Here's another essay, any help/comments pointing me in the right direction would be greatly greatly appreciated. Grammar might not be perfect I typed it up in a hurry.
Ammaniti's depiction of Barbara as a symbol of the children's ignorance, 'Why's it always
me?' suggests Acqua Traverse to be the product of moral-retardation. The children's
moral-education is clearly distorted and the catastrophic accident to occur warns against
the dangers of such a society. The use of a series of adjectives, 'raucous', 'sadistic' and
'fear' conveys imagery of dictatorship bestowed upon the children and the subsequent
drudgery that results thus metaphorically highlighting the necessity for freedom.
Ammaniti portrays the children to be engaged in serious matter, 'voting,' an action
primarily associated with adults hence likening the children to adults. The selfish manner
in which they respond deflecting all their problems to a scapegoat, Barabara, 'lamb sins,'
suggests them to be literary doubles of the adults of Acqua Traverse. Salvatore's hesitancy
and weak, 'whisper' vote highlights acknowledgement of 'evil' yet his follow through is
exemplary of the moral prostitution amongst the adults. The subsequent catastrophe is a
warning from the author to highlight the dangers that come with such a society.
Ammaniti's tone likens the society to a food chain as Michele depicts Barbara to be a
'lamb.' The adjectives, 'slit', 'froze' and 'sadistic' suggests this to be a crude society
Ammaniti disapproves of. Skull's exposure/exploitation of the weak, 'You pull...knickers'
furthers this notion and places blame at the hands of the rich; the ones in power. Michele
is then the victim of such a society just as his parents are. In the face of adversity and
desperation, Michele contemplates a lie, 'I could tell...window' just as his parents do and
his decision to persevere separates him from the residents of Acqua Traverse with the town
about to disintegrate around him just as in the house, 'At every movement...down.' It is an
ordeal that leaves an impression on Michele and is integral to the text as it demonstrates
that justice and solid ethics are not necessarily intertwined.
Michele's language in the recollection of the ordeal, 'wrong day' suggests this to be
destiny parallel to his experience in the house. Parallels can be drawn between the snow and
the evils in Michele's life, as the snow is seemingly anonymous, silently. What Ammaniti
portrays here is a boy ignorant of the dangers to follow. The snow is ironic as it is
minuscule in size yet potentially devastating suggesting Michele to be without perception of
the magnitude of his opposers. The juxtaposition of the enlightened and omniscient tone of
an adult recalling events and immature language associated with a boy, crawl, taunt
highlights the progress yet to be made for Michele.
Michele's decision to persevere in the house is pivotal to the text. It highlights that
there is an avenue for escape from the seemingly inescapable situation Michele is in,
metaphoric for the dangers he is currently ignorant to. His immature thinking is juxtaposed
by his omniscient account of the 'Gran Sasso' augmenting the progress in maturity Michele is
yet to make hence pardoning him for his childhood ignorance/innocence.
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