Analysis Of Accidental Death Of An Anarchist By Dario Fo

In his play, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Dario Fo, a playwright and left-wing activist, uses comic elements to narrate the story of the suspicious death of a railwayman and anarchist, Giuseppe Pinelli. Although the details of the case have been twisted by Fo, this farce is successful in provoking thought in the minds of the audience. Pinelli’s name is not present in the dialogues, but the prologue states that the play is a reconstruction of the case. As per the police report the anarchist commits suicide by jumping from a window on the fourth floor in a police station while under custody for interrogation under suspicion of planting a bomb. It is believed that the anarchist was thrown out of the window to hide a fascist conspiracy of …show more content…
This helps the Maniac in pressuring the police officials. The police officials keep feigning one story after another to convince the Maniac impersonating a judge, again using lies to cover the truth. The Maniac even advices the police officers to not hold back in fear of disclosing information while he holds a tape recorder. The Maniac debunks the story of the ‘raptus’ and then the many other stories like that of the constable trying to keep the anarchist from commiting suicide by holding his leg. As the Maniac cleverly shifts between characters, we see him deceiving the police officials about his real identity. The irony is that the Maniac, a certified mental patient, is the only one in pursuit of the truth. Even the news reporter, who interviews the Superintendent, admits to her own personal gains of writing and publishing good articles. Ironically, the Maniac, a certified mental patient, is the only one in pursuit of the truth behind the death of the Anarchist. Even the news reporter, who interviews the Superintendent, admits to her own personal gains of writing and publishing good articles. This once again bring us to the irony of the fact that the the Maniac, the one who is actually pursuing the truth, lies to uncover the truth whereas the policemen, who are supposed to pursue the truth, use lies to cover the …show more content…
The Maniac, the protagonist of the farce, has a sharp understanding of the dynamic of human nature. His witty dialogues, acute observations and confident body language, as depicted in the play, not only paint him as a charismatic individual, but also help him successfully deceive the police officials. The Maniac possess knowledge of psychology, law and even explosives. The problem with the Maniac’s versatile character is that it seems almost fictitious. The Maniac, himself an anarchist, seems to fulfill Fo’s fantasy of a left-wing charismatic strongman. He is not unlike a superhero in a child’s comic book. The difference in this case is that the child is a grown human who identifies with the leftist