Political Satire - Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres - Book Report/Review Example

1. 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin is a powerful political satire but an unsatisfactory novel'. What is your response to thisevaluation Because Louis de Bernieres' 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' proved, from a personal viewpoint, to be one of the most captivating, unusual and emotionally engaging books ever read, my initial response to the statement was bemusement tempered with resentment. The first was due to the categorical definition of 'powerful political satire', the latter because of the negativity implied by the term 'unsatisfactory novel'. However, while any literary work may be enjoyed on an emotional level, the critical interpretation expressed in the statement gives pause for thought and requires deeper analysis. With that in mind, this essay will examine aspects of the book which might support the contentions, but will argue that the statement is an over-simplification which does not encompass the whole. The novel is a complex and varied piece of work which contradicts the limitations of such a definition; it is more, or perhaps less, than the statement suggests and may possibly defy categorization. In addressing the 'political satire', there is evidence that de Bernieres sought to ridicule and indeed satirize various political ideologies. Yet later criticisms and commentaries on the book actually refute that hypothesis, though almost every political view is represented throughout. In examining the portrayal of Fascism, in the form of Il Duce, Mussolini, this is certainly a good example of satire, supported by the literary use of bathos and rhetoric. his is Italy, smart and martial, where everything runs like clockwork[...].One of the Great Powers, now that I have made it so.(de Bernieres, 8) When he attempts, unsuccessfully, to kill a cat, his behaviour and reactions are truly ridiculous. 2. HO LET THAT CAT IN HERE[...]IS THAT THE CAT THAT SHAT IN MY HELMET[...] STAND BACK OR YOU'LL CATCH A BULLET TOO...I shouldn't have to look at all this blood and mess[...] Give me my helmet, quick, I need something to be sick in.( de Bernieres, 15) {If the word HAT were included, a nice bit of ironic doggerel would have resulted). Not only is this marvelously bathetic - the image of a great leader reduced to a wild and gibbering idiot by the presence of a cat but the allegorical intent is obvious. The killing is messy, inefficient, the suffering ignored in favour of his own egotistical perceptions, and the request for someone else to clean up the mess, all provide a prophetic image of what Fascism represents. The historical context of the man and his deeds, the killing and loss are all brought to mind by this scene. On the other hand, de Bernieres attacks Communism by the portrayal of the characters involved in ELAS, the resistance movement. Irony and sarcasm are evident; Mandras is shown as an ignorant fool, and worse, a murdering rapist, hero-worshipping the sadistic Hector, as e had learned from Hector that he was not a fisherman, but a worker [...]Mandras was beginning to feel enlightened and knowledgeable, and he worshipped Hector, that stronger and older man who had been in the thick of the fight at Guadalajara and routed the Italian Fascists. Where is Gualalajara In Spain (de Bernieres 32) Using a straightforward rhetoric, the author depicts Hector as thoroughly bad. hose villagers reported us to Myers. I think we should go and teach them some lessons collaborating bastards.(220) He is epitomised with the words of the New Zealander, Barnes, thus, hat's the trouble with bad hats [...] they always jolly well end up at the head.(221). This statement may well be understood as satire, as it seems highly unlikely that such colloquial English would be uttered by a New Zealander. But the words inform, with proverbial wisdom, that it is easy for corrupt people to become leaders, a truth which resonates with meaning for the whole novel. Mandras' change of character is blamed on his connection with the resistance movement, and thus the Communists and 3. de Bernieres shows a bias which refutes the idea of a complete political satire. If it were, then all political ideologies would receive the same treatment and that is not a consistent factor throughout the book. This view may find some support in the interesting and controversial responses from those who actually lived through the events portrayed. For example, members of ELAS, inhabitants of Cephallonia, and one man whose life replicates that of Antonio Corelli, state that de Bernieres has re-written history, twisting the truth in such a way as to deny the reality of events and discredit participants. The author said they did nothing to help the Italians, while eye witnesses state otherwise. In particular, the Cephallonian resistance veterans call his book eactionary and wrong.