224
PARTISAN REVIEW
to the courts to obtain redress for
wrongs suffered; such matters are
settled privately and whenever
possible with a touch of dramatic
artistry. Above all, one never
squeals, or "sings," as the boys
would have it. By a tenacious ad–
herence to these devices, the Sicil–
ian has succeeded in maintaining
through
30
centuries of oppression
an amazing sense of personal dig–
nity and a vigorous spirit of inde–
pendence. He is definitely not the
type "to allow a fly to settle on his
nose," as the saying goes.
Outwardly the Sicilian renders
a measure of grudging and propi–
tiatory homage to whatever gov–
ernmental monster happens to be
in power.
If
the monster runs
amuck, there is always at hand the
traditional weapon of the oppres–
sed: insurrection. And the Sicilians
have been rebelling steadily for
3000
years, at intervals roughly
estimated at
15
years. Some of
these revolts, like the Sicilian Ves–
pers and the Palermo revolt of
1848,
have made the headlines of
world history.
Another consequence of this
painful historical destiny has been
the creation of a rather negative,
stoical and sceptical attitude to–
ward all manifestations of politi–
cal life and, in fact, toward life
in
general. Your typical Sicilian,
though well endowed with the
Christian virtue of fortitude, cer–
tainly has no trace of the Pollyanna
mentality; his daily comments are
apt to be of a devastating and re–
signed bitterness. He will answer
the greeting, "What's doing?" with,
"The sardines are eating the an–
chovies."1 His comments on politi–
cal innovations are apt to be, "We
were better off when we were
1. Chi si dici? Li sardi si mangiunu
l'alici.
worse off,"
2
or, "Joe rises and Basil
falls; I gain nothing, I lose noth–
ing."3
It is in the light of this back–
ground that Mr. Hersey's account
of one episode in the Anglo-Amer–
ican invasion of Sicily needs to be
examined. These amiable natives
bearing trays of fruit and pitchers
of Jieady local wine are, in a dif–
ferent sense, no less dangerous than
the traditional Greeks bearing
gifts. The newcomer is under the
keen scrutiny of a people who have
seen much of life.
Mr. Hersey's is essentially not a
work of fiction but an excellent
piece of reporting. His General
Marvin, Major Joppolo, and Lieu–
tenant Livingston are fictional
characters whose resemblance to
living people is all too evident. Mr.
Hersey's picture of the sudden con–
tact of two very dissimilar peoples
is skilfully drawn. It is in inter–
preting the significance of this pic–
ture that we differ radically from
the popular reviewers. Their op–
timism is misplaced, for to under–
stand the inner meaning of the
events related is to be left with an
impression of unmitigated disillu–
sion. To the proverbs quoted above
one is now inclined to add,
Quod
non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Bar–
berini.
Let us take a look at Mr. Her–
sey's
dramatis personae:
General
"Hell-and-Goddamit" Marvin, a
congenital muleskinner; Lieutenant
Livingston, a supercilious Kent–
yale nincompoop and snob, who
allows no "wops" to enter his of–
fice; Captain Purvis, a violent and
lecherous boozehound; Sergeant
Borth, strictly a hard guy; Privates
"Chuck," "Polack" and "Bill," who
2. Si stava megghiu, quannu si sta–
va peggiu.
3. 'Nchiana Peppi e scinni Brasi, nu
mi
nesci e nu
mi
trasi!
