January 29th

It was our first real adventure, traveling on our own, booking train tickets, making hotel accommodations, and venturing out into the great unknown. We had arrived in the foreign city, Pisa, the night before and checked in, went out for a real authentic dinner, had some wine at a local bar, and met a few nice Italians who gave us some tips on where to go when we arrived in Lucca, our next destination. After a relaxing Saturday afternoon, Alice and I headed back to the train station on the LAM BLU bus. After only a few minutes, we were buying our tickets to Lucca and managed to squeeze McDonald’s French fries, which shamefully tasted disgustingly delicious.

While boarding the train, I asked an official in lousy Italian if this train was going to Lucca, he replied, “You don’t speak Italian? Why not…you are in Italy now…hahaha.” He was a very funny and nice man and made sure when it was time to get off, we knew it was our stop. After searching the station for a restroom unsuccessfully, Alice and I decided jump in the first taxi that was available. We looked through the guide book for restaurants that sounded appealing and asked the taxi driver to drop us off there. It was a short ride, for the city of Lucca is very small and manageable, but extremely unique and breathtaking at the same time. We entered the restaurant but to our surprise we did not have a chance to wine and dine because it was reservations only. So with no map and no sense of direction, we turned the corner and found just what we needed, a hotel. I said to Alice, “I bet we can get a map in there.” The man at the front desk was very helpful and showed us how to get to the next restaurant on our list.

The restaurant was easy to find and as soon as we stepped in we knew it was perfect for the evening. It was family owned, pictures hanging, and extremely busy. We asked if they had any openings and they said no. We were so disappointed. But after a long pause, the hostess said we can get you in at ten. We agreed and left for the hour to explore more of the town. We first ordered a cappuccino, bought a few post cards, and found some teenagers singing at a talent show.

Dinner was so delicious, we first ordered a pasta dish, and then had a secondi which had meat and potatoes. One of the best meals since we arrived in Rome, and the olive oil is to die for. By the time we were done with dinner it was almost time to catch our train back to Pisa for the night. We had no idea what direction the train station was, so we decided to go back to the hotel to ask the nice man if he would mind calling us a cab. When we arrived he seemed a little surprised to see us but said he was willing to call the cab. He dialed a few numbers but neither one answered. Then he reached someone and spoke Italian, so Alice and I did not know exactly what was said. A few minutes later, two guys arrive at the front of the lobby. I asked if that was for the cab and the front desk guy said no, those are my friends. We thought that was somewhat strange but did not think too much about it. The friends soon were asking us if we wanted to go dancing that night, we said no we had a train to catch, by the way when is the taxi coming? The man replied five minutes, five minutes every time we asked. The train was at 12:34 and it was almost 12:15 by this time.

All of a sudden, a big black van pulls up in front of the hotel. I asked if that was the taxi and the man replied yes. After taking a look at the van and the man driving it, I suddenly got creeped out. The van had no taxi sign, no meter, and the entire scenerio seemed a little fishy. Alice and I looked at each other and motioned to go. I asked why there was no taxi sign and no meter, but all the man could say was 7 euro get in. It was then that we knew what we had to do…run and run very fast. With no idea what direction the station was in, Alice and I took off in a full fledge sprint, stopping once to only ask in a loss a breath where the station was, with a point of a finger we kept on truckin’. Alice had hurt her foot the night before so she was limping but it was a sure fact that we would miss our train if we did not keep running…only a minute to go before departure. We managed to make it on the train but not a minute to soon, as soon as we sat down we started moving. We both were very thankful on the way home that we did not get in the big black van and safely made it home for the night ready for our next adventure to start in a few short hours.


Journal Entry

While writing this piece I learned a few things. First, I had to remember to talk in first person because I have a tendency to want to talk in third person and would often catch myself in the act of writing in third person. Secondly, I have forgotten how long it has been since I wrote detail by detail to describe a certain event. It was fun for a change.

Reading Response

The two authors portray themselves quite differently in their writings. Benvenuto writes in a more ancient sounding time with deep descriptions of his family and past. Acimen writes with ease about things he sees, daily occurrences the reader can relate better with. I feel like Acimen is more conscious of the reader in that he wants his piece to be an easier flowing autobiography, whereas Benvenuto wants to astonish the reader with all his fancy wording and descriptions. I feel like Acimen is more believable because it seems more everyday, real life situations that many individuals can relate to. It is easy to picture Acimen’s descriptions as something you might come across in Rome.

