Objectives
The main objective of this section is to expose the American students to some Italian writers and selections from their short story collections. The short stories chosen are representatives of the works of famous Italian authors. These offer the students a glimpse of Italian literature.
Secondly I am striving to increase students’ vocabulary. Each short story is accompanied by a vocabulary list. The students will work with these words before reading the selection. Being familiar with the meaning of the vocabulary words it is easier to comprehend what is read.
Thirdly I want to expose the students to the Italian language, increase their reading comprehension and improve their pronunciation. The reading is done in class by individual students. Immediately following the reading the students are asked to paraphrase it in Italian.
The last objective is to have the students analyze the short stories in terms of plot, theme, characters and setting. Through these analysis the students will demonstrate their knowledge of identifying the parts of a short story.
Strategies
The students will read the following short stories by representative Italian writers. “The Pot of Basil”, Giovanni Boccaccio; “The Mother”, Italo Svevo; “The She-Wolf”, Giovanni Verga.
Each short story is available in Italian and English. To increase the students’ exposure to the Italian language, the stories will be read in their original version and analyzed in Italian.
Each student is expected to read out loud in class. The reading will be paraphrased, orally, by the students. The plot, the theme, the characters and the setting will be analyzed and discussed.
* “The She-Wolf” by Giovanni Verga is available upon request from the Institute office.
Italo Svevo, “The Mother”
Plot
The story begins with an explicit description of the setting; a valley between two hills. Here located are two large houses. They are exactly the same, but the inhabitants have different fates. The gardens are the spots where the action of the story concentrates. In a corner, the chicks are talking about their experiences. The small chicks, recently born are very much interested in the life which they are living. These chicks have known joy and suffering from being in the egg. They know the importance of studying things carefully to see what is good and what is bad.
One of the chicks is not satisfied. He acknowledges the fact that they are fine, but points out that they don’t have a mother. Another chick responds with the idea that the egg is the mother. The chick who has brought up the fact, envisioned a mother bigger than the garden, warm, satisfying and ready to protect them. A third voice is heard. This chick is the product of the same beginning. He has a wider beak and shorter legs. He is called the “bad-manner chick”. Because of what he has witnessed, he says that when chicks have a mother they can’t die. An older chick swears that he will find a mother. His name is Curra.
Curra gets out of his garden. He finds a vast open space. He goes through the hedge of the other garden and finds himself in a garden similar to his home. As he looks around the same population is present. There is also another creature bigger than everybody else and with the aspect of a ruler. Curra notices that she shields and protects the small chicks. Immediately he calls it “mother”. Hungry for her love and protection, Curra runs to her. Eager to obey, he eats a worm which she has dug for her chicks. “Poor Curra”. The hen is on him instantly. He thinks she wants to caress him, but as he feels the sharp beak tear at him, he realizes that his presumptions are wrong. Curra runs away.
Soon after Curra finds himself among grown companions. They are all talking about their mothers. He looks and says that his mother is a “revolting creature”. He wishes he had never known her.
Analysis
The symbolism of the story is present everywhere. The gardens are enclosed limited spaces. Some of the chicks are satisfied, some are not. Others are curious to see what is outside, just like Curra. The same curiosity is found in man. The symbol of the mother is very important. Everyone seeks out a mother. The mother is a synonym of comfort, love, understanding and protection. All these push Curra to seek the long wanted mother. He finds her, but by intruding on her, he is chased away.
The last paragraph leaves us with an ambiguous feeling. Are mothers all the same? What do they represent? Negative answers to the above questions leave Curra with a pessimistic idea about “Mother”.
Theme
The themes of this short story are: Protection, wanted love, exploration of the unknown, disappointment and learning about the realities of life.
Characters
The mother—It is a very symbolic figure. She represents love, protection, warmth and at the same time disappointment.
Curra—Curra is a curious, eager, childish and unsure chick.
The chicks—The chicks are the crowd. This crowd is a combination of mixed emotions and characters.
Setting
The settings are the two gardens behind the two houses. The settings can be anywhere.
Activities
Questions for Comprehension
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1. What is the setting given at the beginning?
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2. What is the population of the gardens?
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3. What is the topic of discussion among the inhabitants of the first introduced garden? Why?
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4. The chicks are dealing with the idea of a “mother”, how do they explain the necessity of a mother?
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5. Who is Curra?
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6. Why did Curra want a mother?
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7. As soon as Curra is out of his garden, what is he faced with?
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8. As Curra get into the other garden, what does he discover?
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9. What misunderstandings does Curra have about the newly found mother?
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10. As soon as Curra decides to become a part of the mother’s group, what happens?
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11. What happens to Curra? How does it change his feelings about “mother”?
Vocabulary
radiant
|
mortar
|
orchard
|
plunge
|
down
|
gratitude
|
to speak up
|
impeccable
|
exhaustion
|
gormless-looking
|
poultry-yard
|
strong
|
resolute
|
bound
|
escape
|
dazed
|
immense
|
bewilderment
|
qualms
|
swarming
|
crowd
|
lording
|
down
|
powerful
|
chief
|
warmth
|
delight
|
majestic
|
submit
|
helpless
|
claws
|
bare
|
enraptured
|
idiots
|
worm
|
caresses
|
jabs
|
beak
|
belly
|
tremendous
|
cheeping
|
foliage
|
intruder
|
numbly
|
disdainfully
|
nostalgia
|
dreadful
|
revolting creature
|
Questions for Discussion
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1. What symbolism can we see within the short story?
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2. Compare the chicks, the hen and the setting to man. What possible symbolism can we see in respect to man?
