'The Conscience' by Italo Calvino
A review of the short story by Italo Calvino in light of the Israel-Palestine issue.
'The Conscience' By Italo Calvino
The recent increase in violence in Palestine reminded me of the short story ‘The Conscience’ By Italo Calvino (linked above). However, the ‘conflict’ in the region is an article for another time. So, through this, I seek to bring home the violence and brutality of war that we may have forgotten, memories buried under the comforts of democracy.
The story underscores the nuances of war, and how even if the war itself has ended the terrors are everlasting and present in every aspect of the victim's lives. The story is a perfect display of the hypocrisy of those in power and the justice system and irony of war.
Luigi's intent to go into war was incorrect. But then again, what has war to do with morals? The nature of war is such that it justifies immoral and inhumane deeds by winning or losing. It exploits the psychology of group mentality, pressuring the innocent into abandoning their moral compass. It underplays the violence of murder by calling it ‘killing’. All is fine till it's the enemy you’re ‘killing’. The second the war reaches home is when reality dawns upon you, when ‘killing’ morphs back into ‘murder’. Though war has no winner, the ‘victorious’ justify their own brutality by claiming to be the saviour of the people.
Luigi’s only objective was to kill a single person, Alberto, who happened to be on the enemy’s side, allowing him a perfect excuse. When he realised that he had to fight wherever and wherever ‘they’ sent him, he went about the war, killing any enemy in sight, hoping it would be the man he sought to end or at least his family. Unfortunately for him, the war ended before he could accomplish his goal. The impact of his actions dawned upon him when the moral burden of his actions manifested itself in the family of the martyred. He felt the need to kill Alberto to justify his actions and settle his conscience. But when he did ‘they’ arrested and prosecuted him for it. Not assuming responsibility for the impact of the war they began. But who are ‘they’?
The story never once mentions ‘their’ identity. Which is symbolic of the vagueness of war, or rather the purpose of it, and of the Kafkaesque justice system.
Luigi was celebrated for his achievements, till he was not. The intent of the killing did not matter as long as it was the enemy he was taking the life of. But off the battleground, how did this killing, an achievement he was so commended for, turn into murder, a crime which he was condemned for? Is there a hierarchy of values attached to human life? How is it that we can snatch away and just as easily give back people their humanity or human essence as if it is some object? War turns human life into a commodity, whose value is determined by the ‘side’ they were/are on.
War is never fought between armies or battalions but between diplomats and economies. And the story is a great expression of the impact of war and its repercussions at the more personal micro level.