In the garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani, the narrator is a young Jew who lived in fascist Italy before the Second World War. As more and more racial laws are implemented in Italy, he develops a deeper relationship with the Finzi-Continis, an aristocratic Jewish family. He is particularly in love with Micol, even if his feelings are unrequited, and eventually manages to overcome his obsession with her. Bassani shows that people, through the motifs of closed environments, should not isolate themselves from the present nor from others, but, instead, as shown through the motif of light, should focus on the present to face oppression, leading readers to question whether the narrator was sincere or disillusioned in the story of his youth. The motif of the carriage, a closed environment, shows how when the narrator, not wanting to face the conflicts present, isolates himself from others and ends up only feeling more insecure. The first time he encounters the Finzi-Continis' carriage, he describes it as “never moving, not even to look for shade” (21) and as having its “[nose] pressed against the glass” (21). He is attracted to this carriage due to its solid crystalline nature; he appreciates the immutable and immobile quality of his bearing which allows him to remain perfect. Looking at the carriage from the outside makes him want to join the crew even more and be part of this closed environment, symbolizing his desire to join the closed and exclusive group of the Finzi-Continis. A few years later, the narrator finally gets to sit inside the carriage, although it is no longer used. As he sits down, the carriage door closes and "the patter of rain on the roof of the carriage house had ceased to be audible" (77). The rain is a metaphor for the problems the narrator faces as they "pour" down on him, such as the racial laws that have become increasingly important in Italy. While the narrator is sitting in the carriage, he cannot hear the rain, or in other words, he has to deal with these conflicts. The carriage represents the perfection of his childhood, a symbol of the immutable and conflict-free past. However, Micol explains to the narrator that every now and then the servant Perotti washes the carriage, which is why it "can be seen better in the dim light [and] still manages to deceive quite well" (78). The carriage's beauty does not last in the light, suggesting that its qualities are transitory. The madman in this case is the narrator who marvels at the illusion, referring to how the past is already past and cannot be relived even by trying. Although he tries to chase away his worries by locking himself inside the carriage, the narrator describes how he feels it is “a stuffy little room” (77). The suffocating environment in which it is difficult to breathe suggests that this elevator does not promote life; we cannot continue to live in the past. The narrator's isolationist point of view seen through the carriage incident also extends to his interactions with Perotti in the elevator, revealing how idealizing the past is futile. When the narrator decides to visit Micol in his room, Perotti suggests taking the elevator instead of taking the stairs. For Perotti, who controls the elevator, it is a source of satisfaction to "[release] his torn love for the family he had served since then. a boy, his loyalty rabid, like that of an old pet” (141). Perotti is described as an angry pet, as if serving the Finzi-Continis had devalued his human existence. He is torn because on the one hand he has served them since he was a boy and feels an obligation, even love, towards his family, but on the other hand he doesn't want to continue tofeeling inferior. His ambivalence about how to feel about his masters is reflected in his control of the elevator. He may not be able to control the future, but here in the elevator he is able to release his anger and passion. Although the future is unpredictable, at least Perotti finds certainty and control in the closed, secret elevator. However, this is only a temporary satisfaction, since the elevator “stopped abruptly, forcing him to stop almost immediately, with evident displeasure” (141). The narrator can note how Perotti oscillates between anger, brief satisfaction while checking, and then dissatisfaction after he has done it. Once Perotti exits the elevator, he must face reality again. Just as time passes, an elevator ride cannot last forever; things in life quickly become the past. In many ways, the narrator describes the elevator as similar to the carriage, with “glittering glass panels” (140) and a “choking musty smell” (140). These descriptions reinforce the elevator as a cold and isolated environment, as well as a figure from the past, as it is so old that it is starting to smell musty. He finds the past suffocating, revealing the irony that as he seeks to escape the oppression of current racial laws, he is now oppressed by the past. The narrator had also previously described the carriage as suffocating, showing the repetition of his suffering in an attempt to revive the past. This becomes a vicious cycle, as the more he tries to escape from present problems, the more he feels suffocated by his past. Instead of dwelling on the past, people should focus on the present to gain freedom from oppression, as shown through the motif of light. When the narrator goes to visit Micol's room, she turns on the light in her room, muttering “there was no excuse for her to keep [the narrator] in such sadness” (142). This action of turning on the light represents the turning on of reality, literally illuminating the narrator's vision. His perspective of his world is so focused on the past that Micol must turn on a light, metaphorically shifting his vision to the present, to make him see how naive he has been. This parallels the previous construction of the carriage which was beautiful only when in dim light, while when exposed to bright light all its defects appear. During another of their conversations, Micol describes to the narrator how the "rain would end up…pierced by dim rays of sunshine [and] would transform into something precious, delicately opalescent, with reflections, in their changing shades" (84) . Here Micol shows how rain and sunlight are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but are transformed into something precious. The narrator had previously tried to avoid rain and conflict by reflecting on his best moments, without realizing that the positive and negative aspects of life could coexist. Yes, the racial laws would still exist, but the solution was not just escape or isolation. Life, with its changing nuances and the positivity that could be found despite conflicts, would go on. Bassani also uses light to highlight the intimacy of the community. When the narrator visits the Italian synagogue as a child, he and others “found themselves immersed in a kind of golden fog” (22). This warm, golden light contrasts with the stuffy, glassy feel of the previous carriage and elevator. The warmth of the sun hitting the synagogue gives a sense of shared community among the Jewish population. The word "wet" is also significant, as if this sunlight floods a person as if it were a baptism or rebirth. This means a new freedom gained