''Ragazzi di vita'' (; English: literally ''boys of life'', idiomatically ''hustlers'') is a novel by Italian author, poet and intellectual

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

. It was published in 1955. An English translation by Ann Goldstein appeared in 2016; she renders the title as ''The Street Kids''. Earlier translations called it ''The Ragazzi'' or ''The Hustlers''.

Plot

The novel tells the story of Riccetto, a street urchin to whom the audience is first introduced during his

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

and

First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communi ...

. Not too long afterwards, Riccetto is stealing from a blind beggar and a convent. Over the next few years, the reader follows along with Riccetto as he goes from robbery to scam to prostituting himself and back again while drifting around. During this time, many of his companions are killed or die off and there is constant immorality at hand. He is finally arrested and put in jail after trying to steal some iron in order to buy his fiancée an engagement ring. He is released afterwards and goes back to his same street life. Pasolini makes it clear to the reader that Riccetto and his peers are wanderers by nature, they have no life plans or goals and don't care to; Riccetto is a more deviant

Dean Moriarty ''On the Road'' is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat Generation, Beat and Counterculture of the 1960s, Co ...

of sorts. This is the way in which Pasolini finds this subclass of people to be free from modernity and rooted in a way of life that has since been lost. He also admired "what he considered their pre-political rebelliousness"; they were separated from the partisan politics that plagued post-war modern Italy.

Composition

Pasolini wished to bring to the attention of the public the existence of this underground class they thought extinct. As he saw it, "They were thought of as a closed book. Yet, poor devils, they really did exist". He wrote the book in lowbrow language and derogatory slang that the real life " lumpen proletariat" would use. It made the book difficult for mainstream readers, the reading public that Pasolini opposed. He later wrote in ''Heretical Empiricism'' that literature should be "written in a language substantially different from that of the writer, not leaving out of consideration a certain naturalism". Another alienating characteristic of the book is the fact that the narrator does not provide any background information for readers unfamiliar with the social setting of his story. His narration puts himself on the same level as his characters. He does not narrate from above. He saw the underground class as the only ones who survived the corruption brought about of industrialization and modernity, a sort of human time capsule, the only ones who are truly free. He respects them for this and sees them as the true underclass that even the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

looks down on.

Significance

''Ragazzi di vita'' parallels some of Pasolini's films like ''

Mamma Roma ''Mamma Roma'' is a 1962 Italian drama film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, and starring Anna Magnani and Ettore Garofolo. Synopsis In Rome, an ex-prostitute, Mamma Roma (Anna Magnani), tries to start a new life selling vegetables w ...

'' and '' La Ricotta'' in developing his own form of neo-realism, separate from that of

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

and other post-war directors. Pasolini carried neo-realism further creating a sort of "hyper-realism". While Rossellini highlights the lives of the common man, Pasolini seeks to highlight the lives of the sub-common man. ''Ragazzi di Vita'' is a milestone for the development of Pasolini's passion for this genre.

Public reception

The novel was criticized among the general public (as were many of his films) upon its release and was heavily censored. The government led by the

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

condemned its "obscenity". The communists did not approve of the book, as well, charging it with "artificiality, an absence of positive heroes, and, especially, a lack of 'perspective.Friedrich, 14

References

;Sources *Freidrich, Pia. ''Pier Paolo Pasolini''. Boston: Twayne, 1982. *Pasolini, Pier Paolo. ''Heretical Empiricism''. English translation by Ben Lawton and Louise K. Barnett. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1988. *Sillanpoa, William. "Pasolini's Gramsci." MLN 96 (1981): 120–137. JSTOR. NYU Bobst, New York. 11 March 200

*Ward, David. ''A Poetics of Resistance''. Madison: Farleigh Dickinson, 1995.

External links

Paul_Howard_"Rent_Boys"_[Review
,_''Times_Literary_Supplement'',__17_May_2017 {{Pier_Paolo_Pasolini 1955_novels.html" ;"title="eview">Paul Howard "Rent Boys" [Review
, ''Times Literary Supplement'', 17 May 2017 {{Pier Paolo Pasolini 1955 novels">eview">Paul Howard "Rent Boys" [Review
, ''Times Literary Supplement'', 17 May 2017 {{Pier Paolo Pasolini 1955 novels Censorship in Italy 20th-century Italian novels Novels about Italian prostitution Works by Pier Paolo Pasolini