Beginning thoughts of "Multicultural Literature in Contemporary Italy"

            As I read the introduction to Multicultural Literature in Contemporary Italy , I couldn’t help but to nod my head in approval and to highlight the many ideas concerning resiliency tactics that are utilized by immigrants to overcome the pain and tension endured on their journey away from their homelands. I particularly enjoyed the idea of humor as a tool to combat oppression. From personal experience, my family and friends incorporate humor into their stories when expressing their experiences with immigration to not only ease the tension of the conversation but to ultimately establish the notion that life is a struggle, the key to survival is being equipped with the right mentality. I agree with Mikail Bahktin’s perspective about laughter as a tool of freedom, who was referenced by Marie Orton and Graziella Parati  "laughter could never become an instrument to oppress and blind the people. It always remained a free weapon in their hands" (pg. 15). Humor is universal. By incorporating it to life experiences, the tales of Italian immigrants will become more 'humanized' (as the audience reads their stories they will, hopefully, no longer see their story as that of an immigrant, but rather that of an individual) ultimately making their stories easier to relate to. I also enjoyed the analogy used to describe the potential that humor has to create social movements. According Orton and Parati, the potential of “grotesque, satire and irony” is to take light (criticism; struggle, pain, desolation) and to” turn it into something that burns.” The power of the light is that of which, “can set fire and even destroy barriers”(pg. 15).

The first story I read was Salvation by Amor Dekhis. Amor is an immigrant from North Africa. From my knowledge of Mexican migratory trends in the US, he serves as the contact person in the desired country who is responsible for assisting their relatives or friends in finding a job, situating, and ultimately obtaining documentation. To a certain extent I agree with Amor’s concern of the high standards that many immigrants have of Italy,  within a few weeks of their arrival their optimism is replaced with disappointment.  This is also the case in the US, where many Mexican immigrants arrive and our surprised to discover that the opposite holds true of what they concocted in their minds.

I'm not too sure if I agree with Amor's decision of avoiding contact with his 'clients'. I believe a warning about the difficult situation in Italy to his friends is enough. At the end, it is up to the individual to choose whether to immigrate or not. Amor might be saving himself  a lot of turmoil by avoiding his contacts, but he is potentially putting his friends and relatives in danger. If one is determine to come to a country, they will do anything within their power to come. In other words, they will find another contact, who might or might not be as informative or caring as Amor. I’m looking forward to learning more about the experiences that Italian immigrants encounter. I’m particularly looking forward to the themes that will arise within their stories. There are high chances that they will be similar to those experienced by immigrants around the world.