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Essay on biography
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One of the most grueling tasks for an author can be coming up with ideas for their novel. Many of them suffer from writer’s block and take months, even years, to finish one book. While writing a novel is tasking, writing a biography is not. All you have to do is write about your own life, how hard can that be? Well, this is the case with The Garden of the Finzi-Conitini’s. Giorgio Bassani writes of his own life throughout the entirety of the novel, with themes like the death of love, with the love of his life Micol Finzi-Contini, wealthy landowners, as he was high on the social ladder in his life much like the Finizi-Contini’s are, and he represents the persecution and isolation of the Jewish people, as he is outlawed from tennis courts and libraries.
Giorgio Bassani was born into a wealthy Jewish family. They lived affluently with chauffeurs, butlers, and a large house. He grew up attending a private school to receive a superior education and his first love was the piano, although literature soon became the focal point of his studies. He attended the University of Bologna in Italy where he studied the art historian Roberto Longhi. His idea of a free state of mind inspired Bassani as that idea was being oppressed in the first place by the Nazi’s. Bassani eventually developed a thesis on Niccolo Tommaseo, a nineteenth century writer and journalist who tried to unify all of Italy to speak one language. Bassani was also a radical anti-fascist who was jailed for resisting the movement and he was released on July 26, 1943, which was the same day that Benito Mussolini was ousted from power. A week or two later he married the love of his life Valeria Sinigallia, a woman he had met by playing tennis. Turns out that being an excellent It...
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...ries. Bassani cultivates a certain confusion between the voice of the narrator (who happens also to be the protagonist of the novel) and the autobiographical self. It is, however, not so much a matter of confusion as a deliberate decision to link the intensely personal “corridor” of memory to a collective memory. In a metaphoric sense, the voyage into the past always leads to funereal perceptions. (Schwarz) The beginning of the novel makes this clear during the visit to the Etruscan tombs. But Bassani also wishes to make clear, as he does explicitly in the final pages of the book, that although the corridor of time and memory gets steadily longer, the past itself can be retrieved. This belief that the past never dies is of course dependent, in the context of Bassani’s tragic themes, on the survival of the witness of a condemned community. As he was in his own life.
“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 foreign courts. Gregorio Dati, the grandson of purse venders, engaged in commerce, rising in social standing which culminated with his election to public office. Holding office was a definitive sign of success and recognition in Florence. In contrast was the tale Bianco Alfani, a deemed man unworthy of office. As told by Piero Veneziano, Alfani was the chief jailor in Florence who was duped into believing he had been named captain of the town of Norcia. Alfani publicly made a fool of himself, spending all his money and creating a great fanfare over his supposed appointment. Comparing the lives of Pitti and Dati to the story of Bianco Alfani illustrates how economic and social change in 14th century Florence produced a culture centered on reputation and commerce. For men like Pitti and Dati, who flourished within the constraints of Florentine society, their reward was election to office, a public mark of acceptance and social standing. Those who were ambitious but failed to abide by the values o...
Through their superstitious beliefs, devout religious convictions, and established customs the severity of the collective conventionality of the inhabitants of Valle del Sole in Nino Ricci’s Lives of the Saints is evident and crucial to the ruination of Cristina Innocente. The people of the town have proven themselves to be incredibly superstitious, irrationally believing in things such as the “evil eye” to prove ________________. In addition to their superstitions, their exceedingly pious beliefs further their condemnation of Cristina, casting her out in the eyes of God. The citizens of Valle del Sole also denounce Cristina for her lack of regard to the very specific roles and responsibilities within their
The past dictates who we are in a current moment, and affects who we might become in the future. Every decision people make in lives has an influence on future, regardless of how minimal or large it is. Some decisions people decide to make can have dire consequences that will follow them for the rest of the life. Moreover, even though if someone would want to leave any memories from past behind, however it will always be by his side. Specific memories will urge emotional responses that bring mind back to the past and person have no choose but to relieve those emotions and memories again. Nonetheless, certain events change people and make them who they are, but at the same time, some wrong choices made past haunts us. This essay will discuss the role of the past in novel Maestro, that was written by Australian author Peter Goldsworthy in 1989 and also in Tan Shaun's story Stick Figures which was included in book called "Tales from outer suburbia" and published in 2008.
A rediscover of their history and recognition of early Greek philosophers changed the way that the influential families and Princes, in Italy, considered themselves. Their way of thinking of the Devine and need to promote one’s own aspirations through sponsorship of the arts, as well as, civic duty became not only fashionable but important to progress in the city states. Although Donatello’s David and Botticelli’s Primavera are master pieces in their own right, their influence on future generations of artists cannot be ignored. The spark that ignited the fire which we call the Renaissance was a transformation of societies thinking and values to a Humanistic approach to one duties to society and the church. These two works are a reflection of the changing attitudes which would eventually change all of
Ridolfi, Roberto. The Life of Niccolò Machiavelli. Trans. Cecil Grayson. 1954. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963. Print.
Benito Mussolini was brought up in one the poorest regions in Northeastern Italy. When he was in school, he always kept to himself and very quiet. He wasn’t a class clown, never cried or rarely laughed. He always sat in the back of the classroom and read a book. He rather do that than play with the other children in his class. He got kicked out his first boarding school. When he was growing up he was surrounded by many political philosophies. There was anarchism, socialism, and others. Both Benito and his father Allesandro had very bad violent tempers.
