How Does Pelagia Build Compassion In Mandolin

In William Faulkner’s quote he states, “He (man) is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.” which is true due to the fact that it is seen through the thoughts that are expressed by the characters Pelagia, Captain Corelli, and Carlo in Louis De Bernieres’ Corelli’s Mandolin. Pelagia is a young and intelligent Greek women who finds herself unwillingly falling in love with a charming Italian soldier named Captain Antonio Corelli and Carlo Piero Guercio, a fairly large but loving artilleryman for Captain Corelli. All of these characters in the novel are full of compassion and endurance and make sacrifices which help them to not only survive the events of World War II but also overcome them.
There are numerous ways in which Pelagia conveys her compassion and endurance over the course of the of the novel.
One way she shows the amount of compassion she has is by taking in the a baby girl that she finds at door step and names the girl after Corelli’s mandolin, Antonia (370). Before that she is almost raped by her once betrothed, Mandras who is changed completely by the war. However, in that moment she lets her endurance shine through and is able to protect herself (366-7). She makes a sacrifice for Corelli by giving him most of her food since she is stronger than him (343). Captain Corelli also obtains these qualities as seen many of his actions and
thoughts. Antonio Corelli gives much of his compassion to a little Greek girl named Lemoni and forms a special father-like bond with her (352-3). Corelli endures the pain of being shot at multiple times and had to deal with that pain for several months while he slowly healed (339-40). Since he is an Italian he has to leave the island for his own safety but he sacrifices his life to spend his last on Cephallonia with Pelagia instead of going back to Casa Nostra (348). Since he is a Italian he must leave the island Nonetheless, Pelagia and Antonio are not he only characters that attain these characteristic but Carlo does as well. Carlo offers all his compassion to Francisco, the man he first falls in love with by staying with him while he slowly dies from a gash in the head (125-6). Then Carlo goes to see Francisco’ mother and tells her that her son died in glory and on a beautiful day. The truth was that didn’t die with honor and it was a horribly cold, depressing day to pass (124). Even after all the hardships that Carlo had gone through he still stays in the military and endures much more suffering (158). Carlo sacrifices his life in order to try and save Captain Corelli by standing in front of him. He finally pass on after countless bullets to the chest with more honor than most people who participated in the war. Pelagia , Antonio , and Carlo are all extraordinary characters that struggle to stay alive during World War II but their endurance and compassion as well as the willingness to make sacrifices for their love ones allows them to prevail. However, these are not the only thing that help them overcome their troubles but also the support of others around them and their hope and dreams for a better future. These three people are the perfect example of how humans are not limited to certain things even in times of trouble but that there is no end to what we can accomplish. Pelagia, Corelli and Carlo are all model that should inspire us as individuals to surpass what we have done before.