My Journal Entry

When constructing my fable, I first thought about what I wanted the moral to be and how I was going to construct a story based on that moral. The resolution is positive because the two brothers work together and live long, happy lives. The moral is that being honest and a hard worker is the key to success and happiness. I think the surprise to the reader is that the brother converts from being dishonest and participating in illegal acts to becoming a loving, honest brother again. I would say that would be pretty surprising. I did not refer back to Machiavelli’s fable, I mostly used the Standard Fable Form that was handed out in class to make sure I was following the guidelines. The most challenging part of the piece was to wrap up the scenario and to have a good ending that would really reel the audience into the fable. I feel this was a warm up to a stronger story and the next story will be more detailed and better because of this assignment.

My Fable

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there were two identical twin mice, who lived lives similar to you and I. They lived in a mansion mouse house in between the wall of a little cottage located out in the heart of a great big city. Every morning the two mice would wake up and go out scavenger hunting and see who could bring back the biggest and best treasures. Then they would sort through their new found fortunes and decide who would earn the point for a day. This was a little game they had been playing for years. The only catch was that they were not supposed to take items that had not been thrown away because that would be stealing and their mother always told them not to steal. She warned them that bad things would come to those who were dishonest and took advantage of other people. Bruno, always wanting to do the right thing and please his mother, only looked for goods in trash cans and often found great treasures and good dinner items. But Roger, on the other hand, always wanted to be the best and have the most to bring home, so often he would return with new items he had taken from the house which had not been thrown away. Bruno had a suspicion this was occurring but Roger never confessed to his dishonesty. Years went by and Bruno’s points were much, much lower than Rogers.

Because Roger found it so easy to steal from others and lie about it, the crime started to escalade. Stealing small things, turned into stealing a great deal of bigger items. With these items, he would sell them to other mice on the “cheese market”. The cheese market was how mice traded and sold illegal stolen goods to one another, and rarely got caught by the big cats. Bruno, had a distrust in his brother because often times Roger leave a lot later than Roger and return many hours earlier with goods Bruno knew would never have been thrown away. Bruno decides he needs to take initiative and find out by Roger is becoming so distant and losing his morals and promises to his family. Bruno plans for the next morning to follow Roger to find out what he is up to.

Bruno left the house before Roger, just as he had for the past couple of months, but on this special day he hid by the garbage can until his brother left. He kept his small little beady eyes on Roger, scurrying behind him far enough away as to not let Roger catch on that he had a follower. As soon as Roger turned down Mafia Blvd., Bruno knew his brother was in deep with the “cheese market.” Bruno followed him into the underground warehouse and kept his eyes on his twin. Roger did his trading for the day and left the warehouse. He left just in time, because not a moment after he scampered away, he heard the dreaded cats come into the warehouse. He knew he would not be seeing some of his trading partners again tomorrow. That’s how it went one day everything was normal, but in an instant your life could be taken away. Bruno, was not as lucky, for he witnessed the whole scenario. The goods his brother had just traded were taken by the awful cats and the lives of three of the mice were taken as well. Bruno felt horrible but also thankful that it was not his brother he had been killed.

When Bruno arrived home with nothing because he had been watching his brother all day, Roger knew something had happened. He questioned Bruno and his brother refused to give details of his day. Bruno asked Roger questions about how he got all his goods and again Roger lied. But then next day Roger was not so lucky, now the cats knew where the “cheese market” was located and the trades were never safe again. When Roger went to trade his goods, one of the cats caught him and held him hostage until he gave out all the other names of his fellow trading mice. The cats soon found all the mice and took all their goods and ruined their family’s lives as well. With the help of Bruno and some friends, Roger managed to escape from the cats trap. From that day forward, Roger decided that no amount of goods was worth ruining his family or taking his own life. Roger and Bruno, from then on, went out everyday together to look for food supplies and goods, only that had been thrown away and lived happy long lives because they were honest and had family on the top of their priorities.