Suzanne G. Cusick, who considers herself a speicialist in the life and works of Francesca Caccini, argues that Francesca was a proto-feminist and the music she composed for the Medici court contributed to the career of the Grand Duchess Christine de Lorraine of Tuscany. She therefore claims that through her works, Caccini encourages the sexuality and political aims of women in the early seventeenth century.1
Machiavelli’s views were drastically different from other humanists at his time. He strongly promoted a secular society and felt morality was not necessary but stood in the way of a successfully governed state. He stated that people generally tended to work for their own best interests and gave little thought to the well being of the state. He distrusted citizens saying, “In time of adversity, when a state is in need of its citizens, there are few to be found.” In his writings in The Prince, he constantly questioned the citizens’ loyalty and warned for the leaders to be wary in trusting citizens. His radical and distrusting thoughts on human nature were derived out of concern for Italy’s then unstable government. Machiavelli also had a s...
For the musical composer essay, I have chosen to write about a man who I felt made the greatest impact on Romantic opera in the 19th century this master of a man was given the name Giuseppe Fortunio Francesco Verdi but was commonly known as Giuseppe Verdi by all who knew and loved him. This great man was born on either October 9, or 10 in the year 1813 in the community of Le Roncole, near a small town called Busseto in the province of Parma, Italy his astrological sign is that of a Libra. His mother and father were both of Italian descent and their names were Carlo and Luigia Verdi respectively. Now this is where it gets complicated Verdi told every person that talked to him about his background that his parents were illiterate peasants. Despite this lie that Verdi told them they later discovered that his parents were not illiterate peasants as he had claimed but were very smart individuals tha...
Since the beginning of its existence as a country, Italy has faced enormous challenges in establishing itself as a unified political and social entity. The geographic, economic, and linguistic differences between its various regions and the artificial manner in which they were amalgamated created a legacy of internal divisions that continues to dominate the country's political climate to this day. Italy's numerous historical fiascoes, such as its disastrous involvement in the two World Wars and the rise of fascism, further escalated the domestic problems that had haunted it since the Risorgimento. At first, the anti-fascist Resistance movement, which dominated the end of World War II, seemed to bring Italy a ray of hope, promising a new era of freedom, reform, and democratic representation. However, this hope was quickly extinguished, as widespread poverty, government corruption, and deep divisions between regions and classes persisted and no true social reform was attained. These harsh conditions were depicted by a group of Italian film directors whose neorealist works have since been celebrated as masterpieces of world cinema. One of the most prominent of these is Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief. This 1948 film discusses the prevalent themes dominating Italy's social and political history, within the context of the unsettlingly poor post-War urban proletariat.
The story unfolds with the increasing limitations on the rights of Jewish people in Italy. Mussolini 's racial laws are beginning to take force on the rights of the Jewish people. Prohibitions such as no servants, no library
Ignazio Silone’s Bread and Wine became one of the most controversial as well as influential novels in Italy during the early twentieth century. Bread and Wine is set in rural impoverish Italia countryside under the Catholic and fascist control. It begins with Don Benedetto, an elderly priest and his aged sister are waiting for visitors to come celebrate his birthday. These visitor’s are some of his favorite students who have grown up and moved away. In their reminiscing, Don Benedetto begins to ask how other student lives have turned out after all these years. Including his favorite pupil, Pietro Spina. The former students explain that Pietro Spina had become a communist revolutionary and was exiled from Italy, and is on the run from police who are hunting him. Don Benedetto asks the student to aide Pietro in his return to Italy. At this point the novel begins to focus on Pietro Spina and his return to Italy. Pietro aided by his childhood friend Nunzio dons the disguise of a Catholic priest called Don Paolo Spada. However, Pietro Spina has abandoned the religious beliefs and ideas of becoming a saint that he once had as a child and now in his adult life is considered to be a fervent atheist making; this disguise quite ironic. While in disguise, Spina becomes exasperated with the strong catholic beliefs and superstitious ideas which are the basis of thought of the peasants he is trying to influence. This brings about the continuous theme of socialism and Christianity as well as the question surrounding all the characters within the novel, “How can a decent person act in a terrible time?”1 Silone uses this questions to explore how the political views of fascism within the Catholic church effects uneducated peasants withi...
The era of the Italian Renaissance was a time period for many great thinkers whose minds helped shape the way that people see the world today and Niccolo Machiavelli is certainly no exception. He is most assuredly one of the top philosophical and political minds in the history books and has been an inspiration for many leaders. Unfortunately, tyrannical dictators such as Adolf Hitler were known to use Machiavelli’s teachings in their quest for power so the world has not always viewed this man in the most positive light, even with the things that he tried to teach.
It is abundantly clear how Leonardo Bruni feels about the city of Florence. In Panegyric to the City of Florence, he expresses nothing but the highest praise for the city. Every aspect of Florence is backed by a clear reason why it is the best, and there is no other city in the world that can compare. According to Bruni, Florence has extraordinary beauty, architecture, geography, history, government, and people. This, of course, is only one person’s opinion. In the diaries of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati, they too give their opinions on the city of Florence. In general, they do not seem to give Florence the same recognition and praise that Bruni gives.
After five hundred years, Niccolo Machiavelli the man has ceased to exist. In his place is merely an entity, one that is human, but also something that is far above one. The debate over his political ideologies and theories has elevated him to a mythical status summed up in one word: Machiavelli. His family name has evolved into an adjective in the English language in its various forms. Writers and pundit’s bandy about this new adjective in such ways as, “He is a Machiavelli,” “They are Machiavelli’s,” “This is suitable for a Machiavelli.” These phrases are almost always the words of a person that understands more about Niccolo’s reputation than the man himself. Forgotten is that Machiavelli is not an adequate example of the ruler he is credited with describing; a more accurate statement would be to call someone a “Borgia” or a “Valentino.” Most of the time they are grossly mistaken in their references. All these words accomplish is to add to the legend, and the misinterpretation, of the true nature of Niccolo Machiavelli.