Without Colors

“Without Colors” is a short story written by Italo Calvino as part of his Cosmicomics collection. The story is narrated by Qfqfq, who talks about his experience living in a monotonous world and ventures with his love, Ayl. In the story, Qfwfq and Ayl travel together until a meteor passes their world and emit an array of various colors. Ayl disappears as the Meteor passes by and Qfwfq travels the world to look for her only to find her hiding away from a colors of the world. The theme of “Without Colors” is about change and how it can affect relationships between people. This is present in the story through the setting of the world, it’s plot structure, and the how the characters perceive themselves and their environment. The presence of change

Change can aid to improve physically, mentally, or it can do the exact opposite. In the end, it all depends on how one deals with the change and how one adjusts to it. In a lifetime, one is bound to encounter change in their environment, it’s unavoidable but, developing from it is a choice. Relationships between people can change for numerous reasons, one of them is the difference in personal belief. According to Bradley (2007) difference in opinion in a relationship can hinder towards progression or an agreement for both parties. In Without Colors, Qfwfq showcases that the world is amazing with colors while Ayl argues that they are not. This is shown in their first argument where Qfwfq tries to offer Ayl shiny stones because of the sunlight, Ayl then rejects the gift, moving them away from the sun, to make them dark. It is in this moment, the readers see a difference in how Ayl and Qfwfq perceive beauty, which eventually will affect the both of them later. The environment eventually changes, the world starts having color, and because of this, Ayl and Qfwfq are forced to part ways because of their different perception on beauty. Ayl prefers a monotone world while Qfwfq sees beauty in colorful setting. The relationship between Qfwfq and Ayl failed to prosper because Qwfwq did not understand Ayl’s adaptability towards the change in atmosphere. Qfwfq was not understanding towards Ayl and