Chapters 21 - 22 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 21

The eclipse represented the poison gas massacres in the war. The villagers believe no sin goes unpunished. Carlo often sees the peasant children and paints them. A ten-year old boy named Giovanni Fanelli tries to mimic Carlo's painting. Carlo thinks that his paintings, while primitive, were charming. All the boys were poor, thin and usually had malaria. He goes on to briefly describe some of the other children. Carlo notes that these children are unusual, that they have a bit of animal spirit to them and are quite mature for their age. They begged Carlo to teach them to write. Carlo notes his aversion to teaching and didn't give him them as much time and attention as he now wishes he had.

Chapter 22

Spring is not far away. Carlo dreads the return of Malaria and tries to get...