Genre
Short adventure stories
Setting and Context
The events in the story take place in an unnamed city in Italy
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narration
Tone and Mood
In story an ironic tone prevails, sometimes with dramatic notes
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the story is Marcovaldo, a poor Italian blue-collar worker; the antagonist is the industrial society, which lost the connection with nature
Major Conflict
The major conflict stands in the struggle between man needs and desires – Marcovaldo immolated his dream to live near the purity of nature in order to earn money
Climax
The climax happens in the last episode of the story
Foreshadowing
The fact that Marcovaldo can’t realize his dream foreshadows that he is not satisfied with his life
Understatement
The role of city and industrialization
Allusions
The story alludes to poverty and realities of big city life
Imagery
see the imagery section
Paradox
The paradox of the story is between Marcovaldo’s endless optimism and simultaneously pessimism
Parallelism
The story has parallels with cultural contrast, social stereotypes, and nature
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The author uses metonymy and synecdoche to highlight the message of the utterance: “128 pages of glory," “the heart of the city”
Personification
The author uses personification for creating the realistic effect specific situations: “I'm ruined” “The moment stretched out”
