Justice In Italian Literature

Abstract:

The object of this research is to explore the concept of justice and its relation to the Italian society and crime literature. Justice is a concept that has been widely analyzed and it is considered a fundamental value; however the perception of justice in Italy is fundamentally negative, as the system is seen as unclear and oppressive. In recent years, the involvement of practitioners of the law in crime literature, a type of literature which is closely linked to reality, can be considered as an interesting phenomenon that should be analyzed further in order to understand what kind of contribution they can make to the genre and to the society.

Through a closer look to the works of Gianrico Carofiglio and Giancarlo De Cataldo, two

It is not an escape from reality but a way to reflect on the Italian society leaving some space for criticism (Di Ciolla 2010:6). As Massimo Carlotto, one of the most prominent Italian crime novelists, points out: “L’Italia ha perso da tempo il senso della verità. Il noir racconta i fatti, dà chiavi di lettura: in sostanza prova a ridare il senso della verità” [Italy has lost the sense of truth. Noir recounts fact, gives keys of interpretation: basically it tries to give back the sense of truth] (my translation) (Vincenzi: 2001). Following this interpretation it is interesting to see that these authors believe in the power of writers who can use words (the same words that can be used to support an ideology) to contest the system, to question and to give back clarity to reality. They use the power of the word to give a new shape to the history of the country and to expose the shortcomings of the system and the country.

Among the crime writers that have reached readers’ and critics’ acclaim are Gianrico Carofiglio and Giancarlo De Cataldo. Both writers are (or were) part of the legal system and they are part of an interesting phenomenon, the practitioners of the law turned into

Notwithstanding the fact that the two disciplines seem to belong to different areas, an interdisciplinary approach from the start of the 20th century (Weisberg: 1993). Both disciplines use language as the tool to structure reality, and both disciplines are interested in analyzing problems that are linked to language: rhetoric, ambiguity, meaning and interpretation of linguistic symbols. (Weisberg: 1993)

In the last 15 years the analysis on law and literature has focused on the representation of law through literature (Di Ciolla 2010:178), ranging from the representation of a trial, to the individual or collective search for justice (Weisberg: 1993). The aim of this kind of study is double: it is useful to practitioners of the law because it shows the perception that the citizens have of the system and moreover it is useful to readers because it explains the mechanisms that lay behind the system, facilitating the comprehension to the reader, who is also a citizen. (Weisberg: