Response to readings in Multicultural Literature in Contemporary Italy

 “Return” by Fatima Ahmed

          I believed a pivotal moment for Fatima was when she first crossed the border and reentered her homeland of her childhood. She said, “my earth” showing her connection and her sense of belonging to the country. The visual of her drinking the sugar cane and having the taste bring back memories stood out to me. Memories and sensation seem to be a common theme within these short stories. One interesting episode in the story was when the old women said, “Somali or Indian, it’s all the same for me” representing the lack of cross cultural/national knowledge. The return was bitter sweet in that she was able to regress home, but still instilled with fear.

“Give Me Back my Coat” by Adrian N. Bravi

           I believe a pivotal moment was when Adrian’s coat was taken. In my eyes, the whole story is compromised of contradictions: the joy of death, the sadness of life. He wanted to have freedom and to escape the depression at his own will. He is struggling to accept his own destiny and his purpose for being where he is at this point in his life. He wants a reason for his being. The moment was pivotal in that in forced him to wait to discover his own destiny. He said, “I have never been able to make sense of this act” symbolizing his confusion of his current situation and his yearning to figure out a “reason” and to find answers of his own destiny.

“Light Beer and Peanuts” By Viola Chandra

          Viola received the wrath of her father’s struggles disownment of his heritage. She aimed to find identity in her Indian heritage but could not accept their customs, as they could not accept hers. She felt solidarity in the passage she read in the tourist book, a representation of her contradictory identity of always feeling “foreign.” She was raised to cover up and hide her ethnic background and did so to received appraisal from her parents. Pivotal moment was when she stopped straightening her hair and allowed herself to portray herself as she truly is. Seems like she felt objectified in that she describes her dream and states, “I was finally useful for something” showing that she feels the need to be useful in order to be accepted.

       
“The B-Line” by Christiana de Caldas Brito

       It is evident that language and words are the connecting source to Christiana’s memories of her native land. She opens with, “I have buried all of them. And now I have a graveyard of words inside myself” which symbolizes the death of her memories and of her past. Moving to a new country, the only words she uses are words of survival in daily life. She says, “Far from the forest, the lion cannot roar like it used to” which is metaphoric in that she is the lion, an animal  of energy and power, in a new unfamiliar, far land, and she cannot express herself as she did in her homeland.  

“The Beggar” by Christiana de Caldas Brito

           To me, it seemed as though words resonated memories for the beggar. Some to be more significant than others. Christiana writes, “He saw the world through words” showing his connection to explanation, association, and memory. I believe he was “begging” for words, as if he was begging to make new memories. Words are an essential expression of feelings and experience. In relation to our studies, I believe this to be important, specifically in contemporary Italy, because literature allows for marginalized persons to unveil their truth.