That Summer in Sicily by Mardelana De Blasi

That Summer in Sicily (pg 216-283)

As i was reading the last part of the book the book reveals the mysteries of the stories in this book. We finally find out who is the narrator, the narrator is Tosca. Tosca finally realizes that she wants to stay in the palace because she couldnt imagine life withoguth living there. She is a very lazy human being and wants to live easy way. We also find out about the family history and how everyone gotseperated. When her family lived together after her mom died everyone was happy but then her sister got happy and father couldnt provide for both of them so he had to sell Tosca to Leo who lives in the palace. That falls into how everyone in the palace was so generous to her because she was Leo's property. She didnt know any of this was going on at the time she was hapy to be living there with everything she needed. Her father was testing her to see if she would really go live with him. While Malfada is sick she left and Mafalda claimed that she wanted to be with her sister but she left. Mafalda was told that her sister wanted to seperate from her. Tosca was told that if she didnt go thather sister would suffer because her father did not have any money. Tosca stayed in touch through Leo because him and her father would talk constantly and he would go back to Tosca to tell her. Malfada felt betrayed ecause her sister never came back. One day they meet at the bus stop and Tosca thought it was her mother but it was Mafalda she had her mothers looks in everyway. They saw eachother and talked about how they seperated. Mafalda was on a mission to find her father but, in reality she ound out from her fathers secret lover that he had died. Three days pass and Tosca does not hear anything from her sister she starts worry but then she comes to visit her from the other side of town and stalks about all her accomplishents. She has done more than Tosca ever did she got a house and she has a job where she makes her money and provides for herself. Then it ends by Mafalda telling Tosca she can be apart of her life if she wants to be but she isnt going to trust her imediately. Leo ends up dieing so she is free to live her life but chooses to live in the palace for her life.

"I pull Mafalda over to bench that has just been vacated since the autobu has arrived but she pushes me away, reaches up the flat of her hand and strikes my cheek. She strikes me three times before I have the presence to take hold of her arm. She screams, 'Me? Why did I abandon you? Are you sure you remember thins as they really happened, Tosca? Tosca? You left me and you left Papa and..."(Blasi 219).

This quote reveal when Tosca finally meets her sister, and they are so surprised after 15 years of not speking or not seeing eachother there reaction was rather violent. They talked it over and sat on the bench and talked. Mafalda was going to her fathers old secret lover to find out if she has seen him. She asked Tosca if she can go with her but Tosca agreed that she will wait till she comes back.  Three days go on and Mafalda finally comes and spends time with her. This quote represents that the sisters still loves eachother spite the sepration they had. Tosca and Mafalda have been looking for eachother for years and when they dont look for eachother thats when they lay eyes on eachother. Ironically it was meant to be but Mafalda wasnt going to let her  in her life becaus ehse matured quicke and realized that if Tosca seperated it was because she wanted to be away from Mafalda.

That Summer in Sicily Part 4

That Summer in Sicily pg 100-215

       Since I been reading the narrator expresses and changes tremendously. I noticed that she gets tired of living a happy lifestyle for a long time. The narrator and Leo are finally an Item, they have good communication but they need to get to know eachother more because the narrator is surprising him more and more each time she does something. For example before she came to the big palace she was poor and had to take care of her sister Malfada, it was a huge hastle for her to handle. She left all of that go, to finally reach what she may call heaven on earth. Starngly she got tired of this lifestyle, she admited that she was happier before when she didn't have much on her plate, even thought the dresses were one of her favorite reason for living in the palace. While sitting down at the dinner table she finally said that she wanted to move out and find her own way throught life, that she had become a completely diffrent person that she is not meant to be which is true. She wasnt meant to be a princess because she wasnt happy becoming that way either. Agata kept trying to change her m mind because she has already become family in that house and letting her run free is jus going to make people in the house miss her and become very sad. 

       While this is happening in the book, a prince comes by and sits and haves a talk with Cosmica, Tosca, and the narrator because there are so fascinated about how he runs his land.  He talks about how the land is split and how the fields arent being used to their advantage or to his people. Poor hungry people could have more food then they imagine if the Prince would use that part of land to grow crops but he wont. In order for his people to live some turn to murdering people. For example a poor man didn't had no food, or other necessities to feed his family so he turned to a group of people who told him that if you kill that guy we will give you all the ingredients to live. They repeatedly told him to aim for his face when you shot him. Life in Sicily was hard but, not in the palace or should i say birthing clinic the narrator lives is. 

"Theirs was an expression of their sicilianness. They place themselves outside of and hence are indifferent to any form of reason or law but their own. There is no state in Sicily. The feckless governing that is metted out of Rome has never breeched the narrow chasm of sea that seperates Sicily from the peninsula. rural sicilians have been living a brigand's life for as long as they're been hungry. there is no state to protect Sicilians. Men have their own state. Perhaps it is the Scylla herself who holds the heads of the state inderwater while sings her siren song. " (Blasi 107)

"But if these men are killers, why didn't they kill the man with the green shirt themselves? Why did they have to find someone like Filiberto to do it for them?" (Blasi 107) 

These two quotes were the ones that really caught my attention because in the first quote it's describing what is a Sicilian basically that this is who they are filled with narrow mercenary people who hae to create a life of their own because such governing over there has no use to the people in Sicily. They dont bother to protect the sicilians either which is really sad. In the second quote i wonder to myself if these men are handing of assasination jobs then why are they the ones being called murderers. They're not the ones actually killing anyone , to me they just seem like a decoy to the effect they dont want to get in trouble at all they just want to see innocent people being killed for their own benefit.

