Familiar Character Types and Themes (3 A)
Across the plethora of novels that are available to readers worldwide, there are often common themes and characters which are presented by authors. It is the techniques employed by the author to, in the case of themes re-think, and in the case of the characters mold them to their ideas, which allow them to create unique pieces of writing. In The Little World of Don Camillo by Giovanni Guareschi and Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh, these familiar characters and themes are present, but the way they are used and expressed create completely different pieces of writing.
In The Little World of Don Camillo, the themes of politics and religion are two of the most common, and are familiar themes in fiction in general. However, the ways that they are discussed and presented to the reader are what makes them of note. Politics, specifically the conflict between Communism and the Church, represented by the frequent bouts of anger between Don Camillo and Peppone occur in nearly every one of the short stories. Guareschi, by showing this political and ideological conflict in a humourous way, allows the ideas behind this conflict to slowly enter the readers mind to be considered at a subconscious level. A notable example of this use of humour in discussing a prominent political divide can be seen in the short story The Avenger, in which a football match takes place between Peppone and Don Camillo. Peppone is leading the Dynamos, named to represent the Communists. Don Camillo is leading the Knights, which are essentially representing the Church. Over the course of the match, there is much arguing, fighting, and other such horseplay. However, the basic divide between the two individuals is the difference of their respective political beliefs. Peppone wants his team to win “for the sake of the downtrodden”, and Don Camillo wants them to fight for their parish’ honor. By showing this common theme of political conflict in such a way, Guareschi not only makes it unusual for the reader, but in doing so makes it memorable, and allows the reader to examine this issue from a completely different angle. By presenting political conflict in such a day to day setting, one is drawn away from the common ideas of political conflict, and forced to think in a different way. This makes the way the theme is examined different, and through this successful. The theme of religion is also one of key importance in the short stories, mainly due to the fact that Don Camillo is a priest. In most of the short stories, Don Camillo is seen consulting with Christ in the church, asking for guidance, forgiveness or strength. What one comes to realise is that in reality, Christ is merely an alternative side to Don Camillo, one that is only revealed when he is deep in thought and reflection. The intimate nature of this religious principle, along with how Christ, commonly prayed to but never answering, actually responds and plays an active role, puts the theme of religion in a very different light. The active nature of Christ in the stories makes the idea of Christianity much more prominent, but what can be seen is that in reality, Christ is really acting as a conscious. He provides very little in the way of truly religious ideas, but is more focused on logical ones. Essentially, religion is shown in a much more direct and personal way than is normal, and by doing so, as with the way politics is shown, draws in the reader to a much more intimate level within the stories.
