If it were not for the title of the novel, we might well start to assume that the story has very little or nothing to do with Captain Corelli. Moreover, de Bernieres introduces the reader to so much material, that very soon we have probably forgotten about him long, before he is actually cited .
In the first five chapters of the novel, de Bernieres leads the reader into five main focal points. Within this section he establishes two sort of characters. On the one hand, we have the historical characters who most people recognise and that have contributed significantly to the world history: Hitler is occasionally mentioned, while Mussolini, The Duce' is prominently featured in chapter two: with Metaxas they serve to build the main historical context of the novel. On the other hand we have the fictional characters, created by de Bernieres; his characters feel convincingly real we perhaps accept them as more real, because they are placed in a documented historical context. In turn this leads us to either grow sympathy or an antipathy towards them because we can relate more personally to the wider arena. .
Dr. Iannis is the first character we encounter in the novel. Through him, we discover his role as a doctor in the community, the community he serves and lives in and it is he who finally leads us into the setting of the novel "The half forgotten Island of Cephallonia -, through his writing of: "A personal history- We detect right away that Doctor Iannis is a sophisticated man who is highly respected in the community. His language and knowledge feels richer and more refined in comparison to that of his patients. In fact this may trigger our deductions about the community: small, simple-minded but with strong religious beliefs. Religion feels considerably important in this community, because biblical language recurs constantly in their language : "Christ have mercy all the saints and Mary protect us God rest her soul -.
