Decameron Day 2

1. I think Andreuccio got a little bit smarter during the story, but he was always getting stuck in the same situations. He always meets somebody who in general is not respected in society. First he meets the woman who is a whore, then the grave robbers. He is also always getting trapped in some dark and gloomy place where he can't get out. I feel he caught on financial wise though. After gettting tricked the first time out of his moneyhe realized that the grave robbers would do the same to him the moment he stole all the stuff from the tomb. He also learned to think more like people who actually go out in the world and try to make a decent living. If he's around the wicked enough then he will start to understand them. Considering he never left his town before he is used to the same kind of people and the same environment day in and day out. Now that he is out and in a new city where life is different, he gets overwhelmed by everyones cunning and deceit. I think the story is trying to get at people shouldn't stick to social norms. Doing the same thing day in and day out is not good for you. The person telling the story continuosly calls Andreuccio a fool for how he is so trusting of people. Everyone isn't as friendly as who you know. The fact he got out of each situation was sheer luck and so was him claiming the ring.

3. I think in the story being feminine was just looking really pretty. Its not until about three quarters into the story that Alatiel is even mentioned speaking. Because she speaks a different language from everyone else she gives up on communication all togethor. The men were so overcome by her beauty that they couldn't help themselves in trying to win her love. By only looking at her they fell in love. They went as far as to stab their brothers and best friends in the back pretty literally just to have her. I think the author feels that love is blind. Every man knew nothing about Alatiel yet they are supposedly in love with her. All they ever did was end up having sex with her over and over again. It took an old man who spoke her language to finally ave a legitimate reason to actually love her. His friend also did not betray him in stealing her away. Women once again are thetrophies that men compete for so they look their best. With a beautiful lady on your side your easily the top dog in the competition. Alatiel is also a little at fault in this story to. While they lusted for her she enjoyed their company as well. After she lost her virginity it was just good time after good time for her. She would grieve for a short while when one of her lovers was killed and then just move on all the same after a while. The gender roles still are in place. The men are just being men while she is to me dim witted and has a very bad sense of morals.