Innocence In Nino Ricci's Lives Of The Saint

Ernest Hemingway says that “All things truly wicked start from innocence” (Hemingway). In his opinion, when someone starts losing his innocence, all the things around him are going to be judged in a different way which appears to be more realistic and cruel. “Innocence” is mostly used to describe children since they are naïve and they comprehend less about events that happen around them. In Nino Ricci’s novel, Lives of the Saint, Vittorio is the one who has gradually become mature and has lost his innocence during his growth and development. Nino Ricci uses a variety of writing techniques to illustrate Vittorio’s loss of innocence throughout the novel. The theme of innocence is developed by the author by using various literary devices; by describing Vittorio’s childhood memories and by portraying conflicts between Vittorio and others. In the first place, Nino Ricci uses diverse literary devices to

Vittorio’s changing attitude towards the coin reflects his loss of innocence. After Cristina’s death, Vittorio pulls out the lucky one lira again but he does not hold the coin tight that “it [flips] through [his] fingers – easily almost, without resistance, as if [he] [has] not tried to stop it” (Ricci 248). When the coin rolls out into the sea, Vittorio lets go of the coin easily without thinking to hold it back and he watches it roll into the sea because it does not bring him luck as before since it just allowed his mother to die in front of him. On the other hand, Vittorio’s act of letting go of the coin symbolizes that he is also letting go of his innocence. He now knows that nothing can help him and he does not even believe in the lucky one lira coin which used to help him overcome many difficulties in Valle del Sole and used to be regarded as his most precious possession. Thus, the theme of Vittorio’s loss of innocence is developed by using different literary devices such as simile and