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Di Grasso: A Tale of Odessa by Isaac Babel
MAIN SUMMARY
Di Grasso: A Tale of Odessa by Isaac Babel
This story 'Di Grasso: A Tale of Odessa' is a melodramatic (over-emotional) story. It was written by a Russian writer, Isaac Babel. This story has presented the main theme that aesthetic (beautiful) experience produces an act of moral respect. This story is related to the lives of those who work in theatre. In this story, the writer has combined the elements of melodrama and serious art to portray the realistic aspects of the world, life and art. This story is mixed up with the concepts of failure, success, miraculous performance, comic and tragic situations etc.
The narrator of the story is a boy of about 14 years old who works as a ticket seller in the Odessa theatre. Odessa, a city in the great Black Sea port of Russia, is famous for its artistic performances. When the dramas in the theatre fail, all the staff become bankrupt. The narrator pawns his father’s watch to Nick Schwarz (the boss of the theatre) for some money. After the failure of the theatre, people stopped coming to watch the drama. The boss wants to hire the famous actor Chaliapin, but Chaliapin demands $3,000 for his performance. Later on, Nick hires Di Grasso and his troupe, who are Sicilian tragedians. The troupe of Di Grasso goes for selling tickets. People even do not buy tickets at half price. The boss predicts that Di Grasso’s troupe will fail to attract audiences. He becomes hopeless in the beginning.
On the very first evening of Di Grasso’s performance, few people were present. The actors perform a simple Sicilian folk drama about the love of a rich farmer’s daughter and a poor shepherd. In this love story, the rich girl promises to marry a shepherd. But, later on, she deceives him and falls in love with a rich city boy named Giovanni. The shepherd tries his best to convince the girl, but she doesn’t want to listen to anything from him. Shepherd says that Giovanni can manage to live without her, but he can’t help without her. The shepherd tries his best to convince her. The girl becomes angry with him and leaves the place. The shepherd becomes furious and kills Giovanni in the barber’s shop at the fair by sucking his blood from the neck. The major role of the shepherd is performed by Di Grasso. His best performance brings miracles to an opera. The next day, a local newspaper claims Di Grasso is the most remarkable actor of the whole century. After this, audiences increased their willingness to watch the drama. With the help of his finest acting, Di Grasso achieves success and popularity.
The narrator of this story is still unhappy because his father’s watch is still in the hand of Nick. Nick does not want to return the watch, even after getting money back from the narrator. Being fearful of his unwise father, the narrator wants to flee to Constantinople. Once, Nick and his wife went to the theatre to watch Di Grasso’s performance. When the drama is over, Nick’s wife comes out of the theatre, tearful. She is very moved by the emotion and passion after watching the drama. The narrator goes to say goodbye to Di Grasso. When Nick and his wife walk along the street, the narrator follows. When Nick’s wife sees the boy sobbing, she threatens her husband to return his watch. Finally, Nick returns his watch. After that, the narrator’s fear vanishes. He sees the world as beautiful. He sees the municipal buildings rising high. He has had sudden, unexpected, mystical, aesthetic and charming experiences.
DI GRASSO AND HIS POPULARITY
Odessa is a city in Russia's black seaport that is famous for its cosmopolitan interest in artistic performance. The narrator is a ticket seller who is in trouble when the Italian opera fails. His tricky boss Nick, and everybody becomes bankrupt. According to the suggestions of the critics of the local newspapers, the Sicilian tragedian Di Grasso and his troupe have been called for the performance. This tragedy is so simple that Nick Schwarz predicts that Di Grasso will fail. On the first evening, Di Grasso and his company of actors perform a Sicilian folk drama. The story is very simple. A rich farmer's daughter falls in love with a poor shepherd. Though she promises to marry the shepherd at first, she deceives him later and falls in love with a rich but tricky man of the city named Giovanni. The shepherd tries to convince the girl by saying that Giovanni can manage without her, but he can't live without her. It is unbearable for the shepherd when the beloved doesn't respond to him. When Giovanni is at the barber's in a village fair, the shepherd attacks him and sucks the blood from his neck. The role of the shepherd is played by Di Grasso himself, whose masterful performance brings miracles to the opera. The local paper of the following day claims that Di Grasso is the most remarkable actor of the whole century. Then there is a good sale of the tickets and other goods in the theatre. The face value of the tickets increases by five times. Di. Grasso earns much popularity and success.
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