I’m not scared by Niccolo Ammaniti

1. I’m not scared by NiccoloAmmaniti Theme analysis: Fear

2. Fear • The titleI’m not scaredis ironic. It implies bravery on the part of the protagonist, Michele, and other characters. Yet exactly the opposite is true. Throughout the novel, we can see that not only is Michele scared but most of the characters are. A range of factors can cause fear: poverty (fear for future), imaginary monsters (the bogeyman), that the ones you trust will let you down (betrayal).

3. Fear • Michele’s fears are initially the product of his vivid imagination. His fear of monsters is typical of a young boy. But Michele can control his imaginary fears. • How does he control the imaginary fears? • Then Sergio comes. When Sergio comes, Michele loses concentration and the monsters ‘escape’. • Soon the kidnapping will create fears and threats upon Michele that he cannot control.

4. Fear • Michele’s fears are initially the product of his vivid imagination. His fear of monsters is typical of a young boy. But Michele can control his imaginary fears. • How does he control the imaginary fears? • Then Sergio comes. When Sergio comes, Michele loses concentration and the monsters ‘escape’. • Soon the kidnapping will create fears and threats upon Michele that he cannot control.

5. Fear • Michele’s fears are both tangible and imagined. While his fears about ogres and witches are imagined, everything centred around Filippo is real. • For example: pages 45-47 show Michele’s fear when Michele goes down the hole for the second time and discovers Filippo is alive. • Key quotes: “My flesh crawled...” (p.45) “It gave me the creeps.” (p.47) “... Terror gripped my testicles with an icy hand.” (p.47)

6. Fear • Michele’s fears are both tangible and imagined. While his fears about ogres and witches are imagined, everything centred around Filippo is real. • For example: pages 45-47 show Michele’s fear when Michele goes down the hole for the second time and discovers Filippo is alive. • Key quotes: “My flesh crawled...” (p.45) “It gave me the creeps.” (p.47) “... Terror gripped my testicles with an icy hand.” (p.47)

7. Fear • Michele’s fear intensifies as he learns more about the details of the kidnapping. • It is around this time that his father points out it’s men you should fear, not monsters. • Imagine discovering the man you love and trust – your role model – is a vi0lent kidnapper! • The terrible descriptions of Filippo’s physical and mental state depicts the atrocities men are capable of. Michele overhears that his father and the men would cut off Filippo’s ears or even kill if the ransom is not delivered.

8. Fear • Michele becomes more afraid of his parents, particularly his father, as the story progresses. • He starts to think of his father as the ‘bogeyman’. • Key quote: he describes his father as a ‘shadow that slithered like a snake’ (p. ???) • Soon, Michele’s view of the world changes. He starts to doubt common things and becomes a sceptic. Eg, when he suspects Barbara of ‘drowning’ Togo

9. Fear • Michele fears for his own safety when he discovers the truth about Filippo. • He fears he father will take him ‘away’ • His sudden fear of snakes that he develops during this time is a response to his recognition that evil lurks everywhere.

10. Fear • The climax of the text involves Michele facing all his fears. • He must cycle through the country side in the dark, ignoring his belief that all the monsters he imagines must be coming out to finally get him. • He must face Melichetti’s vicious pigs and the threat of Melichetti and his dog. • He has to race against time to save Filippo from being killed. • Finally, he has to face the fear that his father is evil as he is thrust into where Filippo is being kept and is shot by his father. This scene reveals that his fears were based in reality as he does become a victim of the violence the men, particularly his father, are capable of.

11. Fear • “Papa was the bogeyman.” (p 87) • “It’s men you should be afraid of, not monsters.” (p184) • “As I drew nearer to the farm a new, even more suffocating terror grew inside me.” (p198).