Journal Entry

The context in Belfagor is set in the standard European “three context elements”. The three contexts begins with explaining who the man is, such as “a holy man, whose life was well known to those who lived at that time”, explaining what the mission is the main character is to do. He explains this with that each prince wanted to know how to live free from scandal and the plan was to send someone to the human realm to figure out how to accomplish this struggle. The turning point in the story is when decide to send the chosen one, who would then, “with this money he was to go into the world and, disguised in the body of a man, he was to take a wife and to live with her for ten years. Befagor was the chosen one and he soon changes his name to Roderigo. He finds a wife to marry, but the turning point comes when the wife, Onesta, tries to dominate Roderigo in everyway. Since he loved her very much, he is patient and forgiving. The actions of the main character is that he is pushed over by his wife and does not stand up for himself. He is struggling because he loves his wife, but she is corrupt and ruins his life. Roderigo becomes bankrupt and servants refuse to stay with the house for more than a few days. He has to go into hiding and becomes a devilish individual. The moral of the story that money can not make you happy and is often times corrupt or makes people corrupt. In the beginning we get the idea that the wife is the problem because she keeps spending all the money, but by the end we realize is Roderigo’s fault just as much because instead of being part of the solution, he further escalades the problem because he never draws the line for his wife. One of the reversals in the story is when the peasant comes to save the girl, Roderigo does not this he has any importance because he has no money but in fact he is able to cure the sick young lady. The reversal is that Roderigo flews aways because he would rather live in Hell than return to tell his story because he was so ashamed of his actions. The resolution is that life is not about how much money you make that makes a difference, it is more about who you are and how you contribute to make this world better. The part of the story that I liked most was the moral, yes money can buy nice expensive things, but that’s not what life is about. Life is about caring about other people, what goes around comes around.

Myth Assignment

On December 28 a new baby was born. This baby looked like any other baby, precious and innocent. It was from that point forward that Penelope promised herself, for her baby’s sake, that she would be the model of the loyal and prudent wife. Penelope was extremely concerned about what others would think of her raising her baby son by herself, so she was determined to have the perfect son in the world, for whom she named Narcissus.

Penelope developed an itinerary that Narcissus would follow everyday and he begun to be a little prince charming. Narcissus’ day usually consisted of getting up, eating breakfast, reading in the morning for a few hours, only books that would increase his intelligence, doing schoolwork in his den with his personal teacher, having lunch, reading some more, and then finishing up with some dinner and an early bedtime. The other strange habit at this point in his life was that throughout the day, his mother would catch him staring at himself in the mirror and talking to himself as if there was an imaginary friend in the mirror who carried the exact replica of himself. Penelope was afraid to let her boy go outside and play with all the other kids because she thought his mind would be corrupted, but secretly another reason she had this deep down horror that Narcissus would run off and fall in love, just as she did when she was very young. She thought be keeping him inside and cut off from the outside world, she was doing him a favor and keeping herself at a low risk of losing her son.

Narcissus did not even notice that he did not have any friends or enemies until he was around the age of 13, at this point he had his house cleaner sneak some other novels into the house for fun and enjoyment. Penelope would not even allow him to watch television for fear his mind would be soiled with crime and corruption. It was the day that the house cleaner snuck in a Teen Magazine that Narcissus knew something was missing. He flipped over the pages for the first time in amazement. Looking at everyone looking back at him, he did not know what to think, except pure and utter disgust and threw the magazine away.

Because Narcissus did not know any better and secluded from the outside world, began to hate anyone and everyone except himself. At this point, he still had an obsession with staring at himself in the mirror but now it had escaladed to the point that this started taking over the better half of his day. Narcissus became so infatuated with his own image he even began to dispise his own mother. The day came when he refused to talk to anyone and remained in his own lonesome side of the house. His love for himself was overpowering and he was officially refusing to share his love with anyone else so he fell in love with his own image.

It is now understood why Narcissus lived a long life empty without friendships and strong family love. His mother babied him and sheltered his so much that Narcissus did not learn how to love another individual and all he was left with was himself. This is often the case if one is not exposed early as a child how to get along with other kids, share toys, run around on the playground, and build strong bond together. The bond of many is far stronger than an individual alone.


I chose Narcissus and Penelope as my two modern day characters because they are almost opposing in there view points and strategies on life. Penelope is trying to be the almighty mother, painting the perfect picture for her son, but in reality ends up sheltering him and he turns against her in the end. Narcissus he yet to be exposed to a normal life and therefore ends up hating everyone he comes to look at except himself, he actually begins to fall in love with him own image at an early age. I found the employment of a metaphor a little challenging because the story did not really fall into place until I started writing it. I chose my point of view to be in third person because it felt easiest to tell the story. I feel this would be quite an easy and understandable read for almost any age. I did not chose to include dialogue because I felt this was more looking in on a family, telling a story that is almost imaginative, instead of up close and personal. The most challenging part of the assignment was trying to figure out what my myth was going to revolve around and what characters I wanted to use and who would fit well together.

