I’m Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti Historical and cultural context

Maps of Italy After 1945

History Prior to th1860’s Italy was made up of 8 separate states distinguished by hostility and jealousy It was not a nation until the 1870’s But unification did not bring stability as there was much illiteracy and poverty and Italy was poor in terms of natural resources There has always been rivalry between the north and south The north was seen as having more wealth, power and influence The south was hostile, primitive and jealous of the north After World War 2 Italy found itself in terrible poverty, inefficiency and entrenched corruption Italy transformed from a backward agricultural society into a modernised industrial society due to the help of NATO and the European Community

History Cont- In this time the industrial north experienced a higher standard of living than the agricultural south But in the 1960’s – 1970’s Italy was in a social, economic and politic crisis – it had entered a semi-recession There was high unemployment, high inflation, spiralling labour costs and low investments. Society was torn by strikes, student protests, political violence, kidnappings and murder By 1978 kidnapping was an epidemic

Niccolo Ammaniti Ammaniti was born in Rome in 1966. His father, a psychologist, helped him understand how the adolescent male made sense of his world Ammaniti draws on the long history of the hostility between the North and South and of the kidnappings of the 1970’s In the novel the most powerful, domineering and controlling characters come from the north Ammaniti draws on two cases: the kidnapping of Aldo Moro in 1978 and the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III

Kidnappings Aldo Moro, the former Prime Minister of Italy was kidnapped in 1978 by the Red Brigades an active and violent left wing terrorist organisation He was at the time the president of the Christian Democratic Party Due to a tough new policy implemented by the politicians of the day of non-negotiations with terrorists Moro was murdered 55 days later.

Kidnappings Cont- Prior to the 1970’s the kidnapping of children was seen as unethical but by 1975 it became most profitable In 1973 John Paul Getty 3, aged 16, was kidnapped after a night out with friends in Rome He was held for 5 months by his captors due to his grandfather refusing to pay the ransom. He also had his ear severed. His grandfather eventually paid 3 million dollars for the return of his grandson but Paul was left scarred for life from his ordeal.

Questions - Activities Do you see any ethical difference in the kidnapping of a child as opposed to that of an adult? Find out about other famous kidnapping cases https://prezi.com/t039gajkhr8e/kidnapping-in-italy/ Discuss with a partner the pros and cons of paying ransoms Present your ideas to the class https://prezi.com/tsdd8p_yvg9i/im-not-scared/