Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
War: Horror, Beauty, and Humanity
Power, Reality, and Absurdity
History and Storytelling
Politics and Friendship
Family, Opportunity, and Gender Dynamics
Summary
Analysis
The Acqui division votes to resist the Germans, but the battle begins before they can organize. The Italians feel as though they're doing something right for the first time. The narrator wonders if Captain Appollonio opens fire on German landing craft without an order because he is tired of being part of a fallen empire or because he knows it is a matter of life or death. A seaplane drops bombs on houses in Argostoli, but the Italians advance. Finally, a German car waves a white flag and the troops stop until sunset. The Italians watch more German reinforcements arrive and Appollonio curses when he receives a call saying that Gandin has agreed to a truce. He receives a message of support from Corelli.
The German reinforcements that keep arriving are a clue that even if there's technically a truce in the works, the Germans have no intention of keeping it. Instead, they've committed themselves fully to their political ideologies and in turn have decided to think of the Italians as sub-human creatures to trick and kill. This shows how powerful entities can use their grasp of power to create the world they want to see by lying and cheating.
Themes
