"The Falling Girl"

"The Falling Girl" by Dino Buzzati has an underlying meaning that I cannot seem to comprehend. To me this story seems to be about how fast life flies by. In the beginning, the girl was only nineteen and many people thought she was rather pretty. At the end of the story, the last two characters found her to be old and ugly. It seems that each story of the building represents a different age in the girls life. The top of the building represents her youth, and as she progresses towards the ground, slowly she is aging. Finally, upon reaching the ground, it signifies her death.

The setting of this story is rather interesting. Instead of walking us through the characters life through ordinary means, the author describes it through the sequences of events after the main character jumps off a building. This building, judging from the title, is located somewhere in Italy. The floor levels, stand as a symbolic or  underlying meaning which I can only think as years. In addition, we have a sense of the height of the building which has 150 floors (pg. 34). Finally, with each level, the reader is able to gain a sense of other settings or plots occurring in the various levels. Such as the parties, the man drinking his coffee etc. What these individuals stand for, I am not sure. The description of the area surrounding the building allows the reader to visualize a large city. To me, I see this plot/setting in New York City.

I chose this story because it is rather interesting. At first, I thought it was a suicide story. Part of me still thinks it is in some way, but I am not sure exactly. This story seems to have many underlining messages that are unclear to me.