Calvino's, a Plunge Into Real Estate - Essay Sample

Introduction

Italo Calvino's A Plunge into Real Estate is a fine piece of literature that depicts Quinto as the protagonist with several contradictions in his thoughts, intrigues, memories, and nostalgia amid modernization in Riviera. Reading Calvino's Plunge into Real Estate acquaints readers with the attained economic success resulting from real estate development while sharply pointing out the environmental and human injustice that result from such actions. Through Calvino's eyes, I felt the radical changes in the physical landscape and a constant reminder of a dynamic society where change is inevitable.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In this review, I will try to clearly show the contradictions surrounding Quinto's decisions, the choices he makes, and the consequences of such decisions on both his family and the entire Riviera region. Even though Quinto had always lived in Riviera, he still yearned for something new and different. For a long time, Quinto's absence from home was enough to ensure that his town was wholly replaced from a scenery landscape to a towering modern building town. "The town he once lived was surrounded by shady gardens of eucalyptus trees and magnolias." Although Quinto remembers his former town with nostalgia, the fact is that he had always longed to see the change.

Differences

Furthermore, we can see a constant reminder by his mother of what had changed since he left town and how she did not know the differences. Even though Quinto was offended by the changes in his landscape being overwhelmed by cement, he was prepared to damage his landscape. The protagonist's mother's melancholic statements did not support his contradictory feelings and the urge to take action instead of just being passive (Calvino 31).As a matter of fact,Quinto was particularly upset by what was happening around his home and the thought of not being able to view the landscape he had always viewed.

All these developments affected Quinto's mother, and she was constantly worried about her garden and the scenery she always enjoyed seeing. The towering buildings had curtailed the early morning sun that she used to enjoy, and now she would have to wait for an extra hour for the sun. Further analysis of the book shows that the environmental damage the development had caused was of concern to Riviera's territory. Quinto recognized the optimistic idea that life will give as much as it takes and this is illustrated in page 6 of the novel when Quinto thought to himself that as a young person “If today it destroys some dear spot, the tone of a particular scene, something charming and beautiful… will undoubtedly give you something else in exchange” (Calvino 6). Therefore, anything that is destroyed now will be given back as much.

Quinto is offended when he sees the damage, and this is noticeable through the answer he gives when his mother expresses her concerns about the destruction of the surroundings. He could only grunt and chuckle and did not go beyond that but only a pessimistic statement that no one can do anything about it. When he perceived that the damage was beyond control, he was overcome by a desire or an assumption that fighting against history is always futile. We can acknowledge that Quinto got disturbed about the landscape's appearance before he possessed the land himself. Despite the fact that Quinto was interested in the real estate industry, he did not have the required finances, as indicated by his variety of emotions. He was constantly worried that he was unable to raise even a tenth of the cash needed to pay both inheritance tax and estate surtax. In comparison with his brother and peers, Quinto's life was not as progressive as expected. For instance, his attorney, who studied with him and his political friends, was better off in terms of career progression and was wealthier than him.

Family Land

The decision to build a house on the family land was motivated by Quinto's desire to start making money. In that regard, he focused on the possibility of putting the best use a family land that had not been exploited yet. The land provided a perfect site for a small building meant for an apartment. After selling a portion of the family land to Caisotti, the implementation was structured so that Quinto contemplated a partnership agreement with Caisotti to build it jointly. Quinto regarded the family land as a marginal addition to their property and had no childhood memories that bound him to it; simultaneously, the necessity of a flower garden had eventually reduced because the children had gone to school and later to work and the older generation was dying. It is noteworthy that Quinto had considered the land as a good building site.

The relationship between Quinto and Caisotti was not that good (Calvino 12). Quinto did not trust Caisotti at all in his business dealings, and he termed him a dishonest person. On the other hand, Caisotti did not trust Quinto too. He was always slow and hesitated on everything that Quinto told him. Calvino's plunge into real estatehelps us to identify how both Quinto and Caisotti relate. It is emphasized that this kind of relationship is suitable for people who are keen on looking after their interests. Quinto had been influenced by what was happening around them and thought that if people were putting significant buildings around his home, nothing could stop him from doing the same. The reason why Quinto wanted to build is that he wanted to put the unexploited site into the most efficient use and start making money. The problem is that he did not have money to develop the land, so he resorted to selling it or rather partner with Caissoti.

