Lives of the Saints

Lives of the Saints


In the excerpt “The Lives of the Saints”, the author demonstrates how the people of Valle del Sole respond to a mythical place called America. Symbolically America represents a goal, dream or ideal that people wish to achieve. Often with goals, dreams and ideals there are many sacrifices that are involved.
In “The Lives of the Saints” many people who have been to America returned with “stories of sooty factories and back-breaking work and poor wages and tiny bug-infested shacks”. These represent the sacrifices one must endure to reach their goal, dream, or ideal. Another sacrifice is leaving what you know best and what is comfortable for you. As Nino Ricci puts it, “[leaving] behind ...