Agostino is a kid who never really grows up. In the beginning, I thought that Agostino was around the ages of 10-11 years old. I could picture this from how he envisioned his mother, so blessed by her presence and in awe of her beauty. He loved her like a child. He also was treated like a young child by his mother too, and the way he complained about her attention towards him and his jealousy made me think he was much younger than he actually was. Later in the book, we learn that he is 13 years old when he tells the man and his son on the boat ride. This book shows how much others' influence has on you. In the beginning, Agostino was a young, innocent, well-behaved boy who enjoyed his mother's company. After encountering the young boatman who "stole" his mother away from him, feelings of hatred, disgust, and jealousy arose within him. He could not fathom the idea of having to share his mother, especially let this man enjoy and indulge in her beauty that was only admired by him before in his mind. The young boys he met at a further down beach on his vacation changed his thoughts about women forever and himself. Agostino had no idea of his mother's relations, he saw her as a pure angel, and these boys crushed this image he looked up to instantly. Although his age or older, the boys knew more about women, power, and lustfulness. Agostino was still in his innocent age. He had not heard or even ever explored the ideas of these topics, which made his mind start to spin. These feelings confused with the image he had of his mother beforehand. He now saw her as a pleasure and a woman, not his mother. This shows us how Agostino has not grown up or matured even after learning about these "maturing" subjects. He cannot differentiate between the two and lets his feelings take over his actions he would have once considered inappropriate or looked down upon. The text shows us how unaccountable he is when he gives all his money away to his friend and is cheated by him. He put his trust into a boy he still barely knew and just accepted his words for truth without questioning anything. This once again proves that Agostino is still young and, although not as innocent, he is immature.
My question I have after reading this text is...
Do you think if Agostino never met the boy in the cabin who brought him into the gang, that he would still have this innocence and see his mother for her motherhood and not a lustful woman?
Hey! Really interesting post. In response to your question, I think Agostino would have eventually started thinking of his mother in a more sexual manner, as despite his innocence at the beginning of the novella, he remains naturally inquisitive, and if not these boys, he likely would have fallen influence to someone else's thoughts of his mother down the road.
ReplyDeleteHi, Interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI agree that he would have sought the company or guidance from someone else. We can also ask ourselves, what does it mean that Agostino found these working-class boys and not others?
"Agostino was still in his innocent age," Yes, though his gang friends are not innocent as he is. A matter of social class? He is more coddled, but Agostino appears to be highly naive, not only in sexuality, as you mention.
Hi! I really liked your post, and really was able to relate to you in a lot of your thoughts towards this weeks texts. I actually had a very similar question. I think that eventually there would be some awakening from his end. Potentially through a bit more socialization around kids from his age., not just the group. I think that with the influence from the group, was a bit harsh and sudden for him, but eventually would've happened regardless.
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