While talking with his brother Ampelio, Quinto mentioned getting into real estate investment, and the remark elicited a lot of discussions, negotiations, and inquiries. The result was that Quinto was planning to come home to invest in the real estate business. When Quinto was on the train coming home, he took some time to think about the issue while reflecting on his mother's words. Quinto’s mother lamented the loss of her land and a good landscape, the overall feeling of bitterness by the older generation when met by injury and which adversely affect their personal lives. Quinto was not confident enough to tell his mother what he was planning, which was the main reason for coming home. The idea was his own because he did not even discuss it with his brother Ampelio and, until lately, he thought it could not be urgently done. The bad relationship between Caisotti and Quinto was fueled by the unfavorable reports given about Caisotti. The irony is that Quinto found himself supporting him by claiming that he was a victim of circumstances and that everybody in the town was unfairly against him.

Connection With Political Parties

During a conversation with Caisotti, Quinto is regarded as an educated man and understands how to do a profitable business. Quinto was an educated man, and therefore that fact influenced his choice of putting the land to the best use but he did not have the money to develop it and therefore resorted selling it instead. In the course of doing business with Caisotti, Quinto uses the advice of his attorney, Canal, to find out whether Caisotti is honest and has money to buy the property.

After studying about Quinto, it is right to say that he was a kind person who preferred making decisions that were moderately controversial but avoided direct disapproval. When he inquired about his new business partners, he was positively and negatively fed feedback. Also, because he needed to suppress a certain self-nervousness, his confidence was restored because he contacted his fellow professional friends.

Quinto believed that he had eventually gone back to the original middle-class ranks, united at defending their self-interest, which was being attacked by government through heavy taxation. Meanwhile, he found out that everything he did helped Caisotti, the new group of middle-class people. In this story, Quinto's turn around, converting his opponents to his friends, is evident. After listening to the two market agents, Quinto resolved to make money through selling property but intentionally planned to sell both pieces of land, knowing that it was going against the law to build houses on top of the other. The land would eventually lose value, and Caisotti will lose money.

Decision Making on the Sale

Until the time the building space was being cleared, Quinto had not noticed the flourishing life in the space where the building was to be constructed. When he took a moment to reflect on what the mother always wanted to protect, he was overcome by a sense of sadness to see the destruction of plant life. Quinto is seen to have initially taken an interest in flowers and the original state of Riviera, but he also needed to sell land for construction, thus destroying the same flowers he loved. This explanation reinforces his contradictory state of mind while confirming the family's influence and especially the mother on Quinto's decisions on flowers and plant life. An explanation as to whether Quinto relied on his intelligence when making his decisions is when he consistently asked Caisotti professional questions to show himself as well informed in the subject matter (23).

Quinto's meeting with Travaglia, who was a politician, informed him of what happened at Cinecitta (Ricci, 2006). The political class's influence on Quinto's decisions cannot be ignored because it provided an escape plan from his worries. Calvino expresses how Quito was finally both nervous and relieved after he plunged into the real state he was protecting, and he could calmly discuss the topic with his friends. At some point in his life, Quinto reflected when one could live a life related to the mind alone.

Conclusion

Quinto had a notion that the fair level piece of land that was connected to the one he wanted to sell offered a good size for a small apartment house, but he noted that once Caisotti's house was up, the adjacent land could lose its value since the law did not allow houses to be built on top of another building. Therefore, he resolved that any site they will sell, the value of the remaining piece would be reduced; hence the best option was to enter into a partnership with Caisotti. Consequently, he would have both sites and construct a single large building in that location, and that would allow Quinto to take a given number of houses, and they will be family property. He went ahead to organize a meeting with his brother at their mother's house to discuss the matter. This substantiates the fact that Quinto valued family ideas and consultations before taking any actions.