Ignazio Silone uses a variety of stories and jokes of peasant characters, including the ones that are away from the main plot in his novel Bread and Wine, to help readers get a better understanding of a major character named Pietro Spina. For example, readers should pay attention to the stories of Uliva and Murica. The first one is a revolutionary affiliate and a former violinist, while the second one is an impressionable and young revolutionary.
Keep in mind that these stories illustrate people’s disappointment towards the fascist power and government in Italy in addition to their cynicism and disillusionment within different revolutionary attempts to overthrow this kind of aggressive government. You should focus on the roles played by the characters of Uliva and Murica in this story because they let the author tell his unique experiences of the personal involvement in the Communist party in Italy, and that’s why he uses a number of attributes of all characters.
At the very beginning of this novel, a Catholic priest called Don Benedetto is sitting outside his small house. He is old and is waiting for his former students to celebrate his birthday. He is a socialist so that he refuses to seek any suitable accommodation with the current regime. He keeps talking about a new war and imperial expansion in Africa. This is when his former students arrive and each one has a good place in this new social order so that Don Benedetto has to reflect on their moral compromises made to survive.
Their talk turns to Pietro Spina, a former student, who doesn’t want to compromise. He is compassionate, idealistic, and committed to justice. He is a socialist who has to exile to different places in Europe to live and work under quite wretched conditions. There are certain rumors that he returned to Italy to work for communists.
Then the story shifts to his home village where he returned. Spina is quite sick and is hidden by his former comrade. When he can move, he decides to leave this place because he is disguised by another priest. On his way, the main character meets a young woman named Bianchina who is dying because of abortion complications and she is afraid. In addition, there are other minor characters and small stories involved in this novel, but they all revolve around Spina to help readers get a better idea of his life and personality. This means that they all should be read attentively.
Ignazio Silone uses a variety of stories and jokes of peasant characters, including the ones that are away from the main plot in his novel Bread and Wine, to help readers get a better understanding of a major character named Pietro Spina. For example, readers should pay attention to the stories of Uliva and Murica.