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| Snowman Neighbor by MG Shelton |
My father will turn seventy-five this November. He will be sad to no longer be a Boy Scout. On a practical note, what will he do with all his extra time? On a political note, what is the use of his protest? The world, thank goodness, is moving toward greater social justice in terms of gender and sexual orientation. Personally: what does it mean that my father is on the side of closure and fear? Personally: what does it mean about his well-being? Personally: what response am I supposed to have? I am as stuck as Marcovaldo, yearning for something other than the cityscape and harsh realities of his life.
What we'd all like is the perfect reader, the perfect audience, ready to laugh or cry or be amazed, but what we must expect is that we have hard work ahead in order to draw any reader into any story. As I read Calvino's tales of a simple, foolish man at odds with his environment, I felt things. Complicated things. A mix of gratification and sorrow. A mix of sympathy and distance. At the end of the fourth short story, I was ready for some magic--Calvino had prepared me to long for Marcovaldo's sneeze, which turns into a tornado, clearing the ground of the cold, cold snow. When I stopped reading, my thoughts returned to my father, to "the things of every day, sharp and hostile," but my emotions had cleared, at least enough to make room for delight.
Italo Calvino writes Marcovaldo very much like a character from a sitcom, specifically the dumb but lovable character who gets into wacky hijinks and needs the main character to fix his self-inflicted problems. Marcovaldo finds mushrooms that he wants to give to his family as a “feast” but tries to hide them from everyone. But wouldn’t you know it, his enemy finds them as well and tells everyone about them, only for everyone to go to the hospital. And when Marcovaldo and his rival end up next to each other in the hospital, you can almost hear the music that plays at the end of Seinfeld.
ReplyDeleteBut what Calvino does for the reader is evoke easy emotion without being cheap. Marcovaldo in the second story thinks it’d be a great idea to sleep on a bench in the park. He goes to great lengths to not be caught by the night watchman, waits for an arguing couple to leave the bench and he can’t even go to sleep and he ends up running to work, probably late. But going a little deeper, Marcovaldo cares for his family but he calls his wife greedy and lazy and sleeps on a bench so he isn’t crowded for once with his six children. Marcovaldo is the child inside of us, the idealist, the person who wants to find a little fun in shoveling snow before it’s all blown away and he has to go back to real life, much like the escapism we as a readers find in stories like these. Calvino wants to provide that kind of escapism, to make us laugh at Marcovaldo without being mean-spirited, to make us feel the struggle that he’s six months behind on his rent, to make us feel emotionally rewarded without a high barrier to entry, totally opposite to Borges.
What I liked most about these stories is Calvino's ability to create such a quirky character. As Dylan points out, he is an idealist without provoking any annoyance in the reader (or at least myself as a reader, anyway). He's simplistic and looking to stir up a little fun, almost like a child, but for some reason he's endearing rather than off-putting. Basically he's likable and in turn, so are the stories, whacky as they may be. He speaks to the child in all of us...the ones who breathe into their cupped hands in winter, shut their eyes and pretend it's July. I think the creation of such a simplistic character with so much appeal says a lot about Calvino as a writer, since sometimes simplicity can become evidence of a lack of effort, but with this author, that is clearly not the case. His writing is effortless in that amazing way that takes so much skill and effort to achieve.
ReplyDeleteAnother point of interest, since I study Italian and love the language so much, is the fact that the bulk of Calvino's work is -as far as I can tell- translated from his original Italian. This, of course, opens up many opportunities for debate about the meaning of taking a piece from its home language to another, and what we may very well lose in translation. Given the simplistic, quirky nature of this story, I feel that this translation was a bit less problematic than it tends to be otherwise. Still, it's an interesting point to consider.
When reading Calvino's Seasonal stories, I read the character of Marcovaldo as a silly and likable character, that can't really seem to catch a break. The editor says that Calvino is similar in writing to that of Borges, but I am actually going to disagree with that. I found the character that Calvino set up to be much more interesting and relatable than that of Borges characters. You seem to root for Marcovaldo in his endeavors to find some happiness in life even though you don't know too much about him to warrant it. You kind of get a simple vibe from him looking for mushrooms and having such a childish fascination and excitement about eating them, to wanting to sleep on a bench and struggle to finally do so, to having small family feuds like us all, to wanting to shovel his snow before he runs out of time. Calvino kind of forces you to see some form of yourself within just one character going through many relatable instances of his life. Like Madeline mentions, I got the strong sense that these pieces were translated from Italian to English from the way that it is written. This also allows one to consider the possibilities of taking the story or understanding it in different ways. We could just be reading the translator's version, what would be the universal piece. But what if there is another version that we are not reading that is even closer to Calvino's original? We may be able to learn more from Marcovaldo and relate ourselves to him even more.
