Contesto generale La novella di Cisti il fornaio è la seconda della sesta giornata del Decameron di Boccaccio. In questa giornata, tutte le novelle hanno un tema comune: il modo elegante e intelligente (con arte e garbo) con cui i personaggi riescono a rispondere a situazioni difficili, spesso grazie all’arguzia, alla prontezza di spirito o all’uso sapiente delle parole (i cosiddetti “motti”). La narratrice è Pampinea, una delle sette giovani protagoniste del Decameron, che introduce la novella con una riflessione: a volte la natura e la fortuna premiano persone di umili origini, dotandole di un'anima nobile e virtuosa, proprio come accade a Cisti. Trama in breve Cisti è un fornaio fiorentino, quindi un uomo del popolo, ma di grande eleganza, educazione e intelligenza. Egli possiede un ottimo vino bianco, che desidera offrire a Geri Spina, un nobile fiorentino che ogni giorno passa davanti alla sua bottega insieme agli ambasciatori di papa Bonifacio VIII. Cisti però sa che, ...
George Orwell, the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, was born in Bengal, India, in 1903 into a family of modest means. Although his family had aristocratic roots, their financial situation was precarious. Thanks to a scholarship, Orwell was able to study in England. At the age of eight, he was sent to a preparatory boarding school, and later he attended Eton College, one of the most prestigious schools in the country.
At Eton, Orwell felt like an outsider, often treated poorly because he was not wealthy. This experience helped shape his lifelong sympathy for the underprivileged and his critical view of social hierarchies.
After finishing his education, Orwell joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma in 1922. However, disillusioned with British colonialism and troubled by his role in enforcing it, he resigned from his post in 1927, later expressing his rejection of “every form of man’s dominion over man,” a theme explored in his first novel, Burmese Days (1934).
Upon returning to Europe, Orwell broke away from his privileged background and chose to live among the poor in London and Paris. He documented his experiences in the memoir Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), offering a first-hand look at poverty and social injustice.
In 1936, Orwell traveled to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republicans, opposing Franco’s fascist forces. Initially idealistic, he became disillusioned when he saw internal conflicts and propaganda within the left-wing factions. He recounted this disheartening experience in Homage to Catalonia (1938), a personal yet critical account of his time in Spain.
During World War II, Orwell worked for the BBC’s Indian Service, producing cultural and political broadcasts to counter Nazi propaganda. He also became the literary editor of the socialist newspaper Tribune, where he wrote essays and columns on literature, politics, and society.
Orwell gradually grew disenchanted with the oppressive tactics of Soviet-style Communism. In his allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945), he satirized the Russian Revolution and its betrayal by totalitarian leaders, particularly Joseph Stalin.
His most famous work, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), is a dystopian novel that portrays a terrifying future in which a totalitarian regime, led by the omnipresent Big Brother, monitors and controls every aspect of people’s lives through constant surveillance, propaganda, and psychological manipulation. The novel explores themes such as censorship, state control, and the loss of individual freedom, highlighting the dangers of authoritarianism and the misuse of technology.
1984 is not only a political warning but also a powerful commentary on the role of mass media in shaping public opinion and suppressing dissent. It remains one of the most influential works of the 20th century.
George Orwell died of tuberculosis in 1950, at the age of 46, but his legacy as a defender of truth and liberty endures.
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