The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

In the next paragraph Alessandra mentions that she saw Mona Lucrezia di Piero had sent him a nice letter for thanking him for the flax that he sent to her. Alessandra then says she should reward him with kind words about Filippo to Piero. This is basically saying that Alessandra thinks Mona should put in a good word for Filippo. This shows us just how much power the Medici family had during this period. In the last paragraph, Alessandra mentions that two

The merchant of Venice is a drama and romantic play, by William Shakespeare. Regarding the test for the suitors and the final part of the book, the author is inspired by a fourteenth-century Italian novel of Giovanni Fiorentino, called “Il Giannetto”, (Bullough, 1957). The merchant of Venice is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. It is contained on the First Folio, in the contents of Comedies, sharing certain aspects with others plays. That one traditionally ends with the positive return to order expected from the genre, it also has some characteristics of a tragedy, in particular with regard to the punishment and the oppression that are suffered to Shylock Jew. The peculiarity is the title of this book, “The Merchant of Venice”, in fact, it refers to the character Antonio, and not Shylock, a moneylender, which has a pivotal role in this play. One possible reason is that by calling “The Merchant of Venice”, Shakespeare wanted to focus the attention of the readers, on the

Giovanni and Lusanna is a micro-history of high born Giovani being taken to court by lower born Lusanna as she claimed that he married her in secret. She believed that her future security and honor was at risk as Giovanni married a younger high born woman after his father and brother died. This micro-history shows that social standing, honor, and marriage during Renaissance Florence.

Art is a particular form of social consciousness and of human activities, an important way for people to perceive, discover and improve life: according to the laws of beauty. It is the creation of tangible or intangible products containing great values of thought-aesthetics, cultural character, and emotions. In this sense, there are numerous types of art. Painting is one of the oldest forms of art on earth. From prehistoric times, artists not only used it to communicate, but they also used painting to entertain the viewers. Painting can be transformed, eliminating the tedium, fatigue, and stress in daily tasks to bring the joy. Fun in life or silence for the soul. In other words, painting is a language that communicates an artist 's ideas

“I’ll be out of here and away from all you knaves for one time anyway, as not a month will pass before you’ll see whether I’m nobody or a somebody.” The story of Bianco Alfani reflected the nature of 14th century Florentine society where, as Alfani remarked, the election to public office could make or destroy a person. In late 14th century and early 15th century Florence, decreased population and expanding commerce provided a favorable environment for ambitious individuals. The real life examples of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati demonstrated the positive role of ambition in Florence. Pitti, a nobleman had an extremely successful career, partaking in military campaigns, holding public office in Florence and being an ambassador to

          Florence- Florence is one of Atonio’s friends. Although he does not believe in God, he attends catechism lessons with his friends. Florence’s mother died when he was three. Afterwards, his father slowly killed himself with alcohol. His sisters are now prostitutes at Rosie’s house. He asks Antonio insightful questions that point out the gaps in the Catholic Religion. When Antonio becomes

Giovanni Boccaccio's the Decameron, written in the Early Renaissance, is a sharp social commentary that reflected the ideas and themes of the Renaissance and of Renaissance Humanism. His tales of nuns and priests caught in compromising situations, corrupt clergy selling chances to see religious artifacts, and of wives cheating on their husbands show the changing ideals of the time and the corruption that was running rampant within the church and in the lives of the general populace. The Decameron speaks against this corruption and reflects the secular attitude of living as happily as possible, demoting the principals of Christian morality that had ruled daily life in the time before the Renaissance. Another concept that sprung from the

World War II is an important key point in history that addresses to young adolescents. The novel, T4 is based on a true story, in which the author, Ann Clare LeZotte is portraying a novel that is based on the theme of survival. It appears to be that the author’s argument in writing this novel is to simply maintain awareness of the past. Generally speaking, a story about survival is a difficult genre for young readers, “The majority of war stories for children are about World War II and the Holocaust.” (Huck 482) The reason war stories are mainly about World War II and the Holocaust is because it was the most recent, largest, and horrifying war during the twentieth century in Europe. Our textbook also states that these historical novels help children experience the past. Meaning, that it is important for a child to learn about the past including all the wars, conflicts, sufferings, and great happiness that had occurred so they can apply that to the present and to the future.

