Gonzalez 1 The theme of innocence in the book Lives of the Saints by Nino Ricci can be represented in very significant

ways. Firstly, innocence in the book is seen in a lot of characters in the book. A person who is innocent is someone who is free of sin, with a sincere personality. Therefore someone not innocent is guilty through lack of understanding of corruption. In the book, Ricci demonstrates examples of innocence in Vittorio, Vittorios grandfather and Cristina Innocente. Vittorio Innocente is presented in the novel as a very immature but honest boy who is easily influenced by others. As it is shown in the book, Vittorio regularly faces problems of misunderstanding not knowing the causes of his actions or decisions made. In addition, Vittorios grandfather seems to be jaundiced by showing his sensitivity and a twinge of guilt towards his behavior with his own daughter. As expected, Cristina Innocente is another example of innocence. She tries to convince herself she is honest despite of the fact that she has cheated on her husband while he is away in America. Vittorio Innocentes behavior represents him as an immature child convincing the readers of his ingenuousness. The lack of guilt and for this reason the purity of Vittorio are clearly related to his age. Vittorios perception of life differs from others due to the fact he does not have the experience on it because of his age; Vittorio does not reason the problems that he can hardly understand, and simply interprets them in his own point of view. On Riccis standpoint, Vittorios innocence is reflected by his ignorance and lack of personal experience that leads him to the developing of his own thoughts and ideas. The justification of innocence can indisputably be connected to the misunderstanding of life in a mature perspective. An example of Vittorios misunderstanding is illustrated when he sees his mother and her lover, the blue-

Gonzalez 2 eyed man, in the barn not knowing what is really happening; he is afraid and gets even more scared when he notices that a snake has bitten his mother realizing the two dark eyes staring down at him from the shadows (Ricci 6). Thus, Vittorio is absolutely scared and lost without knowing what to do, how to behave or interpret what is really happening. Finally, he discovers all the problems and truths going on between the villagers and his mothers life through rough life experience lessons. Furthermore, Vittorios features of innocence are somewhat shown in the personality of his grandfather. Vittorios grandfather is depicted as a very sensitive man full of emotions or kindness. Rather, he is very strict and severe in relation to his family. However, his behavior and personality are the cause of a traumatic and painful experience, interpreted as a pretext of the tragic death of his wife while giving birth to Cristina. Another example is when he calls Vittorio into his room to show him his medals right before the departure of his daughter Cristina and grandson Vittorio to America. The grandfather explains him how he got his medals: For saving the life of a coward. A man who if he was standing before him now he would put a bullet between his eyes (Ricci 181) showing Vittorios grandfather bravery. After that, he tells Vittorio the story of a man, who left him to die. With pain shown on what he is saying as tears had begun to trickle down his cheeks; but his voice was still dry and bitter, his words hanging in the air like frost (Ricci 182). He is a very brave and honest man who does not hide the emotions he has felt for many years, representing with this, the innocence hes got inside of him.

Gonzalez 3 Lastly, Cristina Innocente is another person who represents both innocence and the lack of it in the novel. She is a very liberal, moral, and a strong woman. Cristina tries to reclaim some of the innocence going through different phases in life. As seen in the novel, Cristinas life gets complicated and painful as soon as her husband leaves to America. She feels lost and alone because she cannot find any love and support from anyone including her own father. Even Vittorios teacher, la maestra, tells him about his mother: Its that womans fault, all of this, she thinks shes as free as a bird, she doesnt think about other people (Ricci 108). Other people in the village talk about the behavior of Cristina judging her and making their own conclusions without really knowing her; the villagers seem to envy her. For instance, Cristinas innocence is shown when she keeps her baby despite of the fact her father does not want her to keep the baby. Innocence is also demonstrated through Cristina when she decides to give birth to her baby without caring what other people may think about it; she stands by her principles. In conclusion, the above innocent characters that Nino Ricci demonstrates in his novel Lives of the Saints show the main characteristics of the protagonists. The transparency of Vittorio is really clear and he is seen as the most innocent character, Cristinas confessions are very honest and meaningful making her stand out from the other villagers, and the discontent of Cristinas father shows his sincerity, and that he can be a man with emotions as well. Moreover, Vittorio, Cristina, and her father, can be described as innocents, their last name Innocente also means innocent, and as well compared to Saints.