(Dionisis Georgatos, Governor of Cephallonia). Seuman Milne, in Guardian Unlimited says that this is one-sided account of the history of the period, [...] unremittingly hostile portrayal of the Greek Communists.(Milne, 2000). These criticisms would appear to support that view of de Bernieres as a revisionist, a biased re-writer of history. As mentioned before, all ideologies do not receive the same satirical treatment, thus weakening the hypothesis of 'powerful political satire.' The young Captain Weber, who continues to pursue his belief in Fascism and the might of the Nazis, as evident when speaking to Carlo, after almost killing the pet pine marten, hat is the new morality. Strength needs no excuses and doesn't have to give reasons. (de Bernieres 286), is portrayed as a sympathetic character; a 'Good Nazi'. Seduced by Corelli's personality, life-style and music, his character is allowed to blossom, his intrinsic innocence depicted with empathy, as he reacts to Pelagia's thanks for the promise of the record 'Lili Marlene'. he looked at the smiling youngster, with his smart uniform, his clipped blond hair and his brown eyes, [...] she kissed him very naturally on one cheek[...] and Weber blushed, hiding his eyes with his hand.(de Bernieres 288) When later, Weber attempted to avoid carrying out the order to murder the prisoners of war, protesting that the order was illegal and the action would contravene the Geneva Convention, he is 4. again portrayed in a heroic and sympathetic light; there is nothing satirical in that scene between Weber and his Major. After the shootings, even the use of the adjective remblinghas a powerful effect in absolving the young Nazi, as ntoxicated with horror, was wandering amongst the dead, ensured their despatch with a spurious coup de grace.(de Bernieres 325-326) The question arises as to why de Bernieres appears sympathetic to one ideological regime, historically proven to be evil, while denigrating the Communist resistance with clever and damning satire Such discrepancies would suggest the intention was not to apply satire universally, but to selectively damn or belittle some, while almost forgiving others. The answer may lie in a desire to provoke an intellectual response, based on the belief that all humanity has some redeeming feature, and all suffer, no matter what beliefs are adhered to, when it comes to the waste and destruction of war. As Corelli put it, when the Italians were forced to surrender here has been no honour in this war.(de Bernieres 319) If the novel were to be considered an anti-war story, that is a crucial truth, for the ordinary people, the little island and the suffering endured, all serve as a metaphorical representation of the world at war and the impact of the horror of the conflict. There are so many levels at work in the novel, that calling it an 'anti-war' story is again too simple a definition. No matter how the work is understood or interpreted, variations dependent the significance attributed by the reader, nothing detracts from the power and effectives of the book as an outstanding piece of literature. The prose, descriptions, characterisation and convolutions of the plot all conjoin to make emotional and intellectual connections, no matter what critical inferences are drawn. To return to the contention of an 'unsatisfactory novel', describing the conventional novel format may help. If applied, the form of a prose narrative where characters and actions show a credible representation of real life, set within a continuous plot, then Captain Corelli's Mandolin veers somewhat from that conventional form. Because of this, some readers may consider it 'unsatisfactory'. After all, Stephen appears at once in Sebastian Faulk's 'Birdsong', we are with 'Jane 5. Eyre' immediately and Sinclair Lewis gives us all George Babbitt's most trivial actions from the outset. Corelli, the hero, does not appear until almost half way through the book; instead, the scene is set on a wider stage, the characters introduced, it would seem, with a disconcerting randomness. On first reading, just as Iannis and Pelagia have taken hold of the heart, become good friends in fact, de Bernieres leaves them and produces a strongman, a couple of dictators and a homosexual. Some elicit empathy, others, in the light of history, disgust. One wonders why this is happening, and where is Corelli and the mandolin They are symbolic of what will inevitably bring everyone and everything together, but it seems like a long wait. Having said this, the characters created are real and complex people, not stereotypes, their reality and individuality provoking response by the sheer quality of the writing. The language of Dr. Iannis not only captures his character and love of Cephallonia and its beauty, but is reminiscent of the epics of Homer and Milton's 'Paradise Lost' Forth issuing on a summer's morn to breathe Among the pleasant villages and farms Adjoined, from each thing met conceives delight, (lines 447-449 Milton). For despite his difficulties in writing an unbiased history of the island, Iannis' words