The novel ‘I’m Not Scared’ by Niccolo Ammaniti, is the story of a 9 year old boy, Michele Ammitrano, and his struggles in growing up in an era ridden with kidnappings. After discovering his own parents were involved in kidnapping an innocent boy, Michele gradually comes to the realisation that loyalty and trust are far more important than materialistic objects. Although Michele realises the importance of these traits, he himself even has trouble for filling them.
When Michele finds out that his once ‘hero’ parents are involved in the cruel kidnapping of a boy just for money, he loses his trust in them. At the start of the novel, Ammaniti is constantly using Pino and Therese in Michele’s dreams and imaginations to show how much love and admiration Michele has for his parents. As the novel goes on, these descriptions become less and less common as Michele finds out more about his parents’ secret behaviours. Although him and his family are poor, Michele shows no sympathy for their choices. When his parents find out that Michele knows about the kidnapping, they try to bribe him with a new bike. This only makes Michele’s trust in his parents even smaller. Ammaniti uses the bike to show the trust between Michele and his parents. At first the bike temporarily repairs the trust and works to perfection, but once the excitement wears off, Michele comes to the realisation that it isn’t as good as he thought it was. When he ditches his new bike for his old one, it is a symbol of the end of his trust in his parents. These objects make Michele become aware of the importance of trust and loyalty.
Although Michele feels betrayed by his parent’s attempt to bribe him, he betrays Filippo by selling him out for a set of Subbuteo players. The temptation of a set of his favourite game was enough for Michele to tell a secret that would have deadly consequences. Ammaniti uses the game