Character Sketch of Salvatore:
Introduction:
Salvatore is the protagonist of the story with the same name. He is the eldest boy of fifteen, the son of an Italian fisherman when the story begins and middle - aged man with a wife and two children at the end of the story. He is living a simple yet hard life of a fisherman when the story ends. He catches cuttlefish at night. He also works in his vineyard the whole day. His rheumatism takes its toll on him occasionally. But he is happy and contented with his life. He always follows the way of moral virtues. He never speaks harsh words for anyone. He is a responsible husband as well as an affectionate father. At times he gives his children a bath and holds them tenderly as if they are flowers.
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| Story Salvatore—Character Analysis of Salvatore and Assunta |
A Static Character:
Salvatore's character is not dynamic; he is static. Throughout the story, no change can be seen in him. The ups and downs of his life do not force him to leave the path of moral virtues. The adverse circumstances of his life cannot force him to be submissive. He always remains calm, cheerful and good. He continually faces life with a cheerful acceptance and integrity. Maugham holds Salvatore up to the reader as an example of pure radiance and goodness and as someone who should be emulated in dealing with the trials and tribulations of life.
Physical Appearance:
When Salvatore was a boy of fifteen, his brown body was as thin as a rail. He had a pleasant face, a laughing mouth and care - free eyes. He was full of grace. But after getting married, he looks a great, big husky fellow, tall and broad. He has enormous hands that become coarse and hard from constant toil. He still wears that ingenuous smile and those trusting, kindly eyes that he had as a boy.
His Being a Responsible Brother:
Because of being the eldest of three brothers, Salvatore performs the role of an affectionate mother. He takes care of them while their father is away. As a responsible guardian, he shouts at them to come near the shore when they go too far in the sea and dresses them accordingly when they have to climb the hot, vinceclad hill for the midday meal.
His Being an Emotional Man:
Salvatore is a man of overwhelming emotions. He is overtly emotional for his family. When he leaves home for military service to become a sailor in the navy of King Victor Emmanuel, he feels nostalgic and misses the island of Ischia and Vesuvius. He feels all alone in the battleship living with strangers and also in the noisy friendless cities where he lands. Salvatore grows homesick. He misses his family and the girl whom he loves. When he returns home from military service and meets his family, there is a great deal of kissing and crying. Another time, his overflooded emotions are felt when the girl whom he loves very much, rejects him saying that she cannot marry him because he is not strong enough to work like a man. On hearing the words of rejection from his fiancee, he is badly shattered. His heart is utterly broken. In order to lighten himself from unbearable pain, he weeps on his mother's bosom.
His Being A Passionate Lover:
When Salvatore grows up, he falls in love with a girl who lives on the Grande Marina. He has an intense feeling of love for his beloved. They get engaged. They have to wait for marriage until he completes his military service. When he is away from her, he misses her very much. However the most painful experience that torments him and makes his heart bleed is his separation from his soul mate, the girl he loves with the passionate intensity of his heart. He writes to her (in his childlike handwriting) long, ill - spelt letters in which he tells her how constantly he thinks of her and how much he longs to back. When he falls ill with some form of rheumatism and this makes him unfit for further service, then, instead of feeling sad and dejected, his heart exults at the thought of going back home because the only thing that matters for is that he is going back to the girl . When he does not find the presence of his beloved on his returning home, he goes to meet her at her house.
A Hard Working Person:
Salvatore is a hard working person. In the beginning of the story, we come to know that he helps his father to look after his younger brothers. Even at the end of the story, after his marriage with Assunta, he works hard all through the fishing season. He catches the fish and sells them in the market. At other times, he displays an unrelenting spirit by working in his vineyard from dawn till the heat drives him to rest and then again, when it is a trifle cooler, till dusk.
