Genre
Anti-fascist novel
Setting and Context
The novel was set in Abruzzo, Italy.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Informative and poignant
Protagonist and Antagonist
Pietro Spina is the central character.
Major Conflict
The conflict is that the police are after Spina because he tells people about the evils of the government. To silence him from talking negatively about the government, the police have been ordered to arrest him.
Climax
The climax comes when Spina falls in love with a girl, but he does not reveal his true identity.
Foreshadowing
The hunting of Spina by the police is foreshadowed by his passion for enlightening people about the government's evil activities.
Understatement
The evils of totalitarianism are inconspicuous in the text. Besides the authority ensuring that it silences its critics, it brainwashes the poor peasants to believe that the government gives them what they want.
Allusions
The story alludes to the evils of totalitarianism forms of government.
Imagery
The author describes the oppression of the government using sight imagery. The reader sees the efforts of Spina to enlighten people about the evils of the government, but the people are ignorant because the government blinds them to think that they are getting what they deserve.
Paradox
The main paradox is that the poor peasants are ignorant of their rights, and they are ready to take anything the government offers for their survival.
Parallelism
Spina’s efforts to fight the totalitarian government parallel the views of the rest of the citizens who want to get basics for survival.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Totalitarianism is embodied as the worst human oppressor.