Demeter and Pomegranate Seeds

The most obvious and distinct difference between the two writings is that Demeter is a poem and the Pomegranate Seedes is a prose. The two also distinguish the characters differently. The Demeter story holds the characters at a higher virtue, with more pride and value, whereas, in the Pomegranate Seeds, it is told more as a child's tale. A third determining factor of the difference between the two stories is that they have the same characters but the roles portrayed are different. For instance, in Pomegranate Seeds, they refer to one character as King Pluto, but in the Demeter story they do not assign him a name.

Metamorphases and Invisible Cities

When comparing the two stories, Metamorphases and Invisible Cities, the theme of transformation is both apparent and used in extremely different ways. When first reading Calvino and throughout the book, the reader is lost in imaginary situations but can see the transformation because he uses the contrast of positive and negative imagery in his writings. This creates a intangible scenarios within his cities. Metamorphases on the other hand, uses a more unembellished and factual transformation when creating his story or theories on life. Some similarities between the two writers are the use of language within the text. Both authors create this fantasy setting the reader is left to dwell on. The language leaves the reader feeling complete and satisfied with the scenerios and is easy to comprehend in a make-believe scenery. In Ovids work, there is definitely a correlation between the gods and humans. There is a battle between the two and it is apparent throughout his work. One example is the passage that says, “the gods move toward the palace of the Thunderer, his royal halls, and, right and left, the dwellings of other gods are open, and guests come thronging. The lesser gods live in a meaner section, an area not reserved, as this one is, for the illustrations Great Wheels of Heaven.” Even within the Gods, there is a struggle of who has more authority all the way down to humans. It does not seem like this work seems that similar to that of another myth, but possibly that is because I am not that familiar with that many other myths of my knowledge. The tone that Ovid takes in this work is that of a narrator it seems. It is as if he is a person looking in on a certain story and retelling it as he interpreted it without letting his feelings have a tremendous impact on changing the story.

Questions

I think the theme that was easiest to use is today is soon tomorrow. This is probably because this week has went by really fast and all the days seem to be running together. I feel like it was easier to write the descriptions with a theme because I felt I had a better idea of what I was going to say before I started writing. This is probably because the descriptions with the themes gave me an idea of what I wanted to write by reading the passages I read in the book. The most difficult part of the assignment was thinking of my own theme and trying to capture the proper image in my writing the way I thought of it in my head. I think the use of Calvino’s language did appeal to me because I had never read anything quite like this and the imaginary cities all were quite the same but extremely different at the same time. It kept me intrigued while reading and allowed for a sense of imagination. I believe using the same themes did borrow some sense of direction for our descriptions but only in the most beneficial sense to our papers. I do not feel as though my descriptions sound like Calvino’s but mostly gave me a path to start from. I think Rome could seem like an imaginary city because it is all so new and different from where we have ever been. If I had to chose a theme for Rome I think it would be quite similar to one of the themes I already chose for my descriptions because in the back of my mind I think I had Rome in mind while writing these stories.

City #1: Zoe, Nothing but doubts, unattainable belief

Walking into this dark, confusing, lifeless city, one would imagine no city at all. But instead nothing but doubts fill your head because there are no signs of interaction, no lights leading to important city landmarks, and no form of communication among the city people. This city is the city of Zamri. Walking around this city is like trying to get out of a closed in maze. Everywhere you turn only takes you back to where you began your journey. One step in the other direction is only one step closer to your starting spot. While you walk around and around trying to figure out what would lead you to one familiar thing that you have left behind, somehow you feel farther and farther away. Every building you walk by only looks more and more similar to the one you just left. With the doors barricaded off and the locks surely secure, the life on the street is extremely shut down and unconscious.
Then finally the sun begins to shine and familiar places and things begin to appear as if you were in a never ending dream. Markets begin to fill with fresh fruit and daily baked goods, shops begin to swing the doors open and cafés begin to brew coffee. And somehow you feel familiarly at home. The sense of direction is attainable now and you are ready for the day ahead. For some reason the lost sense of nothingness is filled with excitement and dominance to take on the world. Every which way you turn people are fulfilling their own self profound prophecies. There are bakers, shop keepers, butchers, and fruit vendors working hard everyday to make a living and to provide goods to the people of the city. Now it seems as though the city is alive and well, whereas just a few hours earlier it felt lifeless and lonely.

