It’s as if the elevator is a vessel bound to transport its riders away from the apocalypse. Everyone is so desperate for a space inside. How do they even get the oxygen they need?Īs I make my way into one of the elevators, I almost get lost in the huge crowd trying to squeeze themselves in. I wonder how people could live without any presence of greenery. From my stroll a while ago, I could attest to the fact that there are no trees in this city. Even though I’m technically not transferring to another country, I still notice how different the city is from my province. Getting in a university in the city means moving in to a new place. Before I began walking, I pretend looking at my own watch, just to make myself blend in.Īfter walking a couple of blocks, I finally reach my destination - a thirty-story building which I would now call my brand new home.
They remind me of the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, glued to his pocket watch, as though his entire life depended on it. All around me I could see individuals constantly looking at their watches. One thing I don’t understand about the city people is why they are always in such a hurry. But since I had to jog my way to the other side, it has left me breathless. I’m panting hard when I reach the opposite strip of Taft. I fasten my pace, afraid to get left behind. The people crossing the street with me are running, as if in a hurry. I start crossing the street as the university guard carefully ushers everyone to the other side. They were much cleaner and definitely safer. I swear my lungs are bound to get weak from all the polluted air it’s inhaling. It is very crowded, dangerous, and polluted. I hate crossing the streets of this city.
In a similar way of how the black sheep is depicted in Italo Calvino’s story, Kipling made his symbolizing character, Punch, embody the role of being the odd man out. The “black sheep” reminded us of “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, the autobiographical short story of Rudyard Kipling who used the famous nursery rhyme as his title. His writing style is effective in a way that it gives readers more space to think and reflect about his text and how it is related to current societal norms. Italo Calvino, being a celebrated writer “who is known to blend fantasy, comedy, and fable to give an illuminated depiction of modern life” (, 2012), did not directly tell us that this is exactly what the story means. It is also an allegory in the way it reflects our current society and its ethics and norms. It represents the only persisting “good” in the country of thieves, besides the presence of the honest man. The water under the bridge is another symbolic point. He is the “black sheep” of the story, being the odd man out for refusing to steal other people’s homes regardless of what the societal norms dictate.
The first and more recognizable one is the honest man. This is another element backing the idea of change challenging tradition as the story’s theme.Īccording to Literary (2010), “an allegory is a symbolism device where the meaning of a greater, often abstract, concept is conveyed with the aid of a more corporeal object or idea being used as an example.” In the story, there were two prominent points which employed allegory or symbolism. When the people argued that his contradicting act results to a family without having anything to eat the following day, the honest man decides to be a nonconformist yet again by going out in the evening to watch the water flow under the bridge instead of stealing from others’ homes. One of these elements is the honest man staying home at night to smoke and read novels instead of conforming with the people’s practice of leaving their homes to rob others’. This idea can be deduced from several elements in the story. The overall theme of “Black Sheep” is contradicting societal norms or change challenging tradition. Italo Calvino’s “Black Sheep” is a fable about an honest man who was dubbed as a black sheep for not stealing when everyone else in his country does and how this contrasting quality of his had brought changes in the society’s behavior.
0 kommentar(er)
