While explaining how a letter from a friend inspired his return from a mindset in which he was "disgusted with life and without any hope at all" (3), he realized that the depression was really his imagination. He imagines his death in great detail, and "took pleasure only in imagining his death"(3). Leopardi imagines how his death would affect others, would they be terribly sad and depressed or would they just accept it and move on quickly with their daily lives. In both of these scenarios his subconscious thoughts were brought out through his imagination. When wondering if his friends would be sad, he is really craving the attention of others. This also relays to his depression; perhaps he is not really depressed, instead he just wants others to pay more attention and possibly feel sorry for him. In the scenario where there is "a swift closing of the tomb above me, this sudden and complete acceptance of my death"(4) he feels "suffocated" with "the thought of my complete annihilation"(4). This thought scares him because his subconscious is afraid that none of his friends even care too much about his life, happiness and depression.
If Leopardi's mind can create these thoughts then it leads me to believe that he not only has an imagination, but one so powerful that it can take over his mind and lead him to believe that his life is much worse than it really is.
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ReplyDeleteLeopardi did not discuss his death to get attention from his peers. Leopardi during the time was very sick and all he saw in his future was death. He felt that all his life he had these hopes and dreams for what would make him feel happy and he had yet to feel that complete state of pleasure. Leopardi considered his life full of emptiness because his desire for complete happiness was infinite and could never be obtained. Leopardi tells us that he was only happy when he was young and he was able to dream of the future without reality affecting it. Struggles in his life caused him to lose his imagination for the future and has transformed him into a pessimistic person who only imagines his death.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Catherine. Leopardi is quite depressed and he is seeking attention when he thinks of his own death. By asking his friend if he would be sad if he died, Leopardi was just trying to better understand death and wanted his friends input. Leopardi analyzed everything, maybe even over analyzed, and was seeking a different opinion of death than his own. As stated, he was extremely depressed and death was the only part of his future that was certain. He was not trying to get attention from his friend but almost venting to him about his circumstances and dark thoughts.
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