Giovanni's Inferno

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Giovanni has been called many things; a freak, a monkey, “sympathetic to the bone”, “the boy with a million faces, “a boy who comes with a manual”, an artist, master impressionist, the Worlds Greatest impressionist, demented genius, but now to examine the argument of defining Giovanni as a manipulator or as just a man with a gift. Giovanni's aptitude for impersonations is a result of his extreme capacity for empathy going too far, a fact which can be proven with an analysis of Giovanni's development of behavior, environmental parameters and the consequences of his actions. If Giovanni's impressions were a manufactured form of deceit we would be able to clearly see the benefits of such a scheme, instead we see the dastardly consequences…show more content…
This predisposition can be shown in the multiple cases where Mama talks about Giovanni's early years. "He's been destined for this since he was a boy...He used to do the silly faces I made when I was feeding him" (Rubin, 37-38). Imitation was a natural skill from very early on Giovanni's childhood and like most talents his skill increased through repetition and practice. When one considers the length of time Giovanni has been imitating it's easy to see that such an actions as a natural response rather than a manufactured act. Despite his desire to have Giovanni use his talent as a stage act Max too knows that imitation is simply a part of who Giovanni is, "you're born with that seed inside you--you either are or you ain't -- and if you've got it and the world waters that seed, then you become famous" (Rubin, 66). Max see this as a way to let Giovanni be himself while at the same time giving him an acceptable setting to do it in. After all, Giovanni's talents often times brought him more trouble than good in an everyday environment; it was too jarring for the world, but on a stage and "with volunteers" (Rubin 27) Giovanni has found his outlet. Furthermore, the text shows us how Giovanni's talent was not actually not about deceiving others into believing he could be them. "You are not me, never have been and never will... --all…show more content…
"The roles that actors learn to play are formed jointly by predisposing talents and the influence of role models" (Johnson pg. 55). We see many instances of Giovanni's persona being influenced by those around him; Mama, Lucy, Bernard, Max, the list goes on and on of all those who would help him practice his mimicry talent and play a part in his formation of self. The clearest of which is show in an encounter with Mama and Lucy: "between Mama and Lucy, I shuttled in tone between two Giovannis...and not knowing what to say or how to say it" (Rubins 100). Here we see clearly this idea of a changing social self, however, it is also clear that Giovanni also sees these two women as influential role models: Mama, his first role model, helped in shaping Giovanni as a curious boy who would spend much of his life seeking to understand the core of others, while Lucy helped shaped the Giovanni of the stage; bold, mysterious, never fully definable Giovanni. All of these pieces of Giovannis that he had picked up would end up living on inside of him as parts to his larger
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