Project Gutenberg 2007-12-26 Public domain in the USA. 52 Gibbon, Perceval 1879 1926 Those Who Smiled, and Eleven Other Stories Those who smiled -- The Dago -- Wood-ladies -- A man before the mast -- The girl -- The breadwinner -- "Plain German" -- Alms and the man -- The darkened path -- Miss Pilgrim's progress -- The connoisseur -- The day of omens. E-text prepared by Charles Klingman "Those Who Smiled" by Perceval Gibbon is a collection of short stories written in the early 20th century. The opening story introduces complex themes of war, morality, and human emotion, depicting the interactions of two military officers—Captain Hahn, a robust German captain epitomizing authority and control, and Lieutenant Jovannic, a more introspective young Austrian officer. As they observe the arrest of a forced-laborer, the story explores the juxtaposition of brute force and the tragic, silent resistance of those subjected to violence. The beginning of "Those Who Smiled" sets the stage with Captain Hahn and Lieutenant Jovannic as they prepare to capture a deserter from a forced labor camp. They observe a scene charged with tension as the villagers react to the violent arrest. Gibbon delves into the detached mindset of Captain Hahn, who prides himself on systematic control over the situation, whereas Jovannic’s discomfort grows as he witnesses the prisoner’s calm acceptance of fate and the villagers' oddly tranquil smiles, which suggest a deeper gravitas to their suffering. Through this opening, Gibbon hints at themes of complicity, the moral weight of authority, and the unfathomable depths of human resilience in the face of tyranny. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Fiction Short stories PR Text Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction 555006 554945 2024-09-10T09:51:03.004656 2023-09-10T12:49:09.377853 text/html text/html 554999 554938 2024-09-10T09:51:03.378681 2023-09-10T12:49:09.549864 text/html text/html 266581 2024-09-10T09:51:11.029628 application/epub+zip 274804 2024-09-10T09:51:04.945667 application/epub+zip 274804 2024-09-10T09:51:04.028670 application/epub+zip 521333 2024-09-10T09:51:15.512639 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 494343 2024-09-10T09:51:10.360724 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 494429 2022-09-11T07:58:06.978844 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 503464 503446 2024-09-10T09:51:02.589642 2023-09-10T12:49:09.020922 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 503257 2007-12-26T11:59:06 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 195182 2007-12-26T11:59:07 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 17854 2024-09-10T09:51:15.644631 application/rdf+xml 17689 2024-09-10T09:51:04.369734 image/jpeg 3831 2024-09-10T09:51:04.197657 image/jpeg 266114 2024-09-10T09:51:03.427638 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia