Pinocchios world, Colludi

Freuds own cookbook: The Italian cuisine of Dr. Freud

F.T. Marinetti and Fillia: The Futurist Cookbook
Tosca, The Lady Cat: G. Lagorio
Svevo: Confessions of Zeno
F. Tomizza, Heavenly Supper
Conversation in Sicily: E. Vittorini
Rosetta Loy: First words: a Memoir
Primo Levi: Survival in Auschwitz
Primo Levi: Last Christmas of the War
Primo Levi: The Little Hen from the Reawakening
A. Moravia: Two Women
L. Sciascia: American Aunt
C. Malaparte: The Skin
D. Maraini: Bagheria
A. Tabucchi: Indian Nocturne
I. Calvino, Under the Jaguar Sun
L. Pirandello: Sicilian limes

FINAL THEMES- Tosca Cats- representing companionship (her husband died, she is lonely,
alcoholic) PATHOLOGY
- Pinocchio- Fox and Cat represent the upper class, hungry for food, greed
- 20 years after unification of ITALY (resurgent 1881 (written during 1881) Italy
was pretty poor in general
- Eating or being eaten, survival upper class are greedy

Donkey- symbol of too much of a good thing, giving into temptation, laziness and
not working (moral lesson to children to go to school and work hard)
- Cricket Black Bird Snake Shark (gluttony, danger) Watchdog
- Nationalist identity
- Two types of food simple (bread) vs elaborated meals that the fox and the cat
SENSES- Futurist Cooking, very modern and revolutionary (no pasta, bc italy imported
too much grain taking away for the Italian growth), Man of action and shaped by the food
he eats, technology

3/23/2010 8:36:00 PM
Survival in Auschwitz:
This reading deals with exactly what the title implies; a man living day to
day in a German concentration camp not knowing how much longer he has
to live.

He begins by explaining his typical day, where he must overcome

hunger and the freezing weather.

Each prisoner is given a code by which
they are all designated.
It is as if their names no longer exist or count for
anything, but they are treated not like humans, but more like animals.
There were also three groups in which t
he prisoners were divided into:
criminals, politicals, and J ews.
After describing how each prisoner finds
unique ways to enhance his comfort within the camp using the simple things
that they receive, he talks much about hunger, which is relevant to the
course. He says that "we ourselves are hunger, living hunger."
From what
it seems, hunger is the most challenging obstacle to overcome at these
camps. They are only given a certain amount of bread and soup, and it
varies in how much each prison
er will r ation those things, and save them for a later time.
depressing reading assignment, obviously because it is about a

Overall, this is a

concentration camp, but we get a closer look at what these people had to
deal with everyday with the knowledge that they
near future.

will most likely die in the

Last Christmas in the War:

The second reading follows an Auschwitz prisoner who lives in a different
part of the camp working as a chemist.
concentration camps having different jo

I never knew of prisoners at

bs and being used for their various

talents. But this prisoner was working one day and was approached by a
German woman working at the camp, who had asked him to repair her
bicycle. When describing the sociological ideas behind her reasoning, he
explaine d that this woman was not like the stereotypical Nazi, because she
showed compassion and kindness to this prisoner, which was extremely
rare. However, he stated that he did not want to express that this German
changed his view of her country in any way.

The Reawakening:
The final reading is another short one, dealing with the prisoners
long journey home. He first describes Slutsk, Russia, which consists
of almost every race an nationality one could find. It was very
diverse, which seemed different at the time because during the war, it
was uncommon for some many people from different backgrounds to
be together outside a concentration camp or something similar. He
talks about the long journey they have walking to this place, saying it
seems like a nightmare where you can walk for hours at a time and
the scenery doesn't change. However, the more important aspect of
the reading comes at the end when the prisoner's friend Casare
decides to go look for chickens to eat because he is so hungry. Due to
his affection for the man, the author follows him to a town where they
decide to find a nice meal. Their desperation and hunger are so
evident here, as they decide to leave the pack and risk their lives to
find some food. It seems to be t
he recurring theme in his readings, as most of the things he did were
driven by food.
First Words by Rosetta Loy
This reading has a lot to do with life during World War II in Fascist
Italy. It is the recount of Rosetta Loy's childhood experience growing
up in this time period when German soldiers roamed the country
looking for Jewish people as they would arrest them and send them to
concentration camps. Her story begins in Mirabello, Italy, where she
begins her account on the awful time period that her and many other
Italians had gone through. The first part deals with her days at
school, and then she explains how her Christian family celebrates
Lent. It is much different than what people of today do, as this seems
to be taken much more seriously, and it is not an easy time to get
through. The children do not play or joke around during the forty
days, and they fast meat and other foods every single day, not just
Fridays. This is relevant because it talks about how hard it was to get
by living off only vegatables and what not, especially when they were
always on the run or hi

ding from the Nazis. Her family then moves to a different house,
which she describes in great detail, and shortly after they go on
summer vacation. Eventually, they take a train to Rome, where they
learn the bad news that Germany has invaded Italy, and they are
arresting any Italian soliders. Loy explains how the Germans were
now occupying Italy, sheltering themselves in Italian homes, while
searching for Jews to arrest. She tells some stories that she hears
about families who come so close to being caught by the Nazis, yet
they are able to escape just in time. She tells the story of Mirella Calo
whose family hid in the basment of a whorehouse to avoid th SS men,
and the story of the taxi driver who took the Jewish family into his
own home in order to hide them. The last part is an account from a
woman named Alberta, whose home was raided by SS men, and her
aunt and cousin were taken to a military college, where the Germans
were deciding which prisoners to take to the concetration camps. Her
family narrowly escape, as they got rid of their ID cards and passed at
Roman Catholics. This time period seems very tense to say the least,
as these accounts sound miserable.

Freuds own cookbook

The Futurist Readings
Lombrosos Cesar Salad
Cesare Lombroso, genius and insane
A Phantast
Fettuccine Libido
Sexuality in men is too simple
Sexuality in women is too complex
Only homosexuals have the ability to make fettuccine libido
The Zampne That Made Jung Faint
Pigs intestine shaped like feet
In Italy when eaten on New Years Day it brings good luck
Jung cant handle the sexualtiy
Lampredottto
Italian sandwich
Tripe, stomach of a cow is boiled and wrapped in newspaper to
serve
Fgato Lardellato
Liver and Lard
Disgusting

Cipolla di Pollo Aschaffenburg

Fried chicken stomach
Futurist Cookbook the art of self nourishment
Published during a world economic crisis
Optimism at the table
Italian Futurist Movement began in February 1909
November 15th, 1930
Penna Doca, run by Mario Tapparelli offered futurist banquet
Quote on page 9
Futurist cooking will be free of the old obsession with volume
and weight and will have as one of its principles the abolition of
pastasciutta
Light, tender food
Let us make our Italian bodies agile, ready for the featherweight
aluminum trains which will replace the present heavy ones of wood
iron steel. 10
Italians eat too much pasta
Pasta, a starch, should be digested with saliva but the liver and
pancreas digest pasta
Abolition of volume and weight
Use chemistry
Lower the cost of living and salaries
Work will be reduced to two to three hours a day with machines
The Perfect Meal (12)
1. Originality and harmony in the table setting and food
2. Absolute originality in the food
3. Food sculptures
4. Abolition of knife and fork
5. Use art of perfumes to enhance tasting
6. Use of music sparingly
7. Abolition of speech-making and politics at the table
8. Use of prescribed does of poetry and music
9. Rapid presentation, some dishes guests will not eat
10. Tons of flavors
11. Use of scientific instruments in the kitchen
Formula instead of recipe (13)
Edible food sculpture Equator + North Pole (14)

All the defenders of pasta and implacable enemies of Futurist cooking

are melancholy types, content with their melancholy and
propagandists of melancholy. (15)
Many good quotes page 15 and 16
Pasta = Gluttony = Fat
Replace white bread for whole wheat bread (19)
Quality of rice
Modern man must have a flat stomach (21)
No more eating for pleasure
Use of pills and powders
Xenomania anti-italians
ITALY MUST RULE (27)
Nourishment by radio
Broadcasting nutritious radio waves
Marinettis The Holy Palate
Reasonably priced food
No smells
A lot of aluminum was used
Officially opened on March 8th, 1931
Menu (36)
Perfume dispelled by fans prior to courses
Used sandpaper for prelabial sensation (40)
Aerobanquet
Table shaped like on an aeroplane
Silver cloth instead of tablecloth (43)
Engine sound rouses the stomach
Anecdotes (46)
Formula by the Futurist Aeropoet
ROSETTA LOY
Born in 1931, Loy was just a girl during this dreadful period, but she does not excuse herself or
her family for going about their daily lives while their Jewish neighbors were subjected to
increasingly restrictive laws and then, in late 1943, transported to the German death camps.
-

Vatican was denounced as a place of holiness and was not subject to an invasion b/c Pius
XII wrote the German ambassador to ensure security
Pope Pius XII was a coward and could be held to imitate the Germans and was even
sympathetic
No public or private support- undermining the church and the holiness American
ambassador stated
Loss of her innocence and childhood throughout the story no longer am I the child
dipped in the warm soup

Rosetta- lived in Italy part of a affluent Catholic family

Story starts off with her attending the school called the institute on Corso D Italia
- where the teachers encourage to not to eat and throw food down the toilet
- but Rosetta is really against this, remembering what her father told of the rebuffi and
those starving in the world
- during Lent they can eat only once a day
War does not really affect the Loy family as the move to the summer house in the countryI
still have forgotten the taste of chocolate and bananas that I enjoyed, but I still do not know
HUNGER
--When Signora has to stay behind, the children realize we are blind and insensitive to the true
significance of this endless day
- lots of jews sought refuge in Italy
HUNGER- really begins to hit the family on PAGE 220 and 221 brother doesnt want to go back
to Rome b/c he thinks that he will die of hunger there
Germans are staying the Loy household
STORIES---NOT OF HER OWN WHAT SHE HEARD
-about the Priest Max that offers to die in someones place at the Concentration camp
- the mother and daughters who stayed at the brothel
- another story of the taxi driver who helped out a family and basically gave them rations of
food that he barely had any of
- story of the other girl Rosetta, who is saved by being pushed onto the balcony (LAST
SUPPER WITH AUNT ALBA) and found her father
THEMES- FOOD
Uses as a sign of power- PAGE 219
Also as necessity- 231 ate their identification cards (LEVIS)
PRIMO LEVI- Survival in Auschwitz
-main character is the narrator
- Major theme is about the inhumanity of the Concentration camps (we had reached the bottom
pg 234)
- Only received bread and soup
- Serious regret about not finishing food in their lifetime (236)
- Used bread (food) in exchange for clothing and medical aid
- Lots of stealing was going on in these camps, showed the complete desperation
- LOTS of food fantasies, it was the only way they could survive
- Lorenzo, shows that there is humanity, helped Levi get food and was a great friend
- As other civilians, would throw bread or potatoes once in a while (240)
- Cold is worse than hunger, had to spend bread in order to acquire gloves
Last Christmas of the War

were hearing news about the Allies coming to rescue the camps
Germany at this point was a defeated country, but civilians were scared and disciplined
they worked as usual
Made a contract (which made them equals) with a girl (Frau Mayer) who was a chemist
His relationship was one of his first human relationships
Frau gave him sugar and eggs in secrecy
Takes about the kindness of one person, breaks the stereotypes
Lorenzo sent a package to Levi, which was an unlikely and amazing gift filled with food
has had not had in a long time
Problematic, what to do with all this food?? Save it or eat it? He might feel sick
Food- as symbol of power, hide cookies in jacket pocket, and sell them to others to get
favors and other things in return
Idea of consumption- something eaten could not be stolen

The Futurist Cookbook Presentation

Outlien of the Presentation
1. history of Futurism
2. Why the shift to Food?
3. What does Futuristic Cooking Mean?
4. Theory vs. Reality
5. Questions
History of Futurism

The Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti coined the term in 1909 for a movement
founded and led by himself. Futurism was a largely Italian and Russian movement
although it also had adherents in other countries.
The Futurists explored every medium of art, including painting, sculpture, poetry, theatre,
music, architecture and even gastronomy. The Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
was the first among them to produce a manifesto of their artistic philosophy in his
Manifesto of Futurism (1909), first released in Milan and published in the French paper
Le Figaro (February 20).
Major principles include:
Loathing of ideas from the past: Futurists dubbed the love of the past "pastism",
and its proponents "pastists" (cf. Stuckism). They would sometimes even
physically attack alleged pastists, in other words, those who were apparently not
enjoying Futurist exhibitions or performances
Aversion to Political and artistic traditions
Apprecition for love of speed, technology and violence. For example, The car, the
plane, the industrial town were all legendary for the Futurists, because they
represented the technological triumph of man over nature.
Futurism attracted many artists, including painters, sculptors and writers. In a series of
manifestos designed to shock and provoke the public, they formulated styles of painting,
music, sculpture, theatre, poetry, architecture, cooking, clothing, and furniture. The

manifestos vividly preserve the flavor of the movement. They still provoke, irritate, and
amuse while opening endless possibilities still under exploration today.
Many Futurists almost instinctivel supported the wrise of Facism in Italy. IN fact, Marinetti

founded the Partito Politico Futurista (Futurist Political Party) in early 1918, which only a
year later was absorbed into Benito Mussolini's Fasci di combattimento, making
Marinetti one of the first supporters and members of the National Fascist Party. However,
he opposed Fascism's later canonical exultation of existing institutions, calling them
"reactionary." Nevertheless, he stayed a notable force in developing the party thought
throughout the regime. Some Futurists' Aestheticization of violence and glorification of
modern warfare as the ultimate artistic expression and their intense nationalism also
induced them to embrace fascism. Many Futurists became associated with the regime
over the 1920s, which gave them both official recognition and the ability to carry out
important works, especially in architecture. Futurism expanded to encompass other
artistic domains. In architecture, it was characterized by a distinctive thrust towards
rationalism and modernism through the use of advanced building materials. In Italy,
futurist architects were often at odds with the fascist state's tendency towards Roman
imperial/classical aesthetic patterns. However several interesting futurist buildings were
built in the years 19201940, including many public buildings: stations, maritime resorts,
post offices, etc. See, for example, Trento's railway station built by Angiolo Mazzoni.
The Shift to Food and Cooking
The Futurist Cookboko was a later manifestation of the Futurist movement. As
marinetti himself states, against practicality, we Futurists therefore disdain the example
and admonishment of tradition in order to invent at any costs something new which
everyone consideres crazy. (11, pequod)
suggests the movement from painting, architecture of scultpture to food is
necessitated by the manifesto of Futurism, which must constantly reinvent
itself in order to remain true to its own mandates.
What does Futuristic Cooking Mean?
Men think draem and act according to what they eat and drink. (11)
futurism has injected agility into world libterature, so the goal is to make
Italian bodies agile. (11)
We now establish the way of eating best suited to an ever more high speed,
airborne, life.
The Rules:
o Abolition of pasta
o Abolition of volume and weight in conception of food
o Abolition of traditional mixtures in flavor

o Aboliton of everday mediocrity

o Originality and harmony in table setting, flavors and colors
o Absolute originality
No pasta
o absurb italian gastronomic relgion: substance leads to organ
disequilibrium which results in lassitude, pessimism, nostaligic
inactivity and neutralism. (12)
o Underyling reasons:
As Professor suggested, reflect political pressures to increase
the sale of rice and reduce Italys dependence on importation
of inputs for pasta
Abhorrence of tradition
Substance (nourishment) compared to volume.modern
tendency of less is more
Theory vs. Reality
Now, what I want to look at is the reality we witnessed in Pinocchio, compared to the
mandates put forward by Marinetti from two angles:
What is the reality of Italy at the time?
Extremely poor, rural and agricultural south (20% are still unemployed today)
Agriculture still employed 48% of the working population in 1936 (56% 1921)
Unfavorable balance of trade; need to import almost all finished goods.
1932 financial crises as a result of the Great Depression

One: Availability
Recall what Pinocchio dreamed of eating,? Scraps of bread
or meat, a single egg, quarter of a walnut.
Marinetti: read pg. 51, autumn musical dinner.
V.G Penino (columnist) writes in the mid-40s: we need to pull down other idols, uproot
erroneous traditions: and scant quarter of animal products.
Rules:
1. No white flour products
2. Whole grains
3. Organic vegetables
4. Small, thoughtful quantities
Two: Desire
Recall Pinocchios eating style-ravenous, devored
Marinetti: look at pg. 49, the drum roll of colonial fish

Discussion Questions
Is it not somewhat contradictory to publish recipes or open a restaurant with a meny?-loss
of absolute originality in ever dish?
Who is marinettis target audience? Does he mean for it to apply to all of Italy or only the
wealthier class?
Who bears the burden of this movement? Women vs. men? Poor vs. rich?
Did Marinetti mean for his manifesto on food to be taken literally? Should mothers learn
gastromic chemistry to apply in the kitchen? To what extent do you think he believes this
concept should be realized?

Pinocchio
o There is a gap between the rich and the poor to build an economic solution
o The only way out is through education
Skeptical because poor people would find it financially difficult to join
school
Gapeto had to sell jacket
o Pinocchio surrenders to reality at the end as he decided not to work
Fairy and Gapeto urges him to work and be a good boy and go to school
If you dont like to work hard then have fun yawning
Yawning is associated with hunger
o Aristocracy
Image of shark
Would you try to travel through the sea and survive on your own and find
an identity
Cookbook
o Combination of art, food, and modern life
o Patriotism but wants to rebel against tradition and rebel against routine
o Important to be in a constant sense of change
Think more if you eat different things sense of change
o Five sense and engaging the five senses into the meal
o Men think dream and act according to what they eat and drink. (11)
Look at example of Pinocchio who lowered his expectations due to
lowered access to sophisticated foods.

Also, complicated dishes require a more active mind so it does reflect

what/how men think and dream in that it demonstrates a sophistication of
our thinking
o Against reality because not everyone can have a great meal that Marineti is
describing (sense, so much, etc.)
Opposite of Pinocchio because in this story the people were in need of any
type of food so they devoured it because they were so hungry
Had to beg and work to get little amount of food
Could, at times, get only one egg and Pinocchio sucked it down as he
received it
Heavenly Supper
o The main food is the communion wafer
Wafer represents the self sacrifice of Christ
Wafer is a vehicle in communicating with the divine
Maria exploits the emphasis on how the church helps one communicate
with the divine by considering food as human corruptibility, something
that breaks the divine relationship
o Maria wants social mobility and wants to be recognized by the church
This plan fails because people come suspicious
o Priest gives her communion outside of the church
The priest was convicted of charges that break the church
The Cat Story
o The woman doesnt eat and is an alcoholic because of her husbands death
Loses appetite
o The alcoholic substance helps her get rid of her consciousness
o Tries to use food to cure her illness
o She needs to express herself with others but this addiction does not help that need
Sicily Novel
o The man was trying to find his sense of identity as he returns home to Sicily
o He was living a dull life
o Returns back to childhood to find his sense of self because thats where
individuality was grounded. Also because with childhood comes imagination and
a sense of security
Finds a sense of peace and security when they become fat and the man
finds these senses as he eats the meal he had when he was a child
o After re-living childhood at his mothers house he wanted to change fascist
regime
o Symbols of food
Oranges
How the child ate them (with hate)
American
How the man was regarded as American because it seemed he ate
three meals a day
o Food was more important as he found his identity through it

o Talks a lot about universal pain, not suffering only for ourselves

Survival in Auschwitz
-Let their bread be stolen- worst of all mistakes because bread was their life
Shaved, showered in freezing water and told to work or perish
branded with inventory number 174517, 517th member of the 174000th shipment
Lager consists of insufficient food, destruction of life and will
given bread before they work (again insufficient)
various theories on how to eat it to make it last
-inmates get to the back of the line to get soup from the bottom where the soup is thicker
One day they managed a feast of 11 gallons of soup, six extra pints of soup per man.
Levi comes to realize with warmer weather, they realize their hunger even more
scraps around for slivers of bread or drops of soup

Contrary to the expectation fostered by the strict Nazi regimen, a black market flourishes
within the camp
Often, prisoners will steal items from camp stores and then trade these items with those
who reside primarily outside of the camp. Of course, the final objective is nearly always
additional food.
The process of obtaining more food than one is rationed is generically referred to as
"organizing;" one "organizes" an additional slice of bread, or several men enter into an
"organization" to pursue a mutually-beneficial relationship.
In general, Levi examines the subjective notion of good and contrasts it with the notion of
evil, noting that within the Lager, one must steal, lie and "organize" simply to survive. Thus, the
trappings of ordinary society and their moral implications are not valid within the context of
Auschwitz. In the forced labor camps, the only good was survival and morality was a luxury that
could not be afforded.
Ka-Be is the infirmary, where they can steal things. Nurses and doctors put things
onto the black market for sale.
As the cold arrives, the Nazis have huge tents erected in the camp fields, and rumors
circulate that a massive selection, will shortly occur. During selections, those deemed ill, weak or
otherwise unsuitable are murdered.
As rumored, the selection in October 1944, not only occurs but is extensive

During this period Levi meets an Italian civilian workera free mannamed Lorenzo.
Lorenzo and Levi develop a sincere and simple friendship, and for six months, Lorenzo gives
Levi a part of his daily ration, occasional clothes, and other small items. This simple act of
kindness undoubtedly saves Levi's life; Lorenzo never asks for a reward.
BACKGROUND (everything indented is not in the reading)
Levi contracts scarlet fever and is sent to the infectious diseases ward of the Ka-Beit is
essentially a death sentence.
-One day the barber arrives and informs Levi that the entire camp will soon be evacuated.
-Those within Ka-Be are divided in opinion, with many feeling that to remain behind is a
certain death sentence. Many sick inmates force themselves from bed and join the lines of
evacuees only to collapse and be executed within minutes. Levi considers leaving but
gives up the idea as suicidal.
-The next morning a final distribution of rations occurs, along with widespread, but
apparently random, executions. That evening a series of mines is exploded, devastating
most of the numerous camps comprising Auschwitz.
Over the following days, Levi and two other patients, Arthur and Charles, form an alliance and
began to salvage food. They secure a cast iron stove and fuel, blankets, rudimentary clothing, and
various valuable objects

A few days later a huge stash of potatoes is located and for several days all of the survivors gorge
themselves.
Rosetta Loy: First Words
The narrator of the story is a little girl, who graduates from elementary school during the story,
so about that age. You never learn her name. She goes to a Christian school, which I am
assuming is Catholic because it is in Italy. The time period is during WWII. At first, she goes
through describing her days at school. They have to wear uniforms and the school is strict about
their Lent sacrifices. Her family doesnt have a lot of money; the father tells them (her and her
siblings. I think two sisters and a brother.) to not leave anything on their plate and treat food with
respect. Then, she goes on telling different stories about that depict the stages of persecution of
the Jews and others, Italians and otherwise, being persecuted by the Germans. There is a story of
a priest sacrificing himself to save some other people. He gets beaten till his leg bones are broken
then placed in a cell that doesnt allow any position except to stand and left to die of starvation.
The last part of the reading is a bunch of stories of different Jewish families and how they were
either taken away or separated. One father had to hide his children in a whore house. For another
family, a girl was able to hide on a balcony, but the rest of her family was taken away.
Throughout, there are scenes in which those being persecuted or hiding have very little food.
Having food is kind of a sign of good times or happiness. At first the narrator has no hunger,
though they dont have a lot of food. Later on, as things get worse, she mentions how hunger has
become a big part of her daily life.

Converations in Sicily
Basically its about this dude, Silvestro who is really depressed about the world around him. He
gets a letter from his dad telling him that hes leaving his mom. So after deliberating, Silvestro
decides to go visit his mom in Sicily.
Part 1
Silvestro starts on a ferry and talks to some Sicilian orange pickers who are basically pathetic.
They get paid in oranges instead of money, and have difficulty selling them.
Then he gets on a train and listens to a conversation between Whiskers and No whiskers
who are complaining about the orange pickers.
Then he talks to the big Lombardo who is complaining about whiskers and no whiskers
Then everyone gets off the train and he talks a little bit more with no whiskers who offers him
some food.

Finally, he decides that he needs to go visit his mother or else his letter that hes written wont
get to her in time for her nameday.
Part 2
He gets to his moms and they talk about a bunch of stuff over food.
She makes herring and he points out that he is better off in northern italy than she is in sicily.
When he was a kid, his dad would get paid at the end of the month, then they would eat good for
10 days then eat snails the remainder of the month until the next paycheck.
His mom is surprised when silvestro says that he doesnt have to eat snails in northernitaly.
They talk about his childhood for awhile along with his father and grandfather
Part 3
Silvestroand his mom walk around town while she attends to people that are sick as a sort of
nurse.
Sometimes she gets paid sometimes she doesnt.
She says that everyone whos sick either has a little malaria or a little TB, and sometimes she
says one is worse than the other and other times the opposite.
Generally she tells people to give the sick various foods to help them. Other times she gives
injections of stuff.
Then he talks about sex with her as she shows him how she gives injections to some naked chick.
Part 4
Silvestro walks by a knife grinder who sharpens his knife for him and semi tries to cheat him out
of 2 cents on like a 80 cent purchase. They end up being friendly though and silvestro doesnt
really care.
The knife grinder really is happy with the world.
Then they go talk about suffering for awhile over wine.
Then the knife grinder realizes he either got fined or had his money stolen and has no money for
bread wine or taxes. His buddy says that hell help him out though
part 5/epilogue
drunk silvestro talks to his dead brother who had really wanted to go out and see the world.
After sobering up he realizes what he had been doing and cries.
In the epilogue his dad has come back and is crying while his mom washes his feet. Silvestro
leaves then.
The Heavenly Supper
F. Tomizza
Subject: Eating Disorders
Characters:
Maria, protagonist, lives on communion wafers alone
Pietro Palatsi or Don Morali, loves Maria, cant have her, joins Religion
o In love sort of, comfortable touching each other

Summary:
Maria lives on Communion wafers alone. Travels around with Don
Morali. They may be in love, reader is not quite sure. Admits that she
cheated when she is tortured.
The Lady Cat
G. Lagorio
Subject: Eating Disorders/Alcoholism
Characters:
Middle-aged/older woman- cat lady
Mario- dead husband of cat lady
Tony- fianc of GG
GG- writer
Summary:
Old woman collects herbs and cats. Takes place in the cat ladys home
at a seaside resort. She is an alcoholic and has been since her husband
died, drinks for liquidfor companyfor love. Attends church to not
be lonely. Uses alcohol to not be lonely, as a cure for her problems,
relieves pain. Very lonely, only knows Toni and GG.
Conversations in Sicily
Elio Vittorini
Subject: Sicily and its metaphors
Characters:
Narrator- Sylvester- life is dull and confused
Poverty people- on boat
Big Lombardi- on train, against fascist police
Mother- bitter towards husband, strong woman, mother melon
Father-weak, enjoys poetry, womanize
Summary:
Sylvester unintentionally embarks on a journey back home to Sicily
where he hasnt been in awhile. Along the way he meets several people.
First the poor on the boat, then the people on the train. Then finally
arrives home. A book about finding himself through others. But
actually a testament of fascism and the anti-fascist movement. Vittorini
uses Fascist police within novel to illustrate the fear that was spread
around at this time by them.
Pinnochio
Its important to understand political developments in Italy during
Pinocchios publicationUnification
Rich vs. Poor

Civilized society could benefit by having more resources (food) available.

What are these components of civilized society?Obedience
Perseverance

First mention of a dish, Polendina, relates the readers to the novel

Tuscany page 15
Birthplace of Italian Renaissance
Diminutive
Page 28-29
Food scraps / the eggLess
concernedabout how to cook the
egg (frying, cooking, boiling)
Food = work
Refuses to eat pear cores initially p. 33, 37
Satisfying hunger without work
Beggars can not be choosers
37
Would you be kind enough to give me
a little bread?
In this world we should accustom ourselves from childhood to like and to eat everything, for
there is not saying what may be brought. There are so many chances!

Two-sides to wealthy: Greedy,Oppressive

Page 50, a fine sheep
Fire-eater is a wealthyshowman
Red Craw-fish InnCraw-fish was a delicacy back in the 1880s in Italy
Site where the fox and the cat take advantage of Pinocchio; page 64

Besides displays of good, hunger is a thematic elementStealing is

unlawful; page 106 (grapes)
Conspiring is also not the solution; page 112

Page 119 Vetch is

introduced to
Pinocchio while
flying on the pigeon
to hopefully secure
Geppettosafety.
Given a second chance
Water, cauliflower (with oil/vinegar), bonbon Bonbons are French
Italy trying to convince that other European delicacies are appropriate p.
129, 135
Let me tell you that every man, whether he is born rich of poor, is obliged
to do something in this world to occupy himself, to work.

The Fairy prepares two hundred cups of coffee and milk, and four hundred rolls cut
and buttered on each side.
Epitome of excellence
Page 166
Eats hay, DOES NOT taste like a savory dish or macaroni or rice. P. 195

Once again, the element of the other side is revealedGeppettois satisfied

by a modest dining table and some fish. Only a candle for decoration/utility.
P. 214
At the end of the novel, milk requires work to harvest. Only when
Pinocchio demonstrates he will work, does he have the ability to eat such
items.

Luigi Pirandello, Sicilian Limes Presentation

Luigi Pirandello (June 28, 1867 December 10, 1936)
-Pirandello was born into an upper class family in the small village of Caos in southern Sicily
-His parents were both from the wealthy upper class, and they both actively participated in the
struggle for unification and democracy

-Pirandello was originally home schooled by his parents, but he showed more interest in the
fables and legends that his servant Maria Stella used to recite to him than his academic studies
-By age 12, he had written his first tragedy
-In 1880, the Pirandello family moved to Palermo, where he attended high school, and enrolled
at the University of Palermo in both the departments of Law and of Letters.
-The law department in that time was the center in Palermo for the movement which would later
evolve into the Fasci Siciliani. Pirandello was not an active member of this movement, but he
did develop close friendships with many of its leading members.
-In 1887, Pirandello traveled to Rome to attend the University of Rome. While he was forced to
leave after a conflict with a Latin professor, he later returns to Rome where he befriends a group
of writers who convince him to dedicate himself to narrative writing.
-During the end of the 19th to the early 20th century, Pirandello became a successful writer,
publishing many stories, poems, and plays in various newspapers and magazines, as well as
writing novels.
-In 1987, Pirandello also became a professor at the Instituto Superiore di Magistero (a teachertraining institute)
-Many important events affected Pirandellos work. In 1903, the sulphur mines in his familys
home town flooded. Luigi Pirandellos father had invested an enormous amount of the familys
capital as well as his wifes dowry in the mines, decreasing their status. Following the disaster,
his wife, Antoinetta Portulano, became mentally ill, developing persecution mania fed by
obsessive jealousness, and financial concerns. In WWI, Pirandellos son was taken prisoner by
the Austrians, and in 1919, Pirandello had to place his wife in an asylum due to depression and
hallucinations. Luigia Pirandello himself suffered from depression, and admitted to
contemplating suicide on several occasions.
-In 1929, he was nominated Academic of Italy, and in 1934 he received the Nobel Prize for
Literature.
-Pirandello died alone in his home in Rome on December 10, 1936
Sicilian Limes
-Sicilian Limes is a one act drama, written by Luigi Pirandello in 1910
-Characters:
Micuccio Bonavino- a musician in a country band
Marta Marnis- Mother of Sina Marnis
Sina Marnis- the poor girl who became a famous singer
Butler- who represents snobby elite, p.467, Micuccio says his lordly airs, disconcerted
and annoyed him.
Dorina- the maid
Rich House Guests
Summary:
-In this short play, a young man named Micuccio, has come from his hometown city of Messina
in Sicily to see if the girl from his youth, Teresina, will still marry him. Micuccio and Teresina
were both fairly poor, and clearly from the lower class of society. At an early age, Micuccio had
discovered that Teresina had an extraordinary singing voice. He set up and paid for singing
lessons, and sold his little farm that he had inherited from his uncle to send Teresina to Naples so

that she could be properly tutored. While Teresina and Aunt Marta were away, Micuccio had
fallen ill and Marta had sent his family a large sum of money to be able to take care for him. In
the story, Micuccio was now coming to visit them to repay back the money they had sent to him,
and to see if Teresina was still planning on keeping her promise of marriage. On arrival, he
realizes that Teresina had become very successful, famous, and wealthy. They are having a
house party in celebration of her success, and Micuccio becomes embarrassed that he has come
back as the same poor man while they have elevated their status in society. Micuccio has dinner
with Aunt Marta, and gives her the present he had brought for Teresina, Sicilian limes. Marta
gives the limes to Teresina, who against Martas objections, takes them into the dining room to
pass around to the guests.
Themes/Analysis
-Represents Piradellos life:
-The sad/pessimistic tone of this story occurs in many of Piradellos plays, and this tone
displays his outlook on life after suffering through the hardships in his life.
-Story shows how the Marta family starts as a poor family and elevates their status. This
change in status reflects Pirandellos life, except that contrastingly, Pirandello family falls
in society and loses their wealth.
-Teresina leaving and changing her identity and becoming the singer Sina Marta, may
also represent his wife becoming ill and leaving to go to an insane asylum, and losing her
identity.
-Theme of Identity and Masks:
-In many of his plays, Pirandello is fascinated with the idea of identity and status. He
expresses identity as a collection of masks that people wear to hide their true identity or
to portray the identity they want to display.
-In Sicilian Limes, Pirandello describes Aunt Marta as wearing a mask. When Micuccio
first sees Aunt Marta she seems unrecognizable, the dear old soul wore a hat and was
weighted down with a gorgeous mantill of rich velvet (468).
-This new mask of luxury hides Aunt Martas true background and personality. Aunta
Marta disappears from Micuccio and returns, but she was without her hat now, without
her cloak, without her gloves and less embarrassed (468).
-This symbolizes her removing her mask and revealing her true identity to Micuccio.

Food references:
-Food as nourishment, and a means for surivival p.464
-Food as a means of catching up, and as means of memory, Micuccio and Aunta Marta catch up
over dinner, brings people together
-Food as a gift- Micuccio brings limes as a way to represent their old life, culture, and heritage in
Sicily. It is also a memory of and a piece of their old life.

Sicilian Limes: (in addition to Biles sheet)

-

Pirandellos life is very important for his work because his work is semiautobiographical, his characters usually come from parts of his own personalities or

people has met, usually they are exaggerated though he uses his life experiences as
well in work
He believes that everyone wears a mask subconsciously, that identity is just s series of
masks that we wear
Theme of Masks and Identity:
o Teresina can also be seen as wearing a mask as well as the Aunt
o There is the Teresina from Miccucios hometown who was poor and innocent,
then there is the new Teresina, Sina Marnis, who wears the mask because she is
famous she has to wear the mask around these new people or she will be
isolated as she would not fit in as Teresina
Theme of Food:
o The Limes at the end are very important
They are a symbol of Sicily and therefore a symbol to the aunts and
Teresinas past the limes are a way to remember, a connection to the
past the limes are also a sign of purity and innocence
He gives them solely to the aunt because he believes Teresina is not
worthy to have such a gift as she is in her new mask and new life and
cannot understand the significance of the limes
The aunt does not want Tersina to take them into the dining room with the
guests because it is a connection to her past and therefore would be
revealing who she was

The Lemon Trees

-

short poem, very descriptive, describes the landscapes of Sicily

talks about how this place he describes is sheltered and untouched by the war (the second
World War) but how it is just an illusion because if you go into the cities you can see the
devastation
ends talking about lemons: symbol of Sicily, light, life, innocence, purity

Bagheria by Dacia Maraini

Author

Dacia Maraini was born November 13, 1936 in Fiesole, Italy. Her father was an artist and her
mother an ethnologist. As a child in 1938 they moved to Japan 1938 to escape the Fascist
government. However they were forced into a Japanese concentration camp where they were
interred from 1943 until 1947 because they refused to recognize the military government. . Once
the war ended her family moved back to Italy, to a town called Bagheria. Bagheria is a town in
the Province of Palermo in Sicily. She married Lucio Pozzi, who was a Milanese painter, but
they separated after four years. She later became Alberto Moravias companion and lived with
him for 21 years until 1983. She was an Italian writer whose work primarily focuses on
womens issues. She was also heavily involved in the feminist movement in Italy along with civil
and womens rights. Aside from books she has written multiple plays and novels, and in 1973,
she helped to found the Teatro della Maddalena which was run by women only.
Characters
There is really only one character is this story, which is the narrator and author, Dacia. Other
then her family there are not many characters in this story as it just recounts her youth and
journey back to Bagheria. The only character is the author, with different people being brought
into the story for brief moments.
Summary
The story describes Marainis journey from the concentration camps in Tokyo during the War,
back to Italy where her family settled in Bagheria. Bagheria is thought to come from the Arabic
word bab el gherib, meaning the gate of the wind and others think the word baharia which
means the seashore. She talks about what it was like in the concentration camps, as her family
struggled to survive through the unbearable conditions. She gives a small history of Bagheria
and its downfall during the war. Her father ends up leaving her mother and the family, which
greatly shapes their life. Food is constantly mentioned throughout the story as it plays as large
role with their starvation while in the concentration camps as well as the meager servings they
had as poor family being supported by just their mother in the post war era.
Themes
We first see the introduction of food as a present:
While in the concentration camp many of the American Marines took a liking to her (she
was around 11 at the time) because she reminded them of their daughters.
They loaded me with presents, bars of chocolate, big boxes of pea flour, sticks of candy striped
red and white. Pg. 395
Like many of the other stories we have read, war has stripped people of all luxuries. In
describing her experience in Japan, she mentions desperate hunger with the horrors of
bombing. For the soldiers, she symbolized their daughters from home that they missed and
wanted to be around and take care of so they spoiled her. She brought them the happiness from
home that they missed.

Food is also seen as a sense of hope: They spoke of food from morning till night they were
trying to satisfy in imagination the hunger Pg. 396 (tells specific examples)
Sometimes it was possible to appease their hunger through their eyes. Pg. 397
They used food to stay positive and keep their hope up, that they will be able to eat their favorite
food again. Remembering the good times or just sharing memories allowed them to forget that
horrible place and for a few minutes be back in their memory and be happy. Talking about
specific meals was a way of doing this, hoping they would get to do it again.
Degree of hunger and starvation: Her mother speaks of the starving men that they, flicker of
cannibal desire as they stared at the tender flesh of her youngest daughter, barely a year old.
Their food was infested with snakes and leeches that they were half starved and the, The dream
of a fresh juicy peach became so compelling that it would make you bite your own hand.
During the time of war, people would be driven to do and think of things that would otherwise
seem inhumane. Pg. 396 Whenever there was any bread left over, I used to hide it just as dogs
do In desperate time people will resort to anything that will help them. She said that her and her
sisters played with stones and leaves, because there were no toys in concentration camps.
This tells us how serious hunger was and how it stood with her. Pg. 395 When they came from
Japan they did not have money or possessions, stripped bare, and with nothing on their backs
except the clothes handed out by the American military. Pg. 395
Once they left the camp, she goes on to say that the hunger of the camp was over but because
they were poor the food they ate was limited. Meat once a month, fruit from peasants, and as
much pasta as they wanted to. Page 398 describes her actual relationship with her father,
especially because it wasnt a very good one. Her mother was forced to support the family and
she struggled to provide for her and her family.
Food is used as a way to remember the past: As a child I used to go into the fields around the
villa with a group of children from Bagheria to look for mulberries. Pg. 399
The same mulberry tree was also the tree that consoled her during the two years at the
concentration camp. It brought her back to the place when she was happy and gave her a chance
to remember that it didnt use to be this terrible, and that hopefully she will one day leave and be
able to go back to being free from all of this oppression.
I can still smell her apron with its smell of fried fish, fresh basil, and tomato puree. Pg. 402
They were delicious tastes: ripe melon, dry grass, harvested wheat, dried egg, curdled milk,
stewed cherries, half-open lilies, sour medlars, holly daisies. Help her to remember about when
she was younger with her family.
Page 399 talks about how the geography and way Sicilians ate reflected their darkness of
character .
Food as a reward: for working with the peasants- piece of onion or piece of daikon.

Having to eat daikon was enough to make me cry. But it was the only fresh vegetable
that they got so she had to eat it. She saw daikon as evil although it was good for her. Pg. 400
In the concentration camp I learn to understand the deep-rooted ironic relationship between
food and the magic of the imagination. It is starvation that makes the senses reel and fantasy
dance. It is deprivation that is the origin of all desire and also of all the more or less secret
distortions of our thinking. Pg. 400
Her mother suffers from beriberi, a disease from malnutrition. (From being in the concentration
camp) Described sfizi, the sugared sweets to her while in camp.
Jasmine of Bagheria to keep her motivated to live because she loves the smell so much and it
reminds her of Bagheria.
Indian Nocturne
by Antonio Tabucchi
Author:
Antonio Tabucchi is an Italian writer born in 1943 who wrote Indian Notturno Indiano in 1984.
He traveled extensively in India and has close ties to Portugal.
Summary:
Roux is the name of the narrator of the book. He is a European who travels to India in search of
his friend, Xavier. While traveling in India he visits many different places from the fancy Taj
Mahal to the dirty, smelly streets of Bombay where prostitution is common. He meets many
people during his journey who help him uncover where Xavier is. By the end of the story the
narrator says he is looking for a man named Nightingale. He had mentioned earlier that Roux
was short for Rouxinol, which was Portuguese for nightingale. Xavier starts to resemble Rouxs
alter ego and eventually Xavier becomes the narrator.
Smells:
Throughout the book the narrator mentions the smells he encounters on his journey in India.
o WhileinBombayhestaysinaverypoordistrict.Heexplainedhowhesawmuchhuman
miseryandthatvisualhadastrongsmell.(p.408)
o Roux visited a hospital where a prostitute he met said Xavier might be. When he entered
a room of the hospital that was filled with sick people he commented on the strong smell.
He explained how the smell gave him a feeling of suffocation. (416)
Food:
o In an unpleasant hotel in Bombay he explains how he was very hungry from his trip so he
will eat his dinner there. There was a menu with many different options but there was
only one dish available that was not very good but he ate it anyway. (409)

o He mentions about 4 or 5 times his dinners he ate at the various hotels he stayed at. If he
was staying a nicer hotel then the food would be good. Roux usually focused on the
other people who were eating around him. (409, 425, 444, 450-451)
o While in Goa he goes to eat dinner and orders wine but realized he wasnt hungry. He
then goes to the terrace and drinks with a woman there for a while and they then eat a
delicious lobster dinner together. He explains how they were both very hungry and he
describes how the lobster tasted. (454)
Discussion:
o Discuss the dreams the narrator has in the story. Real memories? (420, 442-443)
o In the scene at the bus stop where the narrator is talking with a boy and his brother
(monster) who claims to be a fortune-teller the boy says he cant read his karma because
hes not there. What is the significance of this? (p. 437-439)
o Discuss why the story is given the title Indian Nocturne.

Two Women by Alberto Moravia

Important characters:
Cesira narrator, a widowed shopkeeper in her mid-thirties
Rosetta daughter of Cesira, just over eighteen years old, quite, religious, obedient,
saintly daughter whos fianc, Gino, is away fighting in the war
Giovanni old friend of Cesiras husband, Cesira put her apartment in shop in the care of
Giovanni when she leaves Rome
Vincenzo tenant farmer of Festa family, lives with wife and two sons in a run down
cottage just past an orange grove
Rosario and Giuseppe fugitive sons of Vincenzo who steal from abandoned houses in
Fondi and live in the orange grove in order to avoid being arrested for not going to war
Concetta excited wife of Vincenzo; constantly saying her family is good even though
they are a family of thieves; convinced that war is war and people will act accordingly
Tommasino money hungry worker who finds Cesira and Rosetta a peasant family in the
mountains to stay with; works day and night to get food for people in the mountains
Paride husband and father of the peasant family that Cesira and Rosetta live with. Gives
them a hut like place to live and charges them for everything he gives them
Filippo Tommasinos brother who has left the valley with his family and large group of
evacuees to take refuge in SantEufemia during the war
Michele son of Filippo; educated, intellectual young man who despises the Fascists,
Nazis and the entire war; becomes extremely close with Cesira and Rosetta because they
are ladies of Rome and not unintelligent country-folk
Clorindo partner of Rosario and Giuseppe; becomes the object of Rosettas affection
until she finds out he is married and has two children
Chapter Summaries:
1. In this chapter we are introduced to Cesira, the narrator, Rosetta, and Giovanni. We also
learn about Cesiras husband who when he didnt have a woman he became silent and

gloomy and answered me rudely and sometimes even hit me (Moravia, 4). He was the
owner of a shop and when he fell ill and died Cesira took over the shop. When the war
came she was forced to start selling in the black market and would often have to make
excursions outside of Rome just to get simple provisions for her store. She saved up a lot
of money and when the food shortage ran her store dry she decided that her and her
daughter would leave Rome for a village between Fondi and Vallecorsa where her parents
lived. Giovanni agreed to take care of the store and their apartment until they were able to
move back to Rome after the war.
2. In this chapter Cesira and Rosetta board a train that was supposed to take them as far as
Fondi, only it stops short and the two are forced to get out and walk. Not only were the
roads leading to Fondi deserted but so was the entire town. They were hoping to get food
and rest in Fondi then get a ride to their final destination, only none of that was possible.
Cesira, in turn, decided to walk deeper into the country. In doing so they came across the
house of Concetta. Here they stayed for several weeks in a cottage built for peasants.
Cesira was constantly worried that something awful would happen to them and no one
would ever know. The Concetta family was a family of crooks and Cesira had a lot of
money on her. One day, after several weeks, two soldiers came looking her Concettas
sons. She offered the services of Rosetta in exchange for them not looking for her sons
anymore. Rosetta was told to leave the next morning and Cesira decided that very night
to pack their few belongings and flee at dawn. On their way from the Concetta house, a
plane gunned them down and at this point they realized that no where, not even the
country, was safe from war.
3. Rosetta and Cesira meet Tommasino who eventually agrees to get them provisions for an
exorbitant amount of money as well as introduces them to Paride. Paride and his peasant
family live in SantEufemia amongst many evacuees. They are given their own hut with a
single bed and a single window. On their first day they have an enormous feast with
Filippo, his family and the rest of the evacuees. Then Cesira and Rosetta are introduced to
the entire Paride family. This whole chapter is an introduction to the girls new peasant
lives in the mountains.
4. In this chapter Rosetta and Cesira settle in and create a daily routine that revolves around
their cooking. Soon after their arrival, Tommasino brings their provisions (see below for
description page 101-102). People would seldom come up the mountain but when they
did they came selling little bits of food as well as brought little, yet inconsistent bits of
news that left the peasants and evacuees wondering who would save them and when.
Michele is introduced more in this chapter. He could be best described as follows: he
had a long-standing, unshakable, hardened mistrust in everybody and everything
(Moravia, 109). Soon Michele was spending all of his time with the two women. There
was one incident in this chapter when one of the younger evacuees named Severino, who
put his life savings into buying fine clothe that he would sell after the war, had an
unfortunate run-in with the Germans. He had confided in the Germans to get his stolen
clothe back but instead he disappeared he was sent by the Germans to the front and his
clothe was then taken by the Facsists from the Germans who had recovered it. This

chapters significance was in showing how little the peasants and evacuees knew about
what was going on in the war as well as making it very unclear who they should trust.
5. By this chapter it is now October and an endless amount of rain and bad weather hits
Fondi and the surrounding areas. Ultimately it halts the English advance and the war sits
at a standstill. The Germans declare an evacuation of the territory between the sea and
the mountains and expected all those living there to pack up and head towards Rome
within several days. Naturally this made the evacuees of SantEufemia extremely nervous
of being arrested and taken to the front. Michele refused and suggested that everyone stay
put, and with that it was settled, no one would leave and fortunately the Germans did not
follow up with their evacuation orders. Shortly after this Vincenzo comes and tells
Filippo that all his belongings have been stolen, only to find out that it was Vincenzo
himself and his family of thieves that took his belongings and sold them. By the time
December rolls around, the rain stops and the English finally arrive. Their arrival brings
low flying planes, explosions, and plenty of gunfire. Provisions are running extremely
low and on one occasion Tommasino volunteers to go into the valley and help Cesira and
Rosetta buy food. On this venture a bomb is dropped right near them and ultimately
Tommasino moves from the bottom of the mountain into a cave at the top with his family.
Eventually he died there of shear fear.
6. With the arrival of the English, the Germans again declare a roundup of all able-bodied
men. Filippo decides that Michele would be safest disappearing into the mountains and
coming back only at night so Rosetta and Cesira decide to accompany him. Every
morning for around two weeks the three set out at dawn and come back at night in time
for dinner. Soon enough the English make their way into SantEufemia and Rosetta and
Cesira host two soldiers for dinner that later would award them with a favor from allies.
The last part of this chapter involves another trip into the valley, this time for flour, by
Rosetta, Cesira, and Michele. On this trip they meet a poor young Russian, condemning
himself to death; a mad woman wondering around aimlessly offering her breast milk to
anyone who passed; and they have a disagreeable meal with a Nazi soldier.
7. This chapter starts with the unclear news of the war situation. The people of
SantEufemia can hear the gunfire and feel the explosions but there is no fighting in sight.
January and February go by and still there is no sign of the English army, despite seeing
some soldiers go through the mountains in the previous chapter. When March rolls
around the food shortage has hit an all time low and for Rosetta and Cesira, living in
SantEufemia is becoming more exhausting then ever. Again the three venture out of
SantEufemia to a place in the mountains called Sassonero in search of food to purchase.
On this trip they venture into a cave full of evacuees among them a mad priest and a
nun. Here they dine on soup then go on their way to find a shepherd to buy some food
from. This too is unsuccessful and they go back to SantEufemia having paid an
exorbitant amount of money for a small block of cheese. Eventually they become so
desperate that Michele begins stealing bread from his family in order to feed them. By the
end of this chapter an English offensive and advance are announced and excites everyone
and brings them all hope again.