reflect the epic poem thus: t is a light that seems unmediated either by the air or by the stratosphere. It is completely virgin, it produces overwhelming clarity of focus, it has heroic strength and brilliance." (de Bernieres 6) This could also be interpreted as an over-arching and prophetic metaphor for the island, its people and its suffering. There is poetry too, in even the simplest of statements. For example, not only the imagery but the context of the times is superbly expressed by Iannis in his conversation and activities with Lemoni, the child, as he follows her lead to save the wounded pine marten. id you know that childhood is the only time in our lives when insanity is not only 6. permitted to us but expected(de Bernieres 46) The innocence of childhood, with the simple desire to save rather than destroy, is set against the insanity of a world at war, and what is to come to Cephallonia, due to that insanity. In counterpoint to the almost idyllic picture, Prime Minister Metaxas, with his bathos, rhetoric and hyperbole render him a fool, as he ponders his life and death. With little sense of proportion, the dictator equates problematical significance to Lulu, his mistress, Mussolini, Greece and war, and somehow appears to possess aspects of humanity which may even elicit sympathy. There are comedic elements in the high flown language as he talks to himself. erhaps history will remember me as the man who forbade the reading of the funeral ovation of Pericles [...] and who alienated the peasantry by putting limits on the number of goats that ruin our forests. O God, perhaps I have been nothing but an absurd little man." (de Bernieres 28) The metaphors which follow do not lift him above that opinion, they serve to ridicule him further with delicious irony. ut now his spirit had been cast into the fire, and he know that his temper was being assayed in the furnace of destiny..(de Bernieres 29) One of the most charismatic characters must be Carlo, whose life and death are linked so inexorably with Corelli', and provides a love story within a love story. De Bernieres has consistently provided him with some of the most beautiful and poetic language in the novel. The following sounds as if it too, comes from a classic epic poem, such is the cadence and richness of the speech. took no part in the dismembering of Greece or in the shameful triumphalism of a conquest that was a victory only in name. The valiant Greeks fell before eleven hundred German panzers..(de Bernieres 127). His explanation of Francesco's death, reassuring his beloved friend's mother, is also simple and poetic, but most powerful and poignant is Carlo's farewell, his letter to Antonio Corelli. 7. want you to know that in return for your inextinguishable laughter, your great music, your incomparable spirit, I have loved you with the same surprise and gratitude that I see in your own eyes when you are with Pelagia, and I shall remember you always, even when I am dead. You removed the sorrow from my breast and made me smile...(de Bernieres 312-313) There is irony, sympathy and great sadness in the fact that it is that love which motivates Carlo to save his Captain's life, as the Germans gunned down the Italian prisoners of war. So what of the main protagonists, are they in fact so central to the novel, given the significance, both micro and macro, that all the finely-drawn characters possess In a review by Kelly McWilliam, titled 'A Farewell to Arms', she described the book as an ntricate tragi-comedyand distinct move towards historical fiction. Pelagia, she tells us, is he attractive, but headstrong young woman typical of the historical/romantic genre from which de Berniers book is based. These comments over simplify and once again, attempt to categorise something which it must be contended, is not so easy to 'put in a box'. Corelli himself is the lynchpin, because with the music, the mandolin and his very nature, he is what brings all human perspectives together. He might be perceived as too romantic, or idealistic or perhaps 'too good to be true'. Nevertheless, his symbolic attributes are the ingredients which make the magic. He can and does make people see a better way to live, he wins them over to his views of life, his joy is infectious. La Scala, in Chapter 48 is a marvellous literary device which serves to provide insight into the characters, historical context, political views and morality of Corelli, Carlo and Weber. It is succinct, to the point and prophetic, with a sinister undertone of what is to come. Another reason for the criticism of 'unsatisfactory' may lie with the last part of the book, where many years are squeezed together and given less importance than wartime events. But this could be the writer's purpose, to ensure that the book is not seen as a historical romance, or a war story, or a simple love story, but a wider exploration of a world at war, and the impact of that war 8. on the individuals portrayed. Yet de Bernieres places an ironic twist the earthquake of 1953 is more significant in the lives of Cephallonians than events before or after. he catastrophe caused people to recall the war as piffling and inconsequential by comparison, and renewed their sense of life.