ReplyDeleteThe T. Coraghessan Boyle short story, “She Wasn’t Soft,” has been banging around in my head all weekend. What struck me most about Boyle’s stories wasn’t the language or the setting, but the way Boyle gives us the privilege of understanding the characters. The character development was so well done that when Jason gave Paula the cup at the end of the race, I as a reader both expected it, and believed that Jason would do it. The little things like the side note that Jason “always called her babe.” What’s most interesting was how Paula was a flat character, she was focused on either eating or the race, but the reader felt for her more than for Jason. And Jason despite being a round character is the character that the reader despises. I think that the reader’s anger directed at Jason is because we watch him struggle, the inner monologue, and we want him to be better. We need him to be a better person, to apologize, but he gives the cup to Paula and it completes him as a character. It shows us how he needs for her to need him, and she doesn’t need him.
ReplyDeleteBoyle essentially did the same in Greasy Lake, he set up unlovable characters that would manipulate the reader. These stories resonate with the reader because I think we have all been in these situations. Not actually in these situations, but it is true that we have all gotten to wrapped up in being our own characters, and following the script that we think our character must follow.
I found Marcovaldo's character very enjoyable, lovable, and downright hilarious. Although his actions may be well-intended, in the end something always go awry which leaves the reader laughing but also at the same time sympathetic. I really did enjoy Calvino breaking down Marcovaldo's misfortunes down by seasons. This really clarified the main character and how unfortunate he really is by going through the extent of his bad luck. From "Mushrooms in the City" to "The City Lost in Snow", Carvino's style of writing was very straightforward and to the point. It's so obvious that Marcovaldo wishes to live a simpler life than being stuck in the city, surrounded by people who don't view the world as he does. His antics become a bit more humorous due to this setting because they are something not often seen. Marcovaldo, although he may appear odd to those around him, is likeable to the reader because he is something natural and real in a commercialized world. His personality is something that we all can relate to and that is what made me enjoy these stories so much.
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoyed listening to Calvino. When reading his stories, I felt more like they were being sung to me. Funny, sweet, little parables, which got a lesson across while keeping my attention and interest in tact. The character of Marcovaldo was introduced indirectly through the events happening around him and his response, as opposed to a written description. Whether it was poisoned mushrooms, dead pigeons, distractions from sleep, or a city under snow, Marcovaldo is made through these unusual occurrences. He is silly, lovable, and the reader is behind him rooting for him in his endeavors. Calvino is able to create this sweet bond between reader and character without pushing too much emotion. I enjoyed how the stories ended, and I think the ending was what Calvino really wanted to resonate with readers. They were open to interpretation, leaving Marcovaldo’s realizations side by side with the reader’s. I particularly enjoyed the end of “Mushrooms in the City,” where the two men are literally face to face with the amusing irony of their situation. We chuckle but also learn with them the trials and tribulations of these fictional characters.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though in each section the author brings with each season what Marcovaldo experiences, a theme that encompases that particular time of year. For example in "Mushrooms in the City" when Marcovaldo is noticing every change, every seemingly unimportant change in season when Marcovaldo noticed the mushrooms he had a small moment of hope and renewal that Spring is really about. Nature is a major part of each of these stories, which I have taken to be a ridicule on futuristic "city-living" where nature is not celebrated, but smothered and unimportant. Marcovaldo's excitement is seen as almost childish by the other characters who couldn't care less about marveling at the woodcocks, or thinking about making his own city in the snow. Marcovaldo's way of looking at the little things only seems childish in that not many take time to get excited about such seemingly trivial things, but maybe we should. I think Calvino was maybe trying to show us through these pieces that maybe looking at things with a view un-shrouded by the responsibility and loss of wonder that one experiences when "growing up".
ReplyDeleteI love the simplicity that Marcovaldo is at his pure essence. This simple character, yet not simple in a dull sense, allows the reader to be manipulated into the world Calvino has created for Marcovaldo to inhabit. This character really reminded me to look for the little things in the world, the kind of things I used to be fascinated by as a child. Even as an adult, it is okay to let the child you used to be come out and give you a new perspective of your life. I seriously was sitting outside looking at the sky and listening to every sound the world makes and I was more relaxed than I have been in quite a few weeks. It is like these stories and the character of Marcovaldo reminded me of the nature that is always around me.
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed the magic of Italo Calvino's work. Like any good story teller, Calvino was able to spin a tale that grabbed my attention and sucked me right into the world where Marcovaldo lives. Having the same character interact in four very different situations made for an interesting yet familiar dynamic between the reader and the page. I felt as though there was a lesson to be learned from each situation, much like children's fables, don't be greedy...the grass is always greener on the other side, etc. The situations discussed in the stories reminded me of Aesop's Fables, nostalgia at its finest! As mentioned above, these stories bring out the child in me however, I am also able to look at them in humor and shake my head at the foolish antics of Marcovaldo that comes from past experiences of being foolish myself.