One task she would constantly do is she would clean her family's houses. Giovanna was caring and loving to everyone and soon became a midwife. Giovanna's brother, Lorenzo, went to America because he wanted to help his family financially but knew he couldn't help them in Italy so he decided to leave and send money to them from America. Then Nunzio soon decided that it was best for him and Giovanna to immigrate to America. Giovanna was very upset with this news because she was scared for him, she really wanted him to stay with her and for them to create a family. Once in New York, Nunzio sees all the beautiful buildings and only has one person he wished was there to see them with him; Giovanna. With the help from his brother-in-law, Nunzio finds work. Nunzio learned new skills and met many interesting people at work. Everything was going great for Nunzio in America until tragedy struck. While working at Brooklyn Union Gas Company, Nunzio knew there was a way in which the steel heave had to be lowered but his boss didn't listen to him. Once Nunzio went under the steel heave he knew that it

The narrator is the protagonist's brother, Biagio, who is telling the story from his perspective and from what he has heard from his brother. The protagonist, Cosimo, and Biagio are the sons of the Baron, the Duke of Ombrosa. Their mother, the Generalessa, is the daughter of a famous general. Their sister, Battista, likes cooking gruesome food with varieties of animals inside and feeding it to the family. Therefore, to protest, Cosimo and Biagio releases the snails that Battista was planning to use. Their father punishes them and locks them up for 3 days. After they are let out, Battista prepares them a meal with snail, which the father threatens them to eat. Cosimo refuses and climbs up a tree, where he proclaims that he will ”never come down again” (13). As the family ignores Cosimo, believing that he will eventually come back down, Cosimo climbs into his neighbor's villa and befriends the daughter, Viola. Later, Cosimo makes

Ghostly representations of “the other” imagine a social evil that has not been put to rest. These images reoccur in the Western canon, marking the persistence of slavery long after its abolition. Haunting, ghosts and skeletons in Benito Cereno act as a vehicle through which the suppressed return to the stage with a message. The ghosts carry with them all that the imperialists wanted to control, including emotions, and more precisely, the emotions of the oppressed. I argue that ghosts and skeletons comprise an area of tension in which the appearance of the “other” reveals that the dominant party’s control is incomplete. Yet, the presence is merely ghostly due to the constant policing and lack of respect for the Other. These ghosts also break through the boundaries of the dominant culture’s paradigms and identities (Harpham 17), signaling potential political crisis. This text signals the fear of the retaliation of the Other through ghostly representations by projecting on to the other, their own identities of brutality and irrationality. “Benito Cereno” by Herman Melville overturns the racist images of the colonized by relocating evil in the order of slavery. Hauntings carry the perspectives and powers of the slaves by preserving the dead amidst the living and the past amidst the present, they muddle up the concept of time and therefore defy the Western dream of complete control.

Many people have experienced many tragic things but have you experienced a volcano erupting in your life? Has a friend or family member experienced it? Well two stories explain what it’s like to expeience a volcanon erupting.In this paper you will understand the setting (compare), point of view(contrast), and tone (compare)of two different stories “Dog of Pompeii” by Louis Untermeyer and “Pompeii” by Robert Silverburg.

The story is about two sisters Katherine and Bianca. Bianca has a suitor who would like to marry her, Lucentio, but the only way that he will be able to marry her is if her older sister is married first. When Petruccio arrives to Padua he agrees to court and marry Katherine because she will provide a lovely dowry. Rumor has it that Katherine is a cynical, unruly, and

Perhaps the most foolish characters readers could come across in The Decameron were Friar Alberto and Monna Lisetta. Boccaccio masterfully parodied the Church by introducing Friar Alberto as a former con man who moved to Venice and became a priest: already, Boccaccio has criticized the vetting process for potential religious officials. Monna Lisetta, the next character introduced, is a vain, airheaded devotee of the angel Gabriel. By having these silly characters meet in a religious setting, Boccaccio mocked the Catholics of his day, especially once Friar Alberto used his credibility as a “man of God” to trick the gullible Monna Lisetta into having sex with “Gabriel,” who would be possessing the friar’s own body. Boccaccio could hardly be more derisive toward the Church than with this “tragic” story.

Trimalchio hosts’ a farewell dinner which is a dinner given to gladiators who were about to face wild beasts in the arena. Trimalchio is a Semitic name based on the word for “prince” and he is a high living individual. However, a well-born Roman reader would not approve of his attitudes and behavior. You get a good sense of what Trimalchio is like early on in the story when he is in the middle of talking to Menelaus and snaps his fingers for a slave to bring him a pot. When the slave brings the pot to Trimalchio he peed in it, asked for water and then used the slave’s hair to dry his hands. (19) Trimalchio had many slaves, some of their jobs were miniscule(petty) that it consisted of them standing near the dining room door and saying