“Making Do”
by Italo Calvino
Numbers in the Dark (1995)
* * * * (Great) Fable
The citizens in a town where all is forbidden, except the play of tip-cat, react strongly when they are free to do as they please.
I should have seen the ending coming, but I didn’t, and it nearly sent me off the road laughing. (Yes, I was reading while driving – but it was an empty stretch of road and a very short story.) This allegorical fable probably had such an impact on me because I could easily relate to the obsessive attitude of the folks in this town of forbidden activities and newly forced freedom. I have no idea how to play tip-cat (or even what it may be), but I do understand the frustration of others forcing me to do something I do not wish to do. Take away all freedoms, save one, and then ask people to give up that final freedom – what do you expect will happen?
5k (Semi) Challenge
12 years ago
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