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The Jar by Luigi Pirandello |
Summary and Analysis
The Jar is primarily the story of Lollo Zirafa and it is also the story of Zi' Dima and his comic plight. The action and reaction between these two stories define the meaning of the whole. Lollo Zirafa was a farmer at Primosole. That year his olive crop was very good. He thought that the five old jars would not be sufficient to hold all the oil of that harvest, so he placed an order to make a great jar. He paid four florins for the jar. The new jar was placed in the crushing shed for a few days.
The harvesting of the olives
had begun. Lollo Zirafa had been very angry because he had to supervise the men
who were beating down the olives and also a number of other people who were
bringing manure on the mules. He would threaten all of the workers. He would
rush here and there and look about him like a wolf.
At the end of the third day's
work three workers went to the crushing Shed to replace the Iadders and the
poles in the shed. They were frightened when they saw the new jar in two
pieces. One of them wanted to go away secretly, but the second one called Lollo
Zirafa. When the farmer saw the damage, he poured his anger on the workers. He
wondered who broke the jar and why. But he was sure that it was not broken when
it arrived from the pottery. When the master's anger was spent, the workers
suggested that he should call Zi' Dima, who would repair it as good as the new
one with his marvelous cement. Zi' Dima arrived at Primosole with his
equipment. He was an old man. He looked sad and dissatisfied. He always
suspected that people wanted to steal the secret of his cement. He did not
allow Lollo Zirafa to see it. He wanted to show him only the result. He
examined the jar and the broken piece wearing his spectacles and said that the
cement would hold. But Lollo Zirafa did not trust cement alone. He wanted Zi'
Dima to use rivets as well. Lollo insisted on using both cement and rivets.
Zi' Dima started to make
holes in the jar and in the broken piece. The more he worked, the more angry he
became. After boring the holes, he cut rivets with his pliers. Then he called
one of the workers to help him. He opened the tin and took the cement out. Then
he began to spread it all round the broken piece and along the broken edge of
the jar. Taking the pliers and the rivets he went into the jar. He asked the
worker to hold the piece up and fit it closely into the jar. He put the rivets
into the holes and twisted them with his pliers. In an hour the work was
complete and he wanted to come out. But the neck of the jar was narrow. He had
ignored the neck because he was lost in his sorrow. He could not come out
without breaking the jar. The worker began to laugh. Lollo Zirafa also arrived
there. He was surprised to see Zi' Dima imprisoned in the jar. It was a new
case. He needed the lawyer's advice. But before he went to the city, he gave
Zi' Dima five lire for the repair and also some food. The lawyer could not stop
laughing when he heard this story. Then he advised Lollo Zirafa to free Zi'
Dima and make him pay for the loss caused by his stupidity. But the value of
the jar would be estimated by Zi' Dima himself. After this he hurriedly
returned home. He found Zi' Dima happy inside the jar. Lollo Zirafa asked him
the present value of the jar. And he said that Zi' Dima could come out if he
paid him its present value. Zi' Dima liked to stay there, but he did not like
to pay anything. Lollo Zirafa and his lawyer had not foreseen this new
situation.
After Lollo had gone into the
farmhouse, Zi' Dima sent one of the workers to the tavern to make the necessary
purchases. The workers had planned to pass the night there. They drank and
danced. Zi' Dima sang. At night Lollo Zirafa was awakened by the noise. He
could not control himself. He ran down like a mad bull and pushed the jar down.
It started rolling down the slope. It hit an olive tree and broke into pieces
and Zi' Dima became the winner because he could come out without paying
anything.
The writer’s attitude to the
subject matter or tone of the story is humorous and indulgent. The writer makes
us laugh at Lollo when people make him lose his temper by shouting out,
"Saddle the mule" and later "Go and look up your pocket
book." We laugh when Lollo starts crying when his jar is broken. We can't
stop laughing like Lollo's lawyer when we find Zi' Dima imprisoned inside the
jar. His unwillingness to pay and come out and his readiness to stay inside
make us chuckle. The workers pass the night dancing round the jar with Zi' Dima
inside and Zi' Dima also sings at the top of his voice seems to be really
funny. Finally, when Lollo rushes down like a mad bull and gives the jar a
push, it starts rolling down and hits an olive tree. Then Zi' Dima comes out
without paying any money. It is also really wonderful.
The interplay of peculiar
obsession between the main two characters Lollo Zirafa and Zi'Dime lead towards
the conflict between them which finally resulted in nothing but loss. Zi' Dima
had a fixed idea that his invention was really valuable. He had invented a
marvelous cement. Once it had set, nobody could loosen it even with a hammer.
But he seemed always dissatisfied and sad because people never regarded him an
inventor. When Lollo asked him to use rivets along with the cement, he was
angry and ready to give up the work. He was an obstinate fellow. He insisted on
using the cement only. But he had to repair the jar as Lollo ordered him. So he
was angry when he was boring the holes in the jar and in the broken piece. He
was upset all the time. In his grievance he could not think that he would be confined
there. Because of his obsession he had to be angry, stupid and ridiculous.
Similarly, Lollo Zirafa had a
fixed idea in his mind that he was always right and other people were wrong. To
prove himself right, he would quarrel with other people for every trifle. He
was half-ruined because he had to spend large sums of money on court fees and
lawyers' bills. In all cases he had to pay the cost of both sides. People would
laugh at him for his obsession. He was quite selfish and would bully the weak
workers. He would threaten them. When his jar was broken, Zi' Dima wanted to
use the cement to repair the damage. But Lollo insisted on using rivets as
well. When Zi' Dima was imprisoned in the jar, he gave him his wage and some
food just to show that he was right. After he returned from the lawyer, he did
not allow Zi' Dima to come out of the jar until he paid the present value of
the jar. Like Zi' Dima he was obstinate and bad-tempered.
In conclusion, this story
gives the great lesson to the readers that we should not be obsessed and should
not try to prove those things which are not right in any aspects. The two
characters’ obsession from the story, teach us that we should always be
thoughtful, serious and should control our temper.
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