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Part 1: 13 May, 1946
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Literature and Connection
Family, Parenting, and Legitimacy
War, Hunger, and Humanity
Women, Marriage, and Work
Summary
Analysis
Isola tells Juliet that she's getting the house ready for Juliet's arrival and has told all her friends to write about their experiences. Then, Isola recounts seeing the invading Germans for the first time. Elizabeth was with Isola and she suggested they go stare at the Germans. When they got down to St. Peter Port, they found the Germans shopping. Many were acting like tourists. Then, a regiment of marching soldiers turned onto the street. A man who'd fought in World War One cried and after a few minutes, Elizabeth suggested they get a drink.
The juxtaposition of the shopping Germans with the marching ones reinforces that not all Germans act a particular way: like the islanders, they hold differing thoughts and ideals regardless of their participation in the German army. The marching Germans, however, impressed upon the islanders that their cruelty was going to rule, not their kindness.
Themes
