Anaylsis of the chicken ceremony
Is the Chicken Ceremony a superstition, or is it a supper?
Why are chickens important in the Village Valle del Sole? The Village Valle del Sole is located in one of the most isolated parts in Italy, so people living there are easily influenced by the lore that is going around the whole village. For example, throughout the novel, it is shown how important the chicken symbolises to people “He had a fight with his neighbor about a chicken. His neighbor came over with a shotgun, they started shouting and screaming, and pom! the next thing you know, his hand is gone” (Ricci 20) . From this incident, it can be deduced that even an animal such as a chicken could be considered precious due to their superstitions during that era. Every little action can be considered superstitious including the chicken ceremony which Vittorio secretly conducted himself without the knowledge of anyone. On the other hand, this chicken ceremony can be considered a supper because there is no proof that the chicken ceremony actually worked and Cristina did not specifically followed Giuseppina’s details of conducting the chicken ceremony in the barn. First of all, when Vittorio already sends his mother to the hospital, he took of what’s left in the barn and decided to continue his mother’s work. Since he overhears the 2
Conversation between Cristina and Giuseppina, he knows of what to do next in the ceremony. Moreover, out of love, Vittorio puts his hope in this chicken ceremony since he thought that by doing this, he can save his family and makes them not to be marginalized by the villagers again and hoping for a new life. Vittorio is actually very superstitious when he is conducting the chicken ceremony; he literally made a gruesome sacrifice because “turned the head back towards the pyre so it could watch the sacrifice of its nether part” (Ricci 118). For a 7-year-old boy to be as cruel as to torture an animal since it is inhumane even for kids to let dead animals
Why are chickens important in the Village Valle del Sole? The Village Valle del Sole is located in one of the most isolated parts in Italy, so people living there are easily influenced by the lore that is going around the whole village. For example, throughout the novel, it is shown how important the chicken symbolises to people “He had a fight with his neighbor about a chicken. His neighbor came over with a shotgun, they started shouting and screaming, and pom! the next thing you know, his hand is gone” (Ricci 20) . From this incident, it can be deduced that even an animal such as a chicken could be considered precious due to their superstitions during that era. Every little action can be considered superstitious including the chicken ceremony which Vittorio secretly conducted himself without the knowledge of anyone. On the other hand, this chicken ceremony can be considered a supper because there is no proof that the chicken ceremony actually worked and Cristina did not specifically followed Giuseppina’s details of conducting the chicken ceremony in the barn. First of all, when Vittorio already sends his mother to the hospital, he took of what’s left in the barn and decided to continue his mother’s work. Since he overhears the 2
Conversation between Cristina and Giuseppina, he knows of what to do next in the ceremony. Moreover, out of love, Vittorio puts his hope in this chicken ceremony since he thought that by doing this, he can save his family and makes them not to be marginalized by the villagers again and hoping for a new life. Vittorio is actually very superstitious when he is conducting the chicken ceremony; he literally made a gruesome sacrifice because “turned the head back towards the pyre so it could watch the sacrifice of its nether part” (Ricci 118). For a 7-year-old boy to be as cruel as to torture an animal since it is inhumane even for kids to let dead animals
Cited: Ricci, Nino. Lives Of The Saints. Toronto: Cormorant Books Inc, 2010. Print