Chapter 20 Summary

The men head off to sleep after a long and fruitful day (all the events of chapters 18 and 19). The next day, they will begin work on the railway. Before they go to bed, however, the narrator asks Zorba whether he's ever been to war, and it takes considerable prodding to get an answer. Eventually, Zorba tells of his exploits as a warrior, and how he once killed a Bulgarian priest who had been invading Greek villages by night. Zorba felt no remorse in killing this man, who had been guilty of several murders before, but he is brought to tears when he encounters the priest's children in the marketplace. Zorba gives the orphans all his money and quits the army. Now, he says, he is not concerned with a man's nationality, only whether he is "good" or "bad." Zorba tells another story that...