Importnace

The Jewish community has a very particular and unique tradition, they undertake in cemeteries. Instead of bringing flowers to the tombstones of the dead they bring stones. They do so for various reasons. However, their fundamental motive is that a simple breath can’t blow stones away, they stay there forever.  “The bridge is not supported by one stone or another,” Marco answers, “but by the line of the arch that they form.”   (p. 82)   In this quote, Marco underlines the importance that a single stone had on the creation of a bridge. On the other hand this is a simple metaphor that talks about the importance of every persons in the world. How without there existence the world would not be the same.  This is the same believe the Jewish have for the dead. Their values and traditions lead them to conclude that without the existence of the dead they would not be standing were they are. This then guided them to place a stone in the cemeteries to honor each dead for there contributions to the world. As the famous song One Tribe says, “one tribe, one love, one race, one people”. Making every individual valuable and important.

Our live’s are all based on connections either emotional, physical or intellectual. We create relationships only for selfish reasons. Developments of friendships are based on our fear of being lest alone and our kinship relationships are created due to our constant need for support and protection. Humans live in a constant state of mind that makes then aspire for ambition. This led’s them to create business relationships. Relationships in which, a connection with a person or organism is created for the purpose of ones own benefit. This does not indicate that relationships are bad; on the contrary they are the most efficient way of communicating information.  At the end of the day what would the world be without communication?

In Invisible cities, Ersilia, a trading city, is extremely peculiar due to the way they express relationships. Each time a citizen creates a new connection they stretch out a string from one house to the other with its corresponding color. As this strings being to multiply and reach the point that it becomes impossible to circulate they migrate to another place. What would the world be if we followed such tradition? Would it be a complete catastrophe? Our, would it bring the world closer together?    

The Past Describes

You can try to portray an object, a person or place using descriptions. Talking about its appearance, its color and even its infrastructure. However, the audience will not have a real connation to it. In order to describe anything in particular one must mention its past, because that is what makes an object unique and special. “.. written in the corners of the streets, the grating of the windows, the banisters of the steps, the antennae of the lightning rods, the poles of the flags…” (Pg.11). Italo Calvino the author of Invisible Cities, also believes that the best way to describes an object, in this case a city is by looking and illustrating details that tell a particular story about it. In the case of people one must look for burns, cuts, stitches, wrinkles, expression lines, sun burns and scratches . It is due to all these features that one is will be able to know the person before even talking with them

Important Terminologies

Usurper: take (a position of power or importance) illegally or by force

Swaying: move or cause to move slowly or rhythmically backward and forward or from side to side

Halberds: a combined spear and battle-ax.

Barracks: provide (soldiers) with accommodations in a building or set of buildings

Tankard: a tall beer mug, typically made of silver or pewter, with a handle and sometimes a hinged lid.

Awning: a sheet of canvas or other material stretched on a frame and used to keep the sun or rain off a storefront, window, doorway, or deck.

Cornice: an ornamental molding around the wall of a room just below the ceiling.

Dirigibles: capable of being steered, guided, or directed

Uncorked: pull the cork out of (a bottle or other container).

Pagodas: a Hindu or Buddhist temple or sacred building, typically a many-tiered tower, in India and the Far East.

Cranes: a large, tall machine used for moving heavy objects, typically by suspending them from a projecting arm or beam.

Haymows: a stack of hay.

Garrets: a top-floor or attic room, esp. a small dismal one

Equinox: the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are

Solstice: either of the two times in the year, the summer solstice and the winter solstice, when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days.