Infinite Limits

Exact Experience

          Calvino uses the term exact to describe the mood or atmosphere of a piece of literature as well as the effort made by the words to present the tangible aspect of things in the novel as precisely as possible. What stood out most about Calvino’s ideas of the exact aspects of literature that is comparable to Dolly City is the idea that we live in an unending rainfall of images. These images are what help form the overall mood of the literature and the precise words make up the atmosphere for the characters to live in.

            Calvino also discusses a more complex symbol in his exact memo that is very relatable to images throughout Dolly City. The symbol he uses is the City, which he discusses in his book Invisible Cities that expresses the tension between geometric rationality and the entanglements of human lives. Every concept and value turns to be double, even exactitude. The symbol of the city is very important when looking closer into the life of Dolly as well. The book is centered on the place she lives in, Dolly City, which is representative of Israel in actuality. The whole city around her is basically what drives her mad, as she believes everything around her is sick. Dolly City is the place where the main character grew up and she is constantly criticizing it for its flaws and the harm she believes it has brought upon her mentally. You could say that the symbol of the city in many aspects just leaves her feeling melancholy, enhancing the overall feelings the reader gets about the type of person Dolly really is.