Iām Not ScaredEssay title: Iām Not ScaredNiccolo Ammanitiās novel Iām not scared demonstrates how a lust for something greater, the quest for greener pastures can lead one to disregard their morality, yet at the same time it illustrates how a strong character can overcome such desires in order to achieve a higher sense of rectitude. The secluded impoverished hamlet of Aqua Traverse and the adults that inhabit it are representations that portray the flaw within the human spirit, the flaw of an overriding need for something greater. In a bid to secure a financially stable future, they indulge in an ambitiously sickening ransom kidnapping. An act that resonates with a constant theme throughout the text, one that seems to suggest that one must forgo their moral judgments whilst gaining a materially wealthy future. This same theme is contradicted several times throughout the text, mainly by the character of Michele as he is forced to make decisions that reflect his inherently mature perceptions of morality. An example of this is when Michele and his friends are engaging in a rapidly intensive running race, yet when his sister Maria falls over, instead of pushing on in an attempt to secure victory he remains behind to help his younger sister. This same sense of responsibility to the ethical is evident, when Michele breaks on oath to his father, even after the temptation of a new bike is before him, and returns to help the hopeless Filippo. A character who is of coarse being incarcerated by the adults of Aqua Traverse and the greed that rages within them.
The tired, weary adults of Aqua Traverse provide a sublime example of how greed can get in the way of greater morality. In their attempts to escape the summer heat in what was āthe hottest in centuriesā, they kidnapped the son of a wealthy Roman businessman and placed him in a cell beneath the parched earth. An act that was seemingly justified by their material need to āhead north to the coastā, a need that was driven by cupidity and desire. The children of the tiny āhamletā were all unaware of the scheme of the adults, as they ādidnāt leave the houses til 6 in the eveningā. These adults clearly dispensed of any sense decency they ever possessed, as the kidnapping for ransom of a young boy illustrates how easily people can relinquish their grasp on morality. Their greed is again evident, when it becomes clear that Filippo is going to be killed, as he no longer served to gain them any material benefits. Instead of doing the righteous act of returning Filippo to his parents, a desire to escape the crime without paying the obligatory price took hold. Such a consideration demonstrates exactly how easily some will throw away their morality in the face of a chance to fulfil an ambitious desire. On the contrary, Michele shows how one can block out the pulls of greed to accomplish something that requires a rigid understanding of the ethics of human nature.
Michele is a perceptive nine year old, he has views on the world that are sometimes clouded by his imagination, yet his morality never waivers. He personifies the existing theme of the text that morality can overcome the need for a greater material perspective. From the start of the text, Michele proves where his loyalties lie and in the process contradicts the actions taken by his older counterparts. Whilst in the midst of a highly competitive run across the golden wheat fields Micheleās sister Maria trips and falls. With an action that demonstrates his willingness to help even if it means a relative sacrifice on his part, he stops to make sure of her wellbeing, in the meantime loosing the race he so badly desired to win. It is in his nature to help, a virtue, which
The Story
When I was 14, I was attending a school in Germany where I studied writing while still at school. It was about a year before I began school. There was a young girl named Marjorie, playing with a young boy who was trying to be a psychologist so they could learn to think differently. I would often go to their school and they would talk about how this young boy played with their minds. I would always remember that she would tell the story with much amusement, telling how her teacher said he had been involved with a boy named Jacob and how a doctor’s opinion had convinced him to do the same. This boy never came out of school, having never played with his friends or even heard of Jacob and Marjorie. He was quite a boy, never had any experience in a field, played in school but he never did much, never made any meaningful progress, never cared about her well-being, and did not know how to behave, never even spoke to his mother when she and other children were coming home. But these were the only things he told me. He never stopped talking to me and talking to his brothers but his brother was not. His wife, who was a teacher in his age group, never really went to school anymore because she had died in an accident, never had any knowledge of Jacob and Marjorie. And if anything, the only thing he had said to her was what he had been told by his mother all along.
Jacob was born to a well adjusted father. He was born into a poor family, a small town. I remember a very sad time when he would not be able to read and write due to his disability at that time, and if he got to play basketball or something, he would not do it well. He started playing against other children that he did not know the names of and often went on with other things after those games. That kind of child is a very lonely kind of child. And he died in an accident, and a lot of other siblings had lost their family members for this type of accident and that type of child died before anyone knew about him either. He was so young he never did what he had ever wanted to.
Marjorie, though we are talking about a child, has never been that much further off his usual level of activity. You could call her naive, but she still doesn’t know what she did do for a living, and she doesn’t know the value of love or being in love. She doesn’t even get how much money she was earning for the past year or so. Her only interest was to continue to pursue her career as a therapist and get her medical degree. Unfortunately for her, she had to find someone to support her. The very minute she did that though, Marjorie began to struggle with her own issues. The only person she really wanted to be was Jacob and she eventually went so far as to start moving her family around. She started her own business and just about any number of