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3. Who are the characters? What does Curra represent? How has Curra changed from the beginning to the end?
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4. What is the theme of the story? Support your answer with examples from the reading.
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5. What are the strong points of this story?
Giovanni Boccaccio, “The Pot of Basil”
Plot
This is the fifth story of the fourth day of
The Decameron
. The story is told by Filomena. It is about three brothers and a sister. They are merchants. They hire Lorenzo, a young man from Pisa, to work in one of their establishments. Lorenzo is very handsome and Elizabeth likes him. As soon as Lorenzo realizes that Elizabeth likes him he does his best to win her affection.
They both fall in love. Secretly they consummate their passion. They try to keep it a secret, but one night Elizabeth is seen by her older brother as she enters Lorenzo’s bedroom. Her brother is greatly affected by the discovery. He spends the whole night trying to figure out how to approach the problem. The following morning, he talks to his brothers. They decide that they should take care of the matter secretively to avoid a scandal.
One day they make believe they are going on a pleasure trip. When they are out of sight, they attack Lorenzo, kill him and bury his body leaving no trace. When Lorenzo is nowhere to be found, Elizabeth asks her brothers. Her continuous asking annoys her brothers, who are very well aware of Lorenzo’s fate.
One night she dreams about him. In her sleep he tells her the entire story pointing out where he is buried. The following day she searches for him. When she arrives at the spot described by Lorenzo, she digs and finds the body. She weeps for a long time. She cuts the head and puts it in a pot. Covers it with soil and plants basil.
The constant crying makes her loose her beauty. The brothers are concerned. They find out about the pot. They prohibit her to cry,but she doesn’t listen. Finally they take the pot away. She weeps so much that she gets sick.
The brothers are so taken by the sister’s love for the pot of basil that they decide to examine the soil. When they do, they discover Lorenzo’s head. They bury it again and leave Messina. Elizabeth keeps on weeping and finally dies.
Analysis
The short story “The Pot of Basil” concentrates on the strong emotions and passion of Lorenzo and Elizabeth, Their love is terminated by the social convictions of Elizabeth’s brothers, This sentiment destroys Elizabeth’s life.
Theme
The theme of this short story is: All for love. Elizabeth does everything for Lorenzo’s love.
Characters
Elizabeth—She is gracious and beautiful, She loves Lorenzo. She dies for his love. She is the victim of her brother’s social convictions.
Lorenzo—He is from Pisa. He is handsome, He loves Elizabeth. He is killed by her brothers.
The brothers—They are rich merchants. They are traitors. They ruin Elizabeth’s life.
Filomena—She is the narrator. She is a member of the group of narrators gathered to tell the stories of
The Decameron.
Setting
The story takes place in the town of Messina. At the time of the short story, it was a small town still attached to strong moral ideals, Messina is in Sicily.
Activities
Questions for Comprehension
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1. Who is telling the story?
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2. Who is Elizabeth?
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3. Who is Lorenzo? How does he meet Elizabeth?
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4. What kind of relationship develops between Elizabeth and Lorenzo?
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5. How are they discovered?
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6. How do her brothers take care of the matter?
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7. How does Elizabeth react to Lorenzo’s disappearance?
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8. How does Elizabeth find out where Lorenzo is?
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9. What does Elizabeth do with Lorenzo’s head?
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10. How does she treat the pot of basil?
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11. What happens to the pot of basil?
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12. Why is the pot of basil taken away by her brothers, and what do they discover?
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13. What happens to Elizabeth at the end?
Vocabulary
merchants
|
gracious
|
handsomely proportioned
|
beautiful
|
establishment
|
determined
|
sister
|
talking
|
pretending
|
sad
|
pallid-looking
|
dishevelled
|
decomposed
|
marjoram
|
basil
|
Questions for Discussion
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1. Who are the characters of the story? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?
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2. Are Elizabeth’s brothers concerned with social appearances? What evidence is there in the story?
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3. What is the theme? Explain?
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4. Why does Elizabeth go to the extreme of cutting Lorenzo’s head? Does this action contribute to her character’s development? Explain?
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5. According to you what should have happened to the brothers?
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6. If you were Elizabeth, what would you have done? Why?
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7. What symbolic significance can be attached to the pot of basil?
Appendix—Section B
Topics for Research
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A. Write a short biography of Italo Svevo. Concentrate also on Italo Svevo’s relevant points in his narrative. Could his themes be called universal?
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B. Find another short story by Italo Svevo. Read it. Summarize it. Analyze it pointing out the plot, the theme, the setting and the characters.
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C. Write a short biography of Giovanni Boccaccio.
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D.
The Decameron
is probably one of the most famous books all over the world. Briefly explain why Giovanni Boccaccio decided to write this book? What is the technical set up of the book? and What are the themes explored?
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E.
The Decameron
is introduced by a preface. What are the basic points of this preface? What historical insights do we get from this preface?
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F. Write a short biography of Giovanni Verga.
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G. Giovanni Verga’s writings are classified as belonging to a literary current called “Realism”. What are the basic thematic points of this current?
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H. Many of Giovanni Verga’s short stories treat the theme of the “Vinti”the vanquished ones. People are vanquished either by destiny, greediness, social convictions, religion or other uncontrollable forces. Choose a short story and explore this theme in detail.
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I. Read one of the following short stories by Giovanni Verga: “Cavalleria Rusticana”, “Yeli”, “Nedda”. Analyze it pointing out the plot,the theme, the characters and the setting. Compare it to “The She-Wolf” read in class.
Note
Giovanni Verga’s “The She-Wolf” is available at the office of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.