Qfwfq Entry

The story of Qfwfq, as portrayed in "The Aquatic Uncle", by Italo Calvino, tells of an amphibian who falls in love with a reptile, Lll. Yet, when she meats his great-uncle N'ba N'ga, she falls in love with him. However, this is merely due to Lll's unfaithfulness, but Qfwfq's selfish behavior, also contributed to his social demise. It is his unwillingness to change and hypocrisy that eventually leads to his destiny.

When Qfwfq first introduces his uncle N'ba N'ga, he notes him as stubborn and cruel to his word. He states, "It just wasn't possible to make him accept a reality different from his own" (73). The uncle just didn't seem to be able to understand the advantages of living on land rather than water. However, Qfwfq's hypocritical gestures in the future show that he isn't an amphibian of his word.

Later, Qfwfq allows his fiance, Lll, and his great-uncle to meet. She is enlightened on the advantages of living on water, which ironically, Qfwfq doesn't want to hear. And further into the story, Lll too has chosen water over land, but he does not allow it. In response, Qfwfq uses a large number of insults to the idea. He sarcastically states, "That's a big step forward" (80); "Why you're crazy! Nobody can turn back!" (81); and even "Stop repeating that old fool's nonsense" (81). As a result of these non-scientific comments, she leaves with a simple good-bye. In the beginning of the story, he stated how stubborn his uncle was, yet when the tables turn, Qfwfq does exactly that.

The narrarating Qfwfq, an older incarnation, always starts his stories alone and he ends alone. This is due to his inability to act unselfishly. This has brought him into multiple misadventures, with the Aquatic Uncle being only one of his tragedies. His own personal quarrels have affected him externally, specifically socially. His hypocrisy has provided many obstacles that he chooses to avoid rather than face. His stubbornness has led to him being alone to begin with, and ending up alone at the end of the story.