Chapters 4 - 5 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 4

Carlo's first impression of the time is how much the townspeople hate and resent one another and how transparent they are about it. Most of the men of means left the town, leaving only people who could not escape. This converted boredom into hatred. Carlo moves to describing his time in Grassano briefly and his mentor, the head of the Facist militia in town, Lieutenant Decunto. The Lieutenant had brought Carlo from a prison in Rome. The Lieutenant complained about life in Grassano to Carlo constantly and spoke of how he must leave, even if it is to the coming war in Africa.

Carlo uses the Lieutenant's despair and hatred to illustrate a general theme. Because people in Lucania generally and Gagliano specifically feel so alienated from the world, they become caught up in the only things they...