Innocence In Di Michele's Papa Was The Bogeyman

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Throughout the book, one major theme that was evident is Michele losing his innocence and realizing how cruel the adult world is in reality. His parents, who he looks up to, are crueler than he ever imagined. Michele’s mom said “’When it’s dark the bogeyman comes out and takes the children away and sells them to the gypsies.’” Michele then thought “Papa was the bogeyman.” In this passage, Michele discovers how brutal the adult world can be. The father that he looked up to was not the good guy that he thought; he was the villain who made Michele’s perfect world come crashing down. Michele then thought “Why didn’t they give him back to her? What use is a barmy little boy to them? Filippo’s mother was distressed, you could see that. If she asked …show more content…

His parents, who he looks up to, are crueler than he ever imagined. Michele’s mom said “’When it’s dark the bogeyman comes out and takes the children away and sells them to the gypsies.’” Michele then thought “Papa was the bogeyman.” In this passage, Michele discovers how brutal the adult world can be. The father that he looked up to was not the good guy that he thought; he was the villain who made Michele’s perfect world come crashing down. Michele then thought “Why didn’t they give him back to her? What use is a barmy little boy to them? Filippo’s mother was distressed, you could see that. If she asked on television it meant she cared a lot about her son. And papa wanted to cut off his ears.” This shows the guilt that consumes Michele up because he knows about the boy and he knows that his father is involved; his innocence is lost. This causes Michele to be in a dilemma of whether to abide his father’s actions or take his own stance and do what he thinks is right . Now that he is exposed to the adult world and shed his innocence, he has to make his own decisions even if it means going against his family. Although this passage does not summarize the whole book, it conveys what the author is trying to show. Nicole Ammaniti is trying to explain the loss of innocence in a child through Michele getting thrown into the adult world and

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