Captain Corelli's Mandolin

One of the last major events of the novel “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” is the massacre of the Italian troops by the Nazis in the September of 1943. Whilst the Acqui Division was able to delay their capture, they were eventually overpowered and brought to the back of a brothel to be executed. Every man in the barraged was shot to death except one. At the last moment, Carlo stepped in front of Captain Corelli and used his enormous body to shield his friend from the fire. His thick frame was able to slow the bullets enough so that when they passed through the giant man and into the Captain, the wounds created were only superficial. While his actions are not entirely sacrificial seeing as he would have been enviable been killed, they represent