Luigi Murica grew up in the small peasant town of Rocca dei Marsi. He was a sickly, pale boy, who could not work the fields, so his parents encouraged him to focus on his studies so he could be the first one of their family to receive a formal education (232). Upon graduation, he traveled to Rome to pursue the faculty of the arts based on Don Benedetto's recommendation (232). His

According to Alexander Stille, author of the article "The Spy Who Failed," Silone not only portrayed an idealized version of himself in Don Paolo Spada, the disillusioned priest; he also portrayed himself in Murica (48). Both he and Murica grew up in a small peasant town in poverty, and angry at the treatment of the cafoni by the fascist government, moved to Rome in order to join the radical wing of the Socialist Party, which later became the Italian Communist Party (Stille 45). Stille states that records show that Silone was in fact an informant for the very people he was protesting against: the fascist police. Using the code name Silvestri, Silone communicated with Guido Bellone, "a police official in Rome who was in charge of investigating the subversive groups in Italy" (Stille 46). As Stille dictates, there is overwhelming evidence proving that Silone was an informant, including events corresponding with Silone's life, government documents, and several Communist cells Sil!

one essay about the dynamics of a cell with positive results. "I was proud that he was pleased with me, and I undertook to remain in contact with him in return for an allowance of 500 lire a month" (234). However, soon, his conscience caught up with him.

one was directly or indirectly involved with (47-48). Similarly to Murica, Silone seems to feel an overwhelming sense of guilt about his behavior, which is supported in a letter inserted into Stille's article:

"Our relations can become more regular and frequent only if they change in nature and character. At the point I have reached in my moral and intellectual formation, it is physically impossible for me to maintain the same relations with you as ten years ago... My health is terrible but the cause is moral... A strong sense of morality, which has always been in me.... does not permit me to sleep, eat, or have a minute's rest. .... I must abandon militant politics completely" (48).

Pietro finds Uliva in a dirty room, "untidy, smelly, and in semi-darkness" (168). He learns from his former friend that after years of adamant participation in the revolution, he had been forced into isolation because he was banished from his town by his own family (169). From the text, one can infer that Uliva seems to have an apathetic nature towards both him and life. For example, he doesn't really notice Pietro's presence, nor care that he is there. Furthermore, he lies on the couch, "smoking and spitting on the ground. The spittle was aimed at a was basin but more often than not missed it...." (168). His apathetic nature is to such an extreme that he does not even care that he is staining his c

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1772
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)