(Levi 47). This conversation arouses sympathy in the reader for the peasants because one can realize that the goat tax is unjust and unfair. This example of pathos shows how the peasants are completely isolated from the government because the government is oblivious to the needs of the peasants; otherwise the tax would not have been imposed.
Furthermore, Levi exposes pathos during the conversation among Don Carlo and the man digging graves. Don Carlo learns that the bones of peasants are used to build the village of Gagliano. (Levi 69) Levi intends for the reader to feel sympathetic to the peasants because the peasants are shown unworthy respect, even after death. The worthless depiction of the peasants gives the reader the impression of isolation because they are isolated from the rest of humanity. The peasants do not receive respect after death, which isolates them from humanity because the bones of other people are buried and not disturbed, unlike the peasants.
Another example of when pathos is exposed is near the end of the novel. Levi discusses the Rainbow Sickness. The rainbow sickness makes a man change his color to yellow. The cure for rainbow sickness is to apply a knife to the forehead of a man, “first vertically, then horizontally, making a sort of cross. The operation was repeated three times” (Levi 240). The reader feels sympathy for the peasants which had rainbow sickness because the cure for the disease is very painful. This depicts the peasants and the people as isolated from the world because they do not have a less painful method of curing the disease.
The isolation of the peasants is exposed when Don Carlo receives the news that he is leaving Gagliano. The peasants did not want Don Carlo to leave and this is shown by the desperate tone of the peasants. They tell Don Carlo that if he stays, they will make him mayor. The peasants also say that they were going to puncture the tires of the car that will take Don Carlo away (Levi 267). Don Carlo is the only “civilized” man that the peasants have contact with and if he leaves, the peasants will become isolated from society.
The children in the novel create Sympathy because they are depicted as helpless, poor, and dependent; which isolates them from the rest of society, Don Carlo describes the children as “pale and thin with big, sad black eyes”. Don Carlo also goes on to say that Malaria “made its way into their underfed rickety bodies” (Levi 38). The children are portrayed as isolated from the rest of Italy and the world because they are very ill and neither the government, nor any other foreign countries help the children.
The children are once again depicted as in need of help in Matera. When Don Carlo’s sister visits Matera, she sees many families in caves. She is amazed at the health conditions of the people because their health is horrendous. She describes their eyelids as “red and swollen”. She also goes on to talk about trachoma and how she was surprised “to see it against this background of poverty and dirt”. She states that the bodies of the children were “reduced by starvation almost to skeletons” (Levi 86). The children of Matera are clearly isolated from the world because their heath conditions alienate them from the world. The description of the children provides sympathy for them because they are described as low, humble, and dependent.
The isolation of Don Carlo from society is represented by his exile to Gagliano. Don Carlo is sent to Gagliano because of his opposition to the fascist government. By sending him to Gagliano, he is isolated from the government and the rest of Italy. The use of pathos in many cases throughout the novel aids the portrayal of isolation. For example, when the novel begins, Don Carlo says by exiling to Gagliano he was, “cut off from History and the State” (Levi 3). Levi intents sympathy toward Don Carlo because he is isolated from something he loves.
The village of Gagliano is isolated from Society. Gagliano is a village for the poor and lower class. Anyone who is exiled is sent to Gagliano. This alienates Gagliano from the rest of Italy because the people sense they have no connections with the people outside of Gagliano. Levi says, “To the peasants, the State is more distant that heaven and far more of a courage, because it is always against them.”(Levi 76). The peasants have no hope in regaining ties with Rome. This instills sympathy in the reader and the notion of isolation is present.
In Conclusion, the isolation of Gagliano, the peasants, the children, and Don Carlo from society is present in Christ Stopped at Eboli. There are many ways that Levi portrays this isolation. One way is through the use of pathos. Levi instills a sense of sympathy for the peasants, the children, Don Carlo, and the village of Gagliano so that the reader will feel as if the characters are isolated from society.
Works Cited
1.Levi, Carlo. Christ Stopped At Eboli. : Straus and Company, 1947.
