THE ROLE OF SUPERSTITIONS IN LIVES OF THE SAINTS

Introduction

Superstition is a belief or practice generally regarded as irrational and as resulting from ignorance or from fear of the unknown. It implies a belief in unseen and unknown forces that can be influenced by objects and rituals (Webster’s Dictionary). Superstitions have a central role in Lives of the Saints, by causing conflicts between the Innocente family and the villagers of Valle Del Sole. Superstitions act as social control for the characters in the novel and often bring out the worst of everyone in the Valle Del Sole community.

Thesis

Superstitions function as a powerful control in the Lives of the Saints, by driving the plot, the settings and the conflicts in the novel.

SUPERSTITIONS DRIVE THE PLOT

o “If this story has a beginning, a moment at which a single gesture broke the surface of events like a stone thrown into the sea, the ripples cresting away endlessly, then that beginning occurred on a hot July day in the year 1960, in the vi...