City #2: Zemrude, following every day the same stretches of street and finding again each morning the ill-humor of the day before, today is soon tomorrow.

Entering this city with exhaustion and confusion still controlling the body, only to endure more exhaustion and confusion. This would be the city of Zambio. The body is ordered to complete attainable daily tasks where normally a second thought would not cross the mind. But for some reason this city has some uncontrolled power of time loss and mystification that the body has a hard time adjusting. Following every day the same stretches of street and finding again each morning the ill-humor of the day before. No day is separated by the next, but instead the days seem to run together like a forever running river. Taking the same streets with the same thoughts running over and over in the mind only further complicates the issues of distinguishing the days apart. It is as though the body is lost in a time machine only to be thrown back on the same day over and over again. The thought of the next day is only a blink away, but the memory of the last day has never left today. With the busyness of the day and the things left undone, exhaustion takes over the body to the point of deprivation.
It is only after the body has shut down, that one truly feels alive and well again. Ready for the inviting but fatiguing cycle to start again, you start the day out feeling like any other day but better prepared and ready for achievement. It is only now after preparing the mind and body that the days are more pronounced and the nights are more well rested. Life begins to slow down again and sooner rather than later the strategy of planning the occasion is taken as a whole day by day instead of instant by instant.

City #3: Chloe, eyes lock for a second, then dart away. All the same but totally different.

In this city of Kivee, everything is familiar yet very far from home at the same time. When walking around the city the people, places and things are ringing with awareness to the mind but nothing seems to be as it is. Passing people on the street seems very foreign. Eyes lock for a second, then dart away. It is as if the mind is very similar but the body language and style is extremely unique and exotic. Along the side streets, there are numerous men wanting you to stop and look at their priceless possessions. Where normally, these inexpensive souvenirs would be sold as extremely expensive in the foreign land, here they are all over in every direction. To the eye they look the same on the outside, but strangely they are not as they appear.
One man comes along with a cigar in his mouth and a cane in his hand. He stops to chat with a friend on the street. On the other side, a woman is taking her dog out for the morning stroll. Ahead of her, children are chasing each other on the sidewalk in front of their grandmother. Stores are opening and the fresh air is blowing in your face.
Other people are oddly familiar; yet seem so distant as well. One woman could be standing next to you in a bakery, looking at your face, but the communication level between the two are extremely low. There is music in the distance, laughter in the crowds, people joining others for dinners and desserts, and young crowds later rejoining each other to mingle later in the evening. Even in a similar city, with seemingly similar people, and seemingly a similar setting, one feels more distant than ever before and the thoughts and feelings that most comfort them has vanished. It is only after one settles down into this unfamiliar setting that one starts to become this setting.

City #4:

In the city of Armiki, one never loses the sense of icicle confusion. Everywhere you look it appears to have a reflection of yourself for some strange reason. Walking in the streets your own reflection is reflected back to you threw puddles of mud. Looking out the window you again see a glimpse of yourself. During a dinner conversation with a friend you have yet again caught your own mirror image in the wine glass on the table. You can not escape it, no matter how much you want to get away from it, you just end up looking right back in your own eyes.
The thought that replays over and over again is that you are in a world strictly to serve your own best interest. No matter how much you want to escape it, it is you who must be knowingly aware of what you are encountering and how you perceive this wonderful image called life.
It is only then that you can stop seeing yourself in the reflections surrounding you and start seeing others take over and start looking out for their best interest. This city is allowing you to be knowledgeable about yourself so you can be better prepared to take care of others. In this respect, this city opens your eyes to how you would like to be treated and requires that treatment upon other individuals. By looking into the confusing icicle images, it is then that the whole picture is more clear. These images portray vivid descriptions of ones self not otherwise acknowledged or known unless thought of in this light.

Diomira. Bronze statues of all the gods. Peaceful and unique.

Isidora. City of his Dreams. Childs imagination.

Dorothea. The city in the past, present, and future. Futuristic.

Zaira. Lines of a hand. Tale telling and predictable.

Anastasia. The treacherous city. Dangerous and unknowing.

Tamara. Burning relatives’ corpses. Dirty city.

Zora. Musical score where not a note can be altered or displayed. Dreamy wonderland.

Despina. He thinks of ships. Nothing is as it seems.

Zirma. It repeats itself so that something will stick in the mind. Same thing over and over.

