The Power of Alberto Moravia's Secret
It is often considered a great feat when an author is successful in capturing the reader's attention through a character's personality. Alberto Moravia, the pseudonym of Alberto Pincherle, was one such author, since he was widely known for pulling his readers' attention and interest into his stories, ultimately captivating their entire being His lively way with words, his vivid descriptions, as well as his colorful imagination all contributed to his amazing writings. Moravia's story "The Secret" is no exception.
In "The Secret," Moravia focuses on the psychology of the main character, Gino. He lets the reader into Gino's head with each and every paragraph. The character's behavior is interesting and, at times, amusing, as a result of Moravia's great descriptive ability. The opening to the story is enough to draw the reader into Gino's world, with the main character exclaiming, "Don't talk to me about secrets! I had one-and it was the kind that weighs on your conscience like a nightmare" (221).
The psychological aspect of Gino's character focuses on his behavior, a direct result of his actions on the day his life forever changes. A truck driver in Italy, Gino strikes and kills a man riding a motorbike while passing a car on the wrong side of the road. Then, in a moment of weakness, horror, and cowardice, "lowering my head, I stepped down hard on the gas. I tore down the road to Rome and dropped my load at the yard" (222). Gino informs the reader of the utter embarrassment he endures as a result of his cowardice, which is labeled as such in all of the local newspapers' reports: "The hit-and-run driver had fled the scene of the accident like a coward...like ...
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...is did not let him off the hook as he hoped she would, so he will be saddled with this secret always. She is not to blame for her reaction since the secret is Gino's burden only, and he is wrong to think that someone else can lighten his load.
. Through Alberto Moravia's emphasis on the psychology of the main character, the reader is virtually sucked into the life, as well as the heartbreaking tale, of this fictitious man. As a result of Gino's hardships, it becomes clear that, not only does behavior have dominance over life's events, but one action, no matter how simple, can forever alter a life.
Work Cited
Moravia, Alberto. "The Secret." Trans. Helene Cantarella. Angles of Vision Reading, Writing, and the Study of Literature. Ed. Arthur W. Biddle, and Toby Fulwiler. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992. 221-225.
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In scene 5 we learn how powerful she really is by the way she makes a
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An issue which is mentioned throughout the story is the concept of “Ignorance is bliss”, which is an old cliche meaning what we don’t know can’t hurt us. While massaging his naked female neighbor’s body, the narrator is asked if he’s going to tell his mother. No, he answers. “So you even know that certain things are better left unsaid! You really are a devil” (Mahfouz, 13). The neighbor makes the obvious point that sometimes there are things that don’t have to be repeated, for the benefit of all the parties involved. Some might argue that the Truth will always come out, and by hiding it someone will end up being affected by it much more later on. But that is only if the information does get repeated. Knowledge doesn’t always have to be repeated, as was shown by our narrator and his neighbor. If the narrator had told his mother, would any of the parties benefit from this knowledge?
Throughout the play Macbeth, characters start to emerge as dark and cruel. The author William Shakespeare writes about a strong and ambitiously powerful woman named Lady Macbeth. In the play, Lady Macbeth’s character shares with the audience that she believes her husband is not man enough to excel in completing the prophecy that the three witches have given to him. As a women, she makes sure to tell us that just because she is a women that you can be strong and independent. Although it may seem that Lady Macbeth has a tough exterior, she does proceed to have a conscience that causes her problems that comes to display later in the play.
Lady Macbeth's character is first formed in Act I scene v, the scene opens with her reading a letter from her husband, its content is full of thoughts and tellings of the meeting with the witches earlier that day. Lady Macbeth begins by talking about how her husband now has a goal and addresses his personality. Understandably she would like this prophecy to transpire and there is no question that she would be willing to help him gain the title of king. Lady Macbeth comes to the conclusion that to become king Macbeth must kill Duncan.
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