THe Day of the Owl Reflection Paper
Keagan Angevin
Dewey
European Civilization II
29 April 2014
The “hidden” Truth in Sicily Leonardo Sciacia’s The Day of the Owl explores the pursuit of truth by Captain Bellodi after a mysterious shooting upon a contractor, named Salvatore Colasberna, who is a member of the Santa Fara Co-Operative Building Society. Throughout this novel, the society of Sicily attempts to conceal the acts of the mafia who control Sicilian lifestyle. The Day of the Owl portrays the corrupted and fearful society, in which even local Sicilians and family members of victims do not attempt to counter the oppressive opposing force, the mafia. The term “truth” in Sicilian society is greatly corrupted, due to this fear of the mafia. The mafia was able to shape the perception of truth to the people in Sicily. After the shooting of Salvatore Colasberna, Captain Bellodi goes on a mad goose chase to find the cause and culprit of this murder. Throughout this chase, there are grand attempts to conceal the truth and hide what is going on. The reader slowly begins to discover small indications as to the picture of what is going on in this corrupted Sicilian society. Immediately after police officers began investigating, the bus driver, who was right next to the shooting, attempts to mask the truth. When the sergeant-major inquired about how many passengers were on the bus, the driver responded saying, “How should I know…More than five or six though. Maybe more; maybe the bus was full. I never look to see who’s there. I just get into my seat and off we go. The road’s the only thing I look at; that’s what I’m paid for…to look at the road” (Sciascia 11). Instantly after the shooting, the reader is introduced to a little hint that the truth of the shooting may be concealed. The sergeant-major later points out that the bus driver should know the amount of passengers because he tears off the passengers’ tickets. This concealment of truth leads the reader to believe there is an underlying reason
Dewey
European Civilization II
29 April 2014
The “hidden” Truth in Sicily Leonardo Sciacia’s The Day of the Owl explores the pursuit of truth by Captain Bellodi after a mysterious shooting upon a contractor, named Salvatore Colasberna, who is a member of the Santa Fara Co-Operative Building Society. Throughout this novel, the society of Sicily attempts to conceal the acts of the mafia who control Sicilian lifestyle. The Day of the Owl portrays the corrupted and fearful society, in which even local Sicilians and family members of victims do not attempt to counter the oppressive opposing force, the mafia. The term “truth” in Sicilian society is greatly corrupted, due to this fear of the mafia. The mafia was able to shape the perception of truth to the people in Sicily. After the shooting of Salvatore Colasberna, Captain Bellodi goes on a mad goose chase to find the cause and culprit of this murder. Throughout this chase, there are grand attempts to conceal the truth and hide what is going on. The reader slowly begins to discover small indications as to the picture of what is going on in this corrupted Sicilian society. Immediately after police officers began investigating, the bus driver, who was right next to the shooting, attempts to mask the truth. When the sergeant-major inquired about how many passengers were on the bus, the driver responded saying, “How should I know…More than five or six though. Maybe more; maybe the bus was full. I never look to see who’s there. I just get into my seat and off we go. The road’s the only thing I look at; that’s what I’m paid for…to look at the road” (Sciascia 11). Instantly after the shooting, the reader is introduced to a little hint that the truth of the shooting may be concealed. The sergeant-major later points out that the bus driver should know the amount of passengers because he tears off the passengers’ tickets. This concealment of truth leads the reader to believe there is an underlying reason