Often we find ourselves reliving memories of loved ones through people we meet along the journey of life. This happens to one of the main characters, Caia, in the book Me,You, written by Erri De Luca. This story takes takes place on Idyllic Island off the coast of Naples, Italy in the summer of the 1950’s. In this book, a young boy goes to his uncles to work for him during the summer. While there, Nicola, local town fisherman, taught the young boy how to fish as well as shared memories with him from the war. While working for his uncle during the summer, the boy figures out how serious his fishing habits are. The young boy becomes very hardworking and finds himself going fishing every day as well. During this process he starts to fall in love with Caia. Caia is a jewish girl who faced one of war’s hardest obstacles and lost her parents during the fight. She hates the Germans because they were responsible for killing her parents. During a party on the beach that the boy’s cousin, Daniele, throws leads to an altercation. When the german people start singing the Nazis’s S.S. anthem, Caia yells at them which starts a fist fight. This then leads to the young boy starting the German’s car on fire. This is his way of getting revenge on what the German’s did to Caia’s parents. The message from this incident is that you need to direct yourself to the present, you can’t change the past, but you can change the future. As the young boy and Caia grow closer, she starts to see her father take over his body. Through the psychological lens the reader can see how this takeover changes the way she interacts with the boy. Caia feels like her father is living within the young boy. She finds herself clinging to him and reliving things from her past. We can see that feelings between the two started changing while at the carnival. Caia tells the young boy that he reminds her of her father. He kissed her on her forehead since that is what her father would do. The young boy did it because he feels so strongly about Caia that he wanted her to have a moment with her father’s memory. “It’s me, Tateh, your Chaiele, I know you never left me. You are with me always” (89). Caia didn’t know why her father had chose the boy, “Why you?”(88), she would ask. “I know there are moments when someone I lost comes close and inhabits an unfamiliar person just for a moment, to greet me through the body of another person” (88). Caia feels so fortunate that the boy was willing to let her father use him so that Caia and her dad could be together, maybe spiritually, but again. Even if it was for a brief moment. Though the psychological lens the reader can detect that Caia felt protected when the boy was around, and he was happy that he could give her that comfort. The way Caia acts changes while at the carnival.
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Caia turned into a ‘little girl at heart here. The boy and Caia “clutched each other’s arms to avoid being separated” (111). When you are little you always hold on to a parent 's hand to avoid getting split up. Through the psychological lens the reader can see that the boy gives her a sense of safety while in a crowded place, like any parent would have the effect to do. The young boy bought Caia a cotton candy, and she plunged her face into it and “finished it in a flash”(111) just like a little kid would. Caia’s dad used to buy her cotton candy as well. Caia’s excitement over cotton candy wouldn’t be known by others if they weren’t aware that this made her feel closer to her father. Watching Caia eat the cotton candy made the young boy feel happy and smile because he enjoyed watching her have a good time while enjoying herself. While the book continues, the boy spiritually transforms into Caia’s dad, she even calls him “Tateh,” which is Yiddish for papa. His laughter was warm, slow and was full of affection for
Caia turned into a ‘little girl at heart here. The boy and Caia “clutched each other’s arms to avoid being separated” (111). When you are little you always hold on to a parent 's hand to avoid getting split up. Through the psychological lens the reader can see that the boy gives her a sense of safety while in a crowded place, like any parent would have the effect to do. The young boy bought Caia a cotton candy, and she plunged her face into it and “finished it in a flash”(111) just like a little kid would. Caia’s dad used to buy her cotton candy as well. Caia’s excitement over cotton candy wouldn’t be known by others if they weren’t aware that this made her feel closer to her father. Watching Caia eat the cotton candy made the young boy feel happy and smile because he enjoyed watching her have a good time while enjoying herself. While the book continues, the boy spiritually transforms into Caia’s dad, she even calls him “Tateh,” which is Yiddish for papa. His laughter was warm, slow and was full of affection for