8. SantEufemia and the mountains are attacked by gunfire and explosions. The next
afternoon five Germans arrive and force Michele to lead them north through the
mountains and back to their front Michele never returns and the Festa family sets out to
find him. It is then that Rosetta and Cesira decide to pack up their belongings and head
into Fondi in hopes to make it back to Rome. They make it to the Via Appia where they
see the American army passing in an endless line of soldiers, cars, and machines. When
they make it to the town they see the Americans giving out gum, cigarettes, clothes and
canned food to refugees. Here they learn that Rome has not yet been liberated so they are
forced to find refuge in Fondi in the meantime. They find a cottage to take a nap in but
are awoken by giant explosions then later that night they are re-awoken by an air-raid
siren. Fortunately they had left the cottage because they wake up the next morning having
slept on the grass and the cottage has been blown to pieces with all their canned food and
other belongings inside. The two decide to go to the American headquarters in Fondi and
try to find a way to get a ride into a village near Vallecorsa, where Cesiras parents had
lived. They are able to say that they gave hospitality to two English soldiers on Christmas
Day and in return are granted a room for the night and a ride to the village the next day.
9. This chapter begins with Rosetta and Cesira getting a ride to the village near Vallecorsa
by an English officer. When they arrive, the village is completely abandoned and all the
houses boarded up. They walk around then decide to go into the church to get some rest
then they would walk on to Vallecorsa. While in the church a group of Allied Moroccan
soldiers come in and attack them. One pins Cesira to the floor and when she screams and
grabs his testicles he slams her head on the floor and knocks her unconscious.
Meanwhile, the whole lot of them take turns raping Rosetta. Cesira wakes up to Rosetta
lying motionless with her clothes thrown over her head and her inner legs covered in
blood. Rosetta was visibly traumatized. The two left and took refuge in a hut for several
days, where Rosetta said very little and asks her mother not to talk about what had
happened.
10. After spending four days in the abandoned hut the two decide to go back to Fondi. On
their walk, a man by the name of Clorindo pulls up in a truck and gives them a ride and
offers them a peasant family to stay with ironically it turns out to the be Concetta
family from the beginning of their travels from Rome. Despite running away many
months earlier, Concetta takes the two back in, very willingly, and this time they would
live in the barn. Rosetta falls into the habit of leaving everyday with Clorindo and Cesira
finds out later that not only is she having relations with Clorindo but also with the two
sons of Concetta Rosario and Giuseppe. Rosetta and Cesira stay there for over a month.
Clorindo eventually has to leave his job working with Rosario and Giuseppe because it
turns out he is married and has children and his affairs with Rosetta had to stop. Rosario
was quick to fill Clorindos shoes and soon it was he who Rosetta was running off with
everyday. Cesira becomes so hysterical that she nearly kills herself, until having a dream
where Michele appears and convinces her not to.
11. In this final chapter Rosario agrees to drive Rosetta and Cesira back to Rome after they
hear it has finally been liberated by the allies. On the ride back a group of robbers stops
their truck and ends up shooting and killing Rosario. Cesira ends up stealing Rosarios

money then her and Rosetta quickly get the help of another driver who takes them to
Rome. By the end Cesira realizes that although Rosetta had become a prostitute of sorts
and Cesira, herself, a thief, it was the war that changed them and now that war is over,
they would leave its wickedness behind.
Food references:
I followed her down a passage and the lady opened the storeroom door and there I saw all the
good things God ever made. There were more things there then in a delicatessen shop on the
shelves you could see, in one place, a lot of big cans, the kind that weigh about two pounds, of
sardines in oil, and in another place a lot more canned foods, of the finest kind, American or
English, and also boxes and boxes of pasta, and sacks of flour and of beans and pots of jam and
at least ten hams and salame sausages. (Moravia, 11)
minestrina: a number of thin slices cut from a homemade loaf and placed one on top of another,
enough to fill a spasetta, which is a shell-shaped earthenware dish; and then, poured over the
bread, a small potful of bean soup. This dish is eaten cold, after the bean soup has soaked
thoroughly into the whole of the bread, reducing it to a mush there
were always a few flies or caterpillars to be found in it Besides they ate it in the real peasant
way, without bowls, dipping into the dish all together with their spoons, putting their spoons in
their mouths, and then plunging them into the much again. (Moravia, 50)
And what a sight that table was! I shall remember it as long as I live dishes of salame and
ham, mountain cheeses, loaves of homemade bread, crisp and fresh, mixed pickles, hard-boiled
eggs and butter, and soup with pasta and beans in it, in great bowls filled to the brim there
was also wine in flasks, and even a bottle of brandy We ate for three hours at least. We
started with the pasta and bean soup; the pasta was light, made with plenty of eggs, and golden
yellow, and the beans of the best quality, large, white and tender, and they melted in the mouth
like butter. The soup was so good that everyone had two, or even three bowls of it, full to the
brim. Then came the antipasto: mountain ham, slightly salted but tasty, homemade salame, hardboiled eggs, pickles. After this the women rushed off to the hut nearby and came back with
dishes full of large, roughly carved hunks of roast meat the very best veal, tender and white; a
calf had been killed just the day before, and Filippo had bought several pounds of it. After the
veal there was a lamb stew, tender and delicate, with an extremely good bittersweet white sauce;
then we had sheeps milk cheese, hard as a rock, pungent, made especially to be eaten while
drinking wine; and, after the cheese, fruit oranges, figs, grapes, and dried fruit. There were also
little sweet cakes yes indeed there were baked in the oven with pasta margherita and
sprinkled with vanilla sugar; and to end up we had, with the brandy, little cookies out of a
box (Moravia 74-76)
For those in Fondi, as indeed also in my own village, eating and drinking was as important as,
in Rome, having a car and a flat in the Parioli quarter; to them, anyone who eats and drinks little
is a hopeless creature, so that anyone who wishes to be considered a gentleman tries to eat and
drink as much as he possibly can, knowing that this is the only way to be admired and
esteemed. (Moravia, 76)

In times of shortage anybody who has a few provisions keeps them for himself and does not
share them with others even for money. (Moravia, 88)
Once we were dressed we went out and started on jobs connected with our cooking In the
end we were covered with mud, our eyes filled with burning tears, and we were exhausted and
exasperated; and all this to cook a little potful of beans and fry an egg. (Moravia, 99).
Our life Rosettas and mine was dependent upon one hundred-pound sack of white flour,
for making bread and pasta, one other, smaller sack of yellow cornmeal for making polenta, one
small sack containing about forty pounds of beans of the worst quality (the ones with eyes), a
few of chickpeas, dwarf peas, and lentils, a hundred pounds of oranges, a pot of lard weighing
five pounds, and several pounds of sausages. Besides these, Tommasino had also brought up a
small sack of dried figs, walnuts, and almonds, and a good quantity of carob beans, which are
usually given to horses but now were too good even for us. (Moravia, 101-102)
in general for all the evacuees, the main occupation was one thing and one only eating. For
them, it was just one long banquet from morning till night, and they wallowed in an abundance
of food I started our own rationing system in our own hut. We had only one proper meal a
day, in the evening (Moravia, 150-151)
I had made a special effort for that Christmas Day, chiefly for Rosettas sake, for every year
since she was born she had been accustomed to celebrating that day as well as any lady in the
land. I had bought a chicken from Paride and roasted it with potatoes. I had made the pasta
myself not much of it, for I had very little flour and I had made agnolotti stuffing. I had a
couple of small salame sausages, and these I had cut into thin slices and had put them with some
hard-boiled eggs. I had made a dessert too; for lack of anything better, I had grated some carob
beans very finely, mixed this carob flour with some white flour, dried grapes, pine nuts, and
sugar, and had baked a sweet pizzetta that was flat and hard but good. I had also managed to buy
a bottle of Marsala from one of the evacuees; Paride had given me some wine. There was plenty
of fruit: at Fondi the orange trees were full of oranges, which cost very little, and some days
before I had acquired several dozen of them and we were eating oranges all day. (Moravia 178)
the food shortage encouraged the evacuees to talk of nothing but things to eat Dyou
remember? One used to telephone to Naples and reserve a table at a restaurant. Then we would
get into the car, four or five of us, all good trenchermen, and off wed go. Wed sit down at the
table at one and get up at five. And what did we eat? Well, spaghetti with a fish sauce, with
pieces of fish in it and cuttlefish and crayfish and oysters; dorado and gray mullet, roasted or
boiled, with mayonnaise sauce; dogfish with peas, slices of swordfish and bass and grilled tuna
fish; and octopus alla lucinana, which is so delicious. Fish of all types, in fact, and in all kinds of
sauce, for two or three hours. We sat down at the table all in good order, irreproachable in every
respect; we got up with our vests unbuttoned, our belts let out, belching fit to rattle the
windowpanes, and each of us weighing at least four or five pounds more then before. And on top
of it we drank at least, at least a flask of wine a head. Ah, those feasts, when shall we ever see
them again? (Moravia, 208)