(de Bernieres 391) Those few words reinforce the aspects of human nature, that desire for survival and lust for life, which Corelli himself embodied. Pelagia's reaction to the loss of her father, and indeed, Antonio, with his many 'ghostly' appearances, cause her to be deemed mad by her adopted daughter Antonia and old Drousola, another aspect of human response to tragedy. Perhaps condensing so many years into a mere 44 pages arouses a feeling of dissatisfaction, a bit of a 'rush job'. However, the characterisation, situations and smooth transitions of time redeem this somewhat. At no point does the lyricism falter, or the descriptions fail. For example, after the death of Drousola, the imagery in the similies used encompass so much that many lives are made clearer, with all the emotional elements intact. he was an indomitable woman who had lived a few short years of happiness with a husband she had loved, a woman who had disowned here own son on principle, and lived out the rest of her days in ungrudging service to those who had adopted her[...]She had husbanded the little family like a patient shepherd, and gathered it to her capacious bosom like a mother. After she was buried[...]Pelagia realised with desperate clarity[...]that she was alone.(de Bernieres 402) Pelagia was not going to be left a lonely old lady, for the actual ending of the book, which might support the 'unsatisfactory' statement proves otherwise. It may seem too contrived, as the two meet again, and are still the same people under the guise of old age. Their characters have not changed, despite the momentous changes they have experienced, the lives they have led. Antonio's music becomes once again the power which wins her back, fittingly, as he and the mandolin have been the enduring symbol throughout. The speed with which this is all accomplished is disappointing, and does not do justice to the rest of the novel. 9. In conclusion, it is necessary to return to the argument that this book is too complex to be categorised; it 'works' on so many different levels. The themes of love, politics, history, war, music, and possibly existentialist philosophy, are all interwoven and make it difficult to pin a label on a novel filed under 'general fiction'. Despite attempts to discredit the work as plagiarism, a re-writing of history, a racist slur on the Greek nation, and so on, the fact remains that 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin is one of the best books of the 20th Century. In order to fully appreciate its power, it is probably necessary to read and re-read it, perhaps altering ones perceptions to suit a particular emphasis, such as those expressed in the essay question. There is an element of truth in both suggestions, which must be acknowledged. However, if one wants to examine human nature at its best and worst, to study the power of mankind to overcome adversity, to understand the psyche, then the novel provides much to learn from. The form, style and beauty of the language in the writing are major factors in making the book a great piece of literature. The last words are applicable to Antonio Corelli, he of the unquenchable spirit, who, if time could be turned back and made better, is just the man to do so. e heard a melody begin to rise up in his heart, something joyful that captured the eternal spirit of Greece, a Greek concerto. In composing it he would only have to think of driving along with Pelagia in search of Casa Nostra, and passing three young girls in the most exquisite first flowering of their liberty and beauty. (de Bernieres 434-435) Works Cited BBC News UK. Saturday 29 July 2000. Captain Corelli Novel 'racist' 7 October 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/857218.stm de Bernieres, Louis 1994. Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Published by Vintage Books, London 1998 McWilliam, Kelly. 10 September 2001. A Farewell to Arms: Review of Captain Corelli's Mandolin M/C Reviews. 6 October 2006. http://www.media-culture.org.au/reviews/words/corelli.html Milne, Seumas. Saturday 29 July 2000. Greek Myth. The Captain Corelli controversy. Guardian Unlimited Books/By Genre/ 6 October 2006 http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/ generalfiction/story/0,,348087,00.html Norton Anthology of Poetry, 4th edition. 1996. Eds. Ferguson, M., Salter, M.J., and Stallworthy, J. Versification, lxxi, and p. 380 Milton, 'Paradise Lost' Published by W. W. Norton and Company, New York and London 1996. Smith, Jules, 2003. Biography, Louis de Bernieres. British Council-Arts. Contemporary Writer: 7 October 2006. http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/p=auth2 Thomas, Michelle Haines. n.d. Review of Captain Corelli's Mandolin Culture @ Home http://old.anglicmedia.com.au/old/cul/corelli.htm Read More