I wonder if I can do it.
-- Narrator (Pages 1 - 2)

Importance: In this opening line of the short story, the first person narrator evasively introduces their reasons for beginning their narrative account. In the passage following, however, the narrator begins Salvatore's story without further explaining what it is they have set out to do. This moment infuses the narrative with subtextual tension, and establishes the narrative frame.

He was dreadfully homesick.
-- Narrator (Pages 1 - 2)

Importance: Amidst a lengthy paragraph detailing Salvatore's departure from Ischia and his time overseas, this sentence punctuates the paragraph. The line not only halts the narrator's surrounding descriptions, but draws the reader's attention to Salvatore's most pertinent emotion. The moment also foreshadows Salvatore's coming delight when the doctors give him a medical discharge. Salvatore's attachment to his home teaches the reader about his character, and contributes to the author's explorations regarding longing.

What did he care when he was going back to the little...
-- Narrator (Pages 1 - 2)