When I was a child my parents used to tell me that bread is sacred and that it is a sacrilege to
throw it away or waste it and that you are committing a sin even if you place the loaf upside
down; and now I saw that his bread was being given to beasts, when so many people in the
valley and up in the mountains were suffering from hunger. (Moravia, 224).
Leonardo Sciascia American Aunt
Food:
- In The American Aunt, food and drink are portrayed in three ways: food/drink is a
necessity, needed to satisfy hunger and taste buds, it is used for pleasure, and it is used as
a form of currency.
o First portrayal: Due to the war, there is rationing and food is not as plentiful as it
once was. Furthermore, the narrators family and town are not wealthy, and their
poor conditions prevent them from enjoying specialties. On page 326, the narrator
describes the Italian soldiers in the following way: They were hungry.
Moreover, Filippo tells Tony, Ive forgotten what potatoes taste like. We always
ate them when I was little (333). This war has caused such a shortage of food
that people cannot even remember how certain foods taste. Filippo and the
narrator complain about the lack of candy and bread as well. During war, food is
scarce, and thus these characters have to struggle to satisfy their hunger and
receive the proper nutrition. Once the armistice is signed, the narrators family
can receive parcels from his American aunt with delicacies like biscuits that
tasted like mint, tinned spaghetti, tinned herring and tinned orange juice (339). It
becomes easier for them to satisfy their hunger. Also, food satisfies taste buds and
cravings: the narrator discusses a boy who brought him and Filippo K rations full
of sweets and sugar cubes. Filippo and the narrator both love sweets and are
thrilled when Tony gives them chewing gum.
o Second portrayal: wine is used for pleasure, not just as a drink accompanying
meals. When the Americans arrived, the Sicilians celebrated and cheered while
swigging wine and passing bottles from hand to hand over the crowd (328).
Also, the American soldiers reveled with women and wine. Then, at the end of
Sciascias story, the narrators cousin keeps a bottle of hard liquor hidden in the
garret. Furthermore, she brags to her cousin about drinking fourteen glasses in
a row, and it was hard liquor (348). Thus, instead of alcohol being used to
accompany meals, it is used to get drunk, celebrate, take advantage of women,
and escape from the surrounding social problems.
o Third portrayal: food is used as a currency in The American Aunt. For example,
the narrator trades in food for cigarettes that he then sells to his uncle in return for
money. The narrator then says that with the money they made from trading in
food for cigarettes, we bought a sickly mush made of carobbeans (325).
- Thus, food is constantly mentioned in this story in numerous ways, describing both the
hardships and pleasures of Sicilian society during WWII.
America

In The American Aunt, America is glorified as a place of wealthy, prosperity, happiness,

and luxury. America has better food, clothes, work ethics, and is richer than Italy. The
narrator and Filippo are extremely curious about America, and question Tony and the
narrators cousin about what makes America so different and special. In these characters
eyes, America embodies success and freedom and is far superior to Italy. However, at the
end of the story this idea of a superior America and an inferior Italy is hard on the
narrators family as the narrators aunt makes them feel weak and poorer than they
actually are.
At one point, the narrator says, For me, America was my aunts large store, a shop as full
of good things as Piazza del Castello, with clothes, coffee and cuts of meat, and my aunts
son was a soldier who was bringing those good things with him (327). Because of the
scarcity of food and clothing in Italy, the plentiful shops in America add to Americas
glorification. Everything about Americaincluding its people and soldiersrepresented
freedom and wealth.
Tony teaches Filippo and the narrator all about America. He tells them about chewing
gum, the abundant supply of candy, and expensive American cars. Tony also explained to
the boys that Americans work and Italians dont want to workone of the reasons why
Americans have decent clothes, good homes and cars (335). America represents
everything that the Sicilians do not have. The narrator and his friends and family dream
about America and yearn to learn more about it so that they can escape the agony of their
lives in impoverished Sicily. America is a way out of the hungry and war-torn European
countries and an entrance into a world of prosperity and abundance.
These differences between America and Sicily, however, cause problems at the end of the
story. When the American aunt asks the hotel if it had air-conditioning, baths, showers,
and electric sockets, the narrator writes, I felt my aunts questions made the porters look
at us with some irony: what did my father and mother and I know about air-conditioning
and electric razors?... I felt a little ill at ease (343). Their American relatives are used to
comforts that most Sicilians have never experienced. When the Sicilian family is around
their cousins in Palermo, the other Italians look at them strangely as the Americans talk
about wealth and show off their nice clothesthe Americans are out of place in a land
used to suffering and poverty. This sense of discomfort is further exemplified by the food
each family orders at the restaurant in Palermo. The Sicilian family orders spaghetti with
tomato sauce and fish, whereas the American family orders tomatoes stuffed with a dark
paste and a piece of white, gelatinous fish with curls of butter around it (344). This
horrified the narrators family and the people around themthe American family is doing
nothing but highlighting the poverty and inferiority of their cousins towns and living
situations.
Furthermore, because the narrators aunt sends them parcels and brings them trunks of
clothes, food, and American objects, the narrators family is further subjected to an
inferior status.

Innocence/Maturity:
- Another important theme in this book is that of innocence and maturation.
- At the beginning, the narrator and Filippo are very innocentthey do not know about
women, sex, prostitution, or alcohol. The narrator says, But what these women did with
the Americans, what a man did with a woman, remained a nebulous fantasy for us. That

the women undressed was a fact; we often went to Mattuzzo where there was a large
fountain, to look at the legs of the washerwoman (330). They are very nave to what sex
is and the relations that occur between a woman and a man. They are also nave to the
body of a woman and their sexual desires.
At the end of the book, the narrator begins to mature. Being around his cousin introduces
him to attraction, desire, and a grown womans body. He says that his cousin lightly
touched my neck and I wanted to purr like a cat and murmur all the love that was welling
up inside me (345). He talks about holding her hand and having her put her arm around
him, all of which fill him with great pleasure. Also, this is when the narrator begins to
understand sex. Filippo teases him about whether or not he gets up to anything with her
in the middle of the tall wheat (347). As incestual as this is, these boys are starting to
lose their innocence and consider sex.
In addition, the narrator discusses how he likes her when she smells of cigarettes and
alcohol. He says that because of the sinful images I had formed of women, of their
bodies and their love, I thought that those forbidden things, smoking and drinking, were
the sweetest and deepest sin (348). Not only is he becoming accustomed to desire, but a
college students drinking and smoking habits as well.
Another sign of the narrators maturation is his fascination with his cousin when she
shaves her armpits. He says that it filled him with attraction and repulsion, the sense of a
sinful mystery and an even more sinful mystification (348). Finally, he talks about his
hands running over her body and underneath her dress. He went from a boy who did not
understand the relations between a soldier and a woman to one who was feeling the body
of a young woman, examining her anatomy, and filling with desire.
This loss of innocence and an entrance into maturation and adulthood is important for the
story. Not only is it caused by the narrators interactions with his cousin, but also by the
war itself. The hardships of the war introduced the boys to things that tainted their
innocenceFilippo saw that dead body, and is forever haunted by the memory of that
corpse. They experienced hunger, scarcity, murder, and prostitution first hand. Therefore,
the terrors of war and all that accompanies them, as well as the sexuality of a college girl,
accelerated the movement of these boys from childhood to adulthood.

Questions:
-

Why did the narrators American aunt feel the need to act so superior? Was she trying to
prove to her old country and its people that she was now better than them? That she has
found success and wealth? Or has she been gone for so long that she is really that nave to
the situation in Sicily? Is it selfish of her or can she not help it due to the socioeconomic
differences between her country and theirs?
Why did Filippo and the narrator desire to learn so much about America?
I gave my own explanation, but what do you think food represents in this story and how
is food connected to the war and America?
How can America be glorified so, and yet everyone sees how the American soldiers
behave with the Sicilian women? Does such sexual activity not matter in the Sicilians
attitude towards America as a whole?

My notes:
-

Sound and noise accompanying the food

Italy everything is to portion

Review:
Hunger as Primal Urge and human identity
- Under the jaguar sun, heavenly supper, survival in Auschwitz, Sicilian limes
- Under the jaguar sun:
o Cannibalism
o Concept of divine food; even though it taste bad
- Heavenly Super
o Janis, she wants to be identified as a saint
o Repress primal urges to eat. (dont know if she is successful)
o Whole identity resolves around her resistance and control to eat
o Not eating cleanse herself; purge herself of a human identity; become divine
- Survival in Auschwitz
o Without food they became beasts
o Primal urge for hunger they become dehumanized
o Do things that could get them killed; lose all moral values
o Fight over piece of kernel