Words: 644
But though my mind was filled with images of America, of tall buildings with wide green fields, of the dark- aired man I remembered as my father, I could not believe in the truth of them, even my father now seeming merely like someone I had imagined in a dream; and all I could see clearly of the future was a kind of limitless space that took shape in my head as the sea, and a Journey into this space took direction not from its destination but from the point of departure, Valley del Sole, which somehow could not help but remain always visible on the receding shore. (Rice, 165) Certain circumstances in Vitriol’s childhood made him look at the world through eyes of less innocence. In every life, there are encounters of sadness and difficulties that arise to test your character and thus, loss of innocence is a necessary component to maturity. It is the gradual transition into adulthood that every child must go through. Ion Rice’s ‘Lives Of the Saints’ deals with the loss of innocence of a boy who realizes that the world is not as perfect as he thought it would be – life is not always “gumdrops and daisies. Vitriol’s loss of innocent occurs as he realizes the imperfections and faults of his mother, moving him away from being “Mama’s boy. Loss of innocence is a necessary component to maturity. It is the gradual transition into adulthood that every child must go through. Ion Rice’s -Lives Of the Saints’ deals with the loss of innocence of a boy who realizes that the world is not as perfect as he thought it would be. Veto’s loss of innocent occurs as he realizes the imperfections and faults of his mother.
In the novel, Vito is very attached to his mother. He begins using foul language and this leads to his mother slapping him. After that, things become different for Vito and his mother. He notices his life changing. What’s the matter with you? Oh! Pasta! ” “It tastes like sit,” I said. … But an instant later my face was burning: my mother had slapped me, hard, against the cheek. (Rice, 70-71) “My mother, too, had withdrawn into a shadowy silence.
Since the day at the restaurant a veil seemed to have fallen between us… ” (Rice, 74-75) “l spent my time alone now, waiting for something to happen that would restore the normalcy of things, for the festival, for school to begin in October. ” (Rice, 75) Vito notices that his life is changing and that his mother is hanging as well. He is beginning to see the differences in his mot He does not understand what is happening yet.
Vito becomes confused when everybody in the village starts talking about his mother and when she suddenly starts showing signs of pregnancy. “You know, you’re lucky trouble, eh They say that if a woman goes with another man and gets bitten by a snake, then the next baby she has will have the head of a snake. And then the only thing you can do’ -He made a sudden Jabbing motion with a clenched fist, and I darted back – ‘is to kill the baby the minute it’s born, and cut out its eyes, so the evil eye won’t follow you. (Rice, 124) Vito is present when a snake bites his mother, but over time he realizes that his mother was with another man while this happen. His father is in America and everybody in the village knows that the child Christina, Veto’s mother, is carrying is from another man. In the little village of Valley Del Sole, traditions and superstitions are strictly followed. Vito feels scared when the other boys tell him this about his mother and wants to run away. He becomes defensive