Im Not Scared Essay Example

The
novel Im Not Scared shows that there is nothing wrong with being scared. Problems only arise when people allow this to override their moral conviction. Discuss with close reference to the text. Im Not Scared written by Niccolo Ammaniti is a novel that is set in the South of Italy, during a searing summer of 1978. The South of Italy had no political wealth or flourishing economic climate. The small town Acqua Traverse is impoverished and desolate. A boy by the name of Michele accidently discovers another boy, Filippo, being kept in brutal and inhumane conditions. As the story unfolds Ammaniti shows that there is nothing wrong with being scared, however, when people allow their fear to compromise their moral conviction terrible things happen. He shows this through Pinos fear of poverty and lack of material wealth, Felices fear of rejection and Teresas fear of her family falling apart. Pino is a man portrayed with an established moral ground, he is his sons very hero, however, he lets his fear engross him and he enters in criminal activity. Driven by his family, he is often away for weeks providing for his family. The family does not have much material wealth and Pino sees the steady decline in their lifestyle. Whilst blackmailing Michele, Pino enquires if Michele wanted to move away from the North. Pride still gets in the way when the family rejects charity. In Pinos eyes he is doing the right thing for his family. Kidnapping an innocent child would receive monetary value, Pino loses sight of his moral convictions and allows the fear of poverty to consume his family. In the end, Pino ends up shooting his own son, believing it is Filippo. Ammaniti uses the wheat fields around the practically non-existent town as a symbol for poverty and how it is slowly consuming the families. Consumed by rejection, Felice lets aggression take over. Not old enough to be considered an adult but not young enough to be considered a child, Felice yearns for acceptance and to feel like he belongs. Felice is a bully, a product of being alone for so many years. The younger children fear him and to mask his insecurity Felice is extremely violent. This is also the reason why Felice engaged in the kidnapping. When Filippo was found he was cadaverous with split lips where he had been bashed. It was Felices task to look after Filippo. Ammaniti uses this symbol ** for fear to explain how the human experience works, why some allow their fears to control their moral grounds. A fear of rejection is normal, others learn to deal with it, Felice deals with it through violence and involving himself in grotesque crimes. A bystander, Teresa, Pinos wife and Micheles mother, also lets her fear override her moral conscious. A loving and devoted wife living in a patriarchal family, Teresa doesnt have much of a say, but she still allows a most grotesque crime to be committed. Quite often Teresa is blind to her childrens emotional needs but is more than adequately equipped for their physical needs. She too fears the poverty telling Michele he must leave here and never ever return to Acqua Traverse. Fearing the destruction of her family, Teresa stands silent as a boy the same age as her son is held captive, her morals shoved to the side. A contradiction to her loving and loyal nature, her uncanny ability to create a blind eye is a metaphor for the blind eye the Italian society showed upon the frequent kidnapping of innocent children. It seems as though Teresas life priorities have been subject to change through fear of losing both her husband and child. Im Not Scared is a novel based on the effects fear has on peoples morals, provoking bad things to happen. Written by Niccolo Ammaniti, he shows through authorial choice of symbols reflecting fears and metaphors, describing the socio-economic conditions of the time. Through characters like Pino, he shows that the fear of poverty and ambition for material wealth is enough to corrupt ones moral grounds. Felice allows his fear of rejection to consume him and Teresa, fearing the destruction of her family, to ignore moral responsibilities.

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