The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Schools: Book Analysis

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, here on forth referred to as TGLS, by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows was first published in 2008 and is an epistolary novel, it was written by Shaffer, but because of Shaffer’s death in 2008, she asked Barrows to finish the rewriting and editing of the novel. The novel is largely based on historical facts and therefore deals with themes and events that can be considered possible. This Essay will discuss the representations of WWII and concentrate on its effect on the following characters; Elizabeth McKenna, Dawsey Adams, Juliet Ashton and John Booker as these characters are clearly affected by WWII, the essay will also include the effects of reading, as it can be considered an escape from the reality of WWII. The novel invokes the effects of reading and how one can escape the hardship that they had to face, which one can clearly see in the first letter from Isola Pribby: “I could tell you more about reading and how it perked up our spirits while the Germans were here.” (TGLS, 48)
In one of the letters one can read how he helps the elderly when salt is scarce by bringing saltwater to the older villagers, and how he boils fat to make soap for Mrs. Dilwyn when soap became scarce. One can see that Dawsey functions as a do-gooder for the people, as Mrs. Dilwyn still cries every time she thinks of the soap. In transition one can introduce Christian Hellman, as a character, as he helped Dawsey on one of his saltwater runs. Hellman is a German army officer and the father of Elizabeth McKenna’s daughter, Kit. Despite the negative reputation the Germans had during the war, he disproves this by being a good person, helping amongst others Dawsey as formerly