That Summer in Sicily Part 3

The Summer in Silicy ( pgs 80-100)

As reading “That Summer is Sicily the narrator finds a new friend called Leo, who looks out for her. Ironically he knows her family so he is willing to pass on information to her. The narrator gets along with her family but she isn’t as close to them. For example, when Leo invites her to have a walk with him it was to tell her that her father came by the birthing clinic; where she lived , to tell him that Mafalda is going to move with her mothers sister. Mafalda is the narrators sister and since her father can’t be around her as much because he works she choose to move with her moms sister instead. Mafalda hasn’t been well and someone needs to be able to take care of her. When the narrator hears about this she becomes very angry inside because she’s realizing that her and her sister are separating slowly.    
    Later in this portion of the story they go back in time and discuss When king Vittorio nullified the governing power of Mussolini and placed a general called Badoglio in charge. After that Italy was officially safe the war was over. The narrator says she never even knew that the war began ( Blasi, 85).

"That my father had been trying to pawn Mafalda upon one relative or another for a long time. Leo spoke as though he'd forgotten that I'd reconciled to live withought me, too, hurts far more. For the past three years I'd believe ours was only physical separation. Not so now (Blasi 81).

This quote signifies a lot about the father. It seems like the father doesnt want to be involved in any aspect of any of his childrens lives because he keeps handing them to other family members. Mafalda is very ill and instead of the father being there for her he instead sends her off to her mothers sister to be taken care of. but, as well towards the father i thingk he may have internal conflict because maybe when he was younger one of his family members would have done it. He still cares because he lets people know before jus handing his daughters to a person, but maybe when he was younger something happened to him thats why he wont let himself get to attached to his daughters. Another thing seems to me like the narrator is trying to put herself agaisnt her father because she thinks he's the reason for the physical seperation he's put upon both his daughters.

The Summer in Sicily part 2

The Summer in Sicily by: Marlena De Blasi (pg 44-90)

In the book The Summer in Sicily tha narrator still imagines herslef as if she were in a dream. Her sertting is still in that enormous house filled with numerous of people who help run the house. We finally find out that the building is actually a birthing clinic and some os the babies that are born there grow up there as well. The narrator gets fascinated by Tosca which is the woment who is incharged oof the house. The house had a name and it the villa; the narrator spent many nights there and she fell in love with that enviorment. There's always people there and happiness. While the narrator lives in that location the people who live there everyone told her fantasy stories. For example Casimo tells her tales in the garden to fill her head with happiness. Tosca takes tha narrator pooutside and says, "Id like to tell you a story, chou." Tosca is like a motherlike figure to her, she always wants the narrator to feel comforable and filled with felicity. So instead of Cosimo telling her stories Tosca is going to be telling her a couple of stories. We begin Part II of the book and it goes into Tosca's stories that she tells the narrator. Tosca spends a lot of time with the narrator jus like a mother.

"From that day foward I read and wrote and studied like a Jesuit acolyte, all the while retreating father and farther from the frilly surfaces of palace life"(Blasi 77).

This part of the book shows alot of symbolism. in each part of the book Marlena De Blasi tells her setting very vividly. In the book there is a specifici seen where Tosca gets really close to the narrator and starts wanting to tell her stories because she found of that Cosimo t=is telling her stories. Before she stats telling her stories the steers her tea with a beautiful silver spoon which in my opinion represents that she is rich because she lives in a big house and she drinking tea. You can say she was born with a silver spoon.

That Summer in Sicily

A Love Story by: Marlena de Blasi

That Summer in Sicily (pg 1-50)

That summer in Sicily starts of with the narrator who's hallucinating about of she's in a dream or not. "In her dream" she and Fernando walk in a house of workers who are very friendly and greet themselves towards them. They're fascinated of this mansion like filled with gardens, big rooms, and delicious food. The superintendent of the large mansion gladly gave them a room and is a very warming and gentle women. The narrator was very anxious to look around and find out where she was. She was so sure it was a dream she wanted to wake up but she couldn't. She discovered that the home that she was in helped people when there in need. for example when a women who has a baby doesn't have a home she's willing to stay as long as she needs to until she's on her feet. The narrator looks at this place as a place of peacefulness. "The sun is torpid upon us, the scents of the food are glorious, and as I run my hand along the prickly leaves of the yews lining the white gravel path i feel so grateful to be inside this dream of Sicily"(Blasi 11).

"The underwater silence of the gardens, gently penetrated by the women's chants and their laughter, has given way to domestic pandemonium"(Blasi 8).

The writter writes mostly about her description of the seeting, she makes you think your in a diffrent world. There discription is very vivid its like your there. During the exposition she explains who the characters are. In this story there are the narrator, fernando, the superintendent and the indivisuals who work there in the house.