Fontamara

In Ignazio Silone’s Fontamara, themes of deceit and fascism are incorporated throughout the story.  It is a tale about how the unfortunate are exploited and manipulated by those more fortunate.  Fontamara illustrates two very different people, the townspeople who are privileged and the Cafoni who are poor, uneducated peasants.   The townspeople and cafoni represent opposing social classes as well as variances in lifestyles, ideals, and customs.  It is these commonalities that define both the townspeople and the cafoni and bond them together as a people.   The cafoni are dependent upon their surroundings and are only familiar with their limited ways.  They exist as peasants, surviving off the land.   

The townspeople recognize their superiority, taking advantage of a people who are less privileged.

“It’s hard for a townsman and a cafone to understand each other.  When he talked, he was a townsman; he couldn’t help being a townsman, he couldn’t talk in any other way. But we were cafoni. We understood everything as cafoni – that is, in our own way.” (20). Those who are the same or have similar experiences better understand one another.  This quote illustrates the vast divergence between the two groups. The complexity of language is one such difference Silone emphasizes. Though both groups reside within the borders of Italy and speak Italian, their spoken language is quite different from one another.  The Fontamara people speak a form of Italian that is only understood by those living in Fontamara.  This lack of communication creates situations for the cafoni that are unfair and oppressive.  The language barrier is just one way in which the townspeople take advantage of the cafoni.  I personally have endured similar problems based on my lack of understanding a language.  In high school I traveled to Costa Rica with my Spanish class.  At the time, I had only taken two years of Spanish, so my comprehension and ability to speak the language were somewhat limited.  Conversing with the locals was very challenging.  Like the cafoni, I am sure I was taken advantage of on more than one occasion.