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The Portrayal Of Men In Italian Literature

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Men in Italian literature are portrayed in this very bipolar value of either a positive figure, or a negative influence. At times, the father figure is presented in good light, as someone who was there to support their family, and thought of family as the most important part of their life. One of my favorite male characters represented in our readings, was the Doctor in “The Other Son”. He was a good spirited man, that helped the poor in whatever way he could, while also being one of the only people in the village that could read and write. This is the only doctor I will ever love because, he helped poor Maragrazia write a letter to her sons, that went off to America, when everyone else just played with her and wrote scribble letters (Pirandella 38). Another example of a good young man is Remo from Rosa’s story. He singled himself out early on, as the first love interest, and was such a Romeo as he “was waiting when I came home from the mill” and loved Rosa with all his heart (Rosa 134). Remo was such a pure good boy, that I thought for certain he would be the one going to America and taking Rosa with him. There was also the man that helped the two boys in “The Biography of a Bootblack,” that got them out of begging, and made them into honest men. He was probably the most generous man in all the readings so far, because not only did he adopt these boys, but he also taught them how to read and write, and let them leave on their own to America to make a name for themselves.

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