preview

Italian Literature Paper. “It Is Not Possible To Sink Lower

Better Essays

Italian Literature Paper “It is not possible to sink lower than this; no human condition is more miserable than this, nor could it conceivably be so” (Levi 1238). This quote comes from Primo Levi’s story “On the Bottom”, where the audience gets a view of the vile and unspeakable event known today as the Holocaust. This event influenced Italian literature, taught people a great deal about the jewish culture, and showed people the true evil in history. To begin, the Jewish faith is one of the oldest major religions and the first to believe in one God. The religion itself originated with the Hebrew people of the middle east, and it is based on God, Torah, and Israel. Jewish people follow a basic set of ethical codes, known as the …show more content…

Rosh Ha-Shannah is the Jewish New Year, that celebrates the creation of the world and God’s rule over it. This is one of the holiest days of the year for the Jews, along with Yom Kippur. One of the many examples of Jewish customs are the dietary laws. These can be found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Any Jew who chooses to follow these rules, do not eat pork or shellfish such as shrimp or oysters. Meat and milk products are stored separately and are not served at the same meal. They refrain from eating any milk products for several hours after eating meat. Meat killed from a ritual slaughter known as Shehitah is the only meat they are allowed to eat. At the age of 13 boys and girls are to fulfill a religious obligation through the Bar MItzvah (Bat Mitzvah for girls). This is a ceremony in which they are recognized as adults responsible for fulfilling the obligations of Judaism (Magid). At the same time the Jewish faith was developing, so was Italian literature. Italian literature was greatly influenced by a movement known as futurism during the 1900’s. Language and metaphors glorified the violence of the time period. Themes with problems of personal identity and absurdity of reality were common (Cherchi). After World War II ended, a variety of different literary styles emerged. This included magical realism, absurd plays, and protest literature. Each new type of literature shared an aesthetic that became postmodernism. This was a way to

Get Access