy. Unless her intended audience was natives to the town, or well traveled civilians, embracing the feel of the city could not be done without the details provided. Though the pizza itself made the most impact on her, it is the entire trip that leaves such a large impression on the narrator. The essence of the pizzeria plays an important role in her life changing journey. “The guys who make this miracle happen are shoveling the pizzas in and out of the wood-burning oven, looking for all the world like the boilerman in the belly of a great ship who shovel coal into the raging furnaces” (Gilbert). It is not just about how delicious the pizza taste, it is the entire environment of the pizzeria that leaves the both the women in awe. Seeing these men working and sweating over the
In the short story “Eveline “ by James Joyce, Eveline, the protagonist is given the opportunity to escape from her hard unendurable life at home and live a life of true happiness at Buenos Ayres with Frank, her lover. Throughout the story, Eveline is faced with a few good memories of her past from her childhood and her mother, but she also faces the horrible flashbacks of her mother’s illness and her father’s violence. In the end, she does not leave with Frank, Eveline’s indecisiveness and the burden of her family’s duties makes her stay.