1. Why did Mario become a successful artist and Giovanni did not?

This refers to the story of aspiring sculptures, Giovanni de Nowheresville, and Mario de Wealthton. They had the same start at the same university, however, their lives afterward were very much different.

Mario returned to his coast city which was rich because of the number of merchants. The number of well-off people was large and they could afford to have art pieces in their home, therefore Mario was often hired to create sculptures. First, he made them by the order, and afterward, he would make the name for himself and he would make them as he wanted.

Giovanni, however, returned to his small town that was centered around farming. He had to work at the farm to support himself, so he finished sculptures slowly. No one in his environment had money to spend on the art, so Giovanni couldn't earn off it and could never make it as famous artists.

Therefore, we see that the key was the environment and the opportunity each of the artists had - Mario became successful because he lived in a rich environment that could support him, and he had the change to live off from art, while Giovanni had to farm for a living and his environment did not have money for the art pieces.