A Devoted Husband and Good Father:
When Salvatore is rejected by the girl whom he loves, he marries an ugly girl namely Assunta who was older than him. But he does not show an indifferent attitude towards her. He seems to be contented with his wife and tries to his best to be a sincere loyal husband. He fulfils his responsibilities of being a husband. He keeps her happy. She never ceases to be touched by his gentle sweetness. Though he suffers from rheumatism, he works hard to sustain his family.
He is full of love and care for his children. He enjoys giving them a bath at the sea. He observes a delicacy while handling his kids. The strong hard hands become tender and delicate just like flowers as he holds them affectionately. When he makes the small baby sit on his palm, he laughs and cheers innocently like an angel and his eyes reflect the purity, honesty, openness and childlike innocence, enthusiasm and delight.
His Sensibility and Goodness:
When he returns home, he realises everyone is aware of his predicament. The callous declaration has been conveyed by the father of the girl. The family does not, however, have the heart to reveal the heart breaking news. He is sad, depressed and unhappy at the humiliating rejection. He feels beaten, wrecked and wretched. In spite of his going through the wringer, he has no ill will against the girl. He analyses her situation and concludes that she is compelled by the circumstances to behave in an inconsiderate and unkind manner. He knows that a fisherman's life is hard and it needs strength and endurance. He also knows well that a girl cannot afford to marry a man who may not be able to support her. He gives vent to his unbearable pain of shattered love by crying out his heart on his mother's bosom but refrains from speaking anything against the girl who ditches him for her selfish monetary pursuits.
When he, after being rejected by the girl, marries another girl namely Assunta, he does not have any complaint against this unsuitable match, but he tries his best to keep her happy and satisfied. He does not let his past affect his present and future. The writer goes on to describe the rarest and the most treasured quality of goodness possessed by Salvatore. His goodness shines through. It radiates warmth and unconditional affection and gravitates people to himself. He is inoffensive, kind, loving, obliging, friendly and considerate. He possesses nothing for the world except goodness, a quality intolerable to the world. When rheumatism obstructs his daily routine, he takes rest on the beach, smoking cigarettes and using his leisure in building up relationship with people with his contagious smile and obliging and friendly disposition. The sarcastically inconsiderate attacks of the foreigners indicting his community of laziness are dismissed by his carefree attitude as pardonable. He is a man of high self-esteem that can never be punctured by criticism or rejection as he is too childlike to remember grudges for longs and forgives and forgets easily.
Character Sketch of Assunta:
Introduction:
Assunta is Salvatore's wife. She is an ugly woman. She is a woman of twenty four or five. She is older than Salvatore. She has been engaged, but her fiancee has been killed while doing his military service. Salvatore marries her after being rejected by his beloved. When he is utterly broken, his mother consoles him by introducing Assunta. She tells him that a girl namely Assunta is keenly interested in him as she (the girl) has already seen Salvatore in the fest and since then she has fallen in love with him. His mother also tells him that Assunta has a little money of her own and if Salvatore marries her she can buy him a boat of his own and they can take a vineyard.
A Matured and Practical Girl:
As Assunta is older than Salvatore, she is somewhat matured and thinks about her life in a practical way. She is very aware of the goodness of Salvatore. Hence she has fallen in love with him . But she is also aware of the fact that as she is ugly, she cannot succeed in attracting the attention of Salvatore towards her. So she gets the help of his mother in this matter and tells her that if her son marries her, she will bring some wealth for his welfare. This offer tempts both the mother and the son. The temptation of money forces him to ignore the ugliness of the girl and agrees to marry her.
Her Possessing A Good Heart:
Though Assunta is ugly, she possesses a good heart. She, after marriage, loves Salvatore wholeheartedly. She tries her best to make her husband happy and satisfied. She looks after his every need. She thinks herself fortunate to be a part of his life. She admires the moral virtues of her husband and shows great respect for him. She judges Salvatore by his goodness and not his ailment and thus she cannot stop herself from using harsh words for that girl who leaves him for material pursuits.
Assunta passes a happy and contented married life with Salvatore. She bears two children (sons) for him. With the passage of time, Assunta becomes grim - faced female with decided features.