ReplyDeleteI was so relieved when I opened the book to Calvino's first story "Mushrooms in the City" because I saw that it was nothing like Jorge Luis Borges. What I loved about these short stories by Calvino is that the character Marcovaldo in such a way that he is incredibly easy to picture, passing around his mushrooms at a bus stop. He almost feels like a child in an adults body, or just a very simple man. At first he is presented as being unaffected by the city and the distractions that come along with it. Instead, he focuses on the nature that is present within the city, which I actually found quite beautiful. It's something that I almost wish more people could do, to actually pay attention to the nature around them. In the fourth season, he walks around the city muffled by snow with a feeling of being free. At the same time, I found that Marcovaldo is a very humorous character. It didn't seem quite so much in the first season, where I thought of him as just being quirky and strange. The narration through the seasons I think helped to build him into a funny character, like the snowman he ends up being in winter, where he just stands there and starts to eat a carrot that children had thrusted through the snow. It feels as though he is stuck in his own sort of wonderland, and in the end, he is brought back to the reality of the city.
ReplyDeleteSome parts tongue-and-cheek humor, other parts ridiculousness, Italo Calvino's short stories made me smile. I saw myself in Marcovaldo. We've all had those days where nothing goes the way we want it to,and eventually we adapt that "this-may-as-well-happen" attitude. The writing is a little silly, but in a way that made me smile as I turned the pages. It's easy to imagine Marcovaldo glaring at his rival in the hospital because of his own stupid decision to eat mushrooms, assuming them to be harmless because we've all been in a situation that escalates from bad to worse until we're left with no choice other than to laugh at ourselves. That's the effect Calvino's stories had on me. You follow along until you almost don't want to believe in the absurdity anymore, but the way in which the story comes full circle just makes you shake your head and laugh anyway. These stories operate on a simple level -- but it's important not to conflate simplicity with poor writing. As readers, we don't always need to read stories plagued with verbiage and complex storylines. Instead, we give ourselves up to an easy read that is no less satisfying than any complex story.
ReplyDeleteI found most of these stories about Marcovaldo to be written much like a Tom and Jerry episode. Marcovaldo is constantly pursuing some fantasy to improve his mundane life, only to repeatedly be made a victim by the author. In my notes, I wrote that these are very melodramatic stories, with Marcovaldo used as a subject of misfortune, always lost in in his dreams, always getting trouble, acting like a child. After the first short story, it really became predictable, and thus a little boring. The degree to which Marcovaldo is ill fated is almost unbelievable, and really detracted from any true message that could be conveyed. It was much like a sitcom where the audience members are smiling prematurely, saying, "What's going to happen to silly Marcovaldo now???" I really don't like sitcoms.
ReplyDeleteHowever I did appreciate the way that the author changed tones when he first was comparing the traffic light to the moon in Park-Bench Vacation.
I'm going to post my comments on the stories I read that I wasn't supposed to read, but accidentally did. Hopefully this will count as some sort of credit:
ReplyDeleteShe Wasn't Soft was a story about the selfishness exhibited by a noncompetitive man towards his girlfriend. At the end of the story he is trying to drug his girlfriends competitor so that his girlfriend can win, but upon seeing his girlfriend in the lead, he drugs her instead. The way that he is unwilling to see her win without his help shows how desperately he wants to control her and his willingness to take her love. I think having Paula raped by her longterm boyfriend shows a very real way which Boyle wrote this. It shows a couple things. It shows how selfish people can be very dangerous when they are drunk. Jason lacked a level of love that was required to cause him to support Paula's pursuits. Without this love, he hurt Paula because the only thing he valued from the relationship was the sex, and when she was unwilling to give that to him the night before a race he drunkenly raped her. I think he is an example of a person who can be loved, but who will never truly return love. In this case a loving nature is replaced by manipulation and selfishness.
Greasy Lake is like a mix between Dazed and Confused, The Breakfast Club, The Warriors, and an ABC after-school special. This was a pretty predictable plot in that a bunch of guys who think themselves tough wind up having a night that makes them completely rethink what they are doing with their lives. The body found in the lake is the wakeup call for the main character, which shows him just how far things can go. It's strange that both of these stories involved rape. I think it's something to show just how far men can go. In this story these "bad" guys really do seem like they might be capable of rape, but in the previous story it was not something that the aggressor seemed capable of. I don't think there was much exploration of rape as a concept in either story, it was merely used to show violence, force, and control. I didn't find either of these stories very eyeopening, they both just showed that human beings are capable of hurting other human beings. Specifically with violence, rape, and selfishness.