Isaura. City of the thousand wells. Luscious with water.

Maurilia. One saw absolutely nothing graceful and would see it even less today. Not always as it appears.

Fedora. The ideal city. Picture perfect.

Zoe. Nothing but doubts. Unattainable belief.

Zenobia. With its pilings and suspended staircases. Prim and proper.

Euphemia. “hidden treasures”. Hunger Raves, hunger settles.

Zobeide. This ugly city. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Hypatia. Crabs were biting the eyes of the suicides. Misleading cities.

Armilla. Abandoned before ore after it was inhabited. Disappearing city.

Chloe. Eyes lock for a second, then dart away. All the same but totally different.

Valdrada. Sees two cities: one erect above the lake, and the other reflected, upside down. Mirror image.

Olivia. Inhabitants’ industry. Extremely dirty work.

Sophronia. They uproot it, dismantle it, and take it off. Yearly fair, removable.

Eutropia. All these cities together. The melting pot.

Zemrude. Following every day the same stretches of street and finding again each morning the ill-humor of the day before. Today is soon tomorrow.

Aglaura. But what was bizarre has become usual. Everything is as it seems.

Octavia. Little wooden ties, careful not to set your foot in the open spaces. Booby trapped city.

Ersilia. They rebuild Ersilia elsewhere. The good-bad city.

Baucis. With spyglasses and telescopes aimed downward they never tire of examining it. Perfectly pictured.

Leandra. They belong to the house, and when the family that has lived there goes away, they remain with the new tenants; perhaps they were already there before the house existed. Hidden treasures.

Melania. Even if none of them keeps the same eyes and voice he had in the previous scene. Changing places.

Esmeralda. Marked in different colored inks, all these routes, solid and liquid, evident and hidden. Not easily discovered.

Phyllis. Which elude the gaze of all, except the man who catches them by surprise. You never quite know what you might be looking for.

Pyrrha. Given it a name that means something entirely different. Nothing is as it seems.

Adelma. He had disappeared down an alley. Life after death and life during death.

Eudoxia. Symmetrical motives whose patterns are repeated along straight and circular lines. Memorable mathematical patterns.

Moriana. Alabaster gates transparent in the sunlight. Angelic white angels.

Clarice. It was all there, merely arranged in a different order, no less appropriate to the inhabitants’ needs than it had been before. Honestly mistaken.

Eusapia. Identical copy of their city, underground. The mystical hidden city.

Beersheda. Silver locks and diamond gates, a jewel city, all inset and inlaid. The majestic jewels.

Leonia. The things that each day are thrown out to make room for the new. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Irene. A name for a city in the distance, and if you approach, it changes. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Argia. The place is deserted. A ghost town.

Thekla. The city may begin to crumble and fall to pieces, they add hastily, in a whisper. A delicate dessert.

Trude. But you will arrive at another Trude, absolutely the same, detail by detail. An intricate trinket.

Olinda. And then if becomes a full-size city, enclosed within the earlier city. Look deeper and you might see what is not already there.

Laudomia. The dead, the cemetery. Life before death, life after death.

Perinthia. Reflect harmony. One big happy family.

Procopia. I saw the ditch vanish, the tree, the bramble patch. Over population.

Raissa. City of sadness. A river of sadness.

Andria. The days on earth and the nights in the sky reflect each other. Mirror image of astronomy.

Cecilia. Ask me the names of the grazing lands: I know them all. Fortune teller.

Marozia. Consists of two cities, the rat’s and the swallows’s; both change with time but their relationship does not change. Consistent inconsistency.

Penthesilia. You advance for hours and it is not clear to you whether you are already in the city’s midst or still outside it. The never ending story.

Theodora. One by one the species incompatible to the city had to succumb and were extinguished. A forest fire.

Berenice. Meat-grinding machines. Slavery.


The narrator in Calvino’s work is Marco Polo. The historical significance of this book is that the author is explaining one specific city in great detail, examining every aspect of the personality of the people, city, and atmosphere. The author would make such a choice in contemporary times because so often people forget what this unique city started as and where is it is today. The author begins his tales in the first person and then later in the book he changes to third person. I think this changes because he detaches himself as the author and begins to see the bigger picture of the city and imagines himself part of the city rather than touring the city.

New Adventure in Rome

I am most excited to see all the wonderful famous sites in Rome and to get to know the group I'm going to be traveling with in this unfamiliar city. I am most nervous about being away from my family and friends for so long.