Vittorio Innocente is a young boy who has not always lived up to his name. 'My attendance at school had not been very regular-it had somehow fallen out that I'd spent much of class time wandering up to the top of Colle di Papa or down to the river with my friend Fabrizio, sharing with him the cigarettes he filched from his father. La Maestra had paid a visit to my mother one afternoon, to advise her of my truancy and vices....' (9). We find that Vitto is trying to turn around his poor school habits, and has been trying to read through a novel called Principi Matematici, but to no avail. As he sat stranded on page three of his mathematical conquest, he was overcome by a wealth of distractions. The golden sun was shining do

Vitto will no longer have a normal life. He has no mother or father. He has no money, and he has nowhere to live. Consequently, he has a newborn child to look after. Where has his childhood gone? It looks as though the doctor has taken it from him, and he will never get it back. One thing remains certain... Vittorio Innocente will never look through the eyes of a child again.

Lives of the Saints also deals with the contrast of good and evil, something that Vittorio comes across on numerous occasions throughout the story. (There are far more characters in this story then I could mention on these pages, so I will write about the people who had the greatest effect on Vittorio). His encounter with Luciano of Rocca Secca is one of the key elements in the book. For his seventh birthday, Vittorio and his mother travel to Rocca Secca to buy him some birthday presents. On their way towards the market, Cristina meets a tall, muscular man that Vittorio has never seen. The man (Luciano) carries him piggyback down to a secluded area of town, and takes a large one-lira coin out of his pocket. Luciano tells him the story of how he picked it up during the war, and how it saved his life. Vittorio is surprised when Luciano gives him the coin as a birthday present, and tells Vitto that it will bring him good luck.

wn on him that day, or so it seemed, for as he was drifting off to sleep the muffled shout of a man shattered what would appear to be his last enjoyable day; at least for a long time.

The element of evil has not been left behind in the text. We find it on nearly every page, lurking in the shadows of every crevice Vittorio uncovers. It first comes in the form of a blue-eyed stranger, who shatters Cristi's innocence, and conceivably the innocence of Valle del Sole. We later find evil in the local women who spread gossip around town and look at Vittorio's family with disgust. The final (and most important) element of evil is found on the ship, while heading towards America. Its' name is Dr. Cosabene, who is a victim of alcohol. After being introduced to the doctor at 'the last meal', Vittorio and his mother took an immediate disliking to him; he seemed to ask too many questions. "I didn't mean to upset la signora- but I wonder why a woman in her state would travel? Why not wait another month or two, and have the baby at

Some common words found in the essay are:
Vittorio Innocente, Lives Saints, Dr Cosabene, La Maestra, Fabrizio Throughout, Sole Fabrizio, Rocca Secca, Principi Matematici, Dr Cosabene's, Vitto's Cristina, la maestra, lives saints, valle del sole, del sole, fabrizio saves, valle del, vittorio innocente, rocca secca, element evil, gang boys, vittorio mother, fabrizio saves vitto,
Approximate Word count = 1588
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)