The Canto of Ulysses
- The Chemical Kommando is cleaning an underground oil tank when Jean, the Pikolo (messenger boy) of the Kommando comes in.
- Today, Primo gets to go with him to pick up the soup.
- Jean tells Primo to stop walking so fast; they have time. So, they take a longer route to the kitchens—one that will take an hour and give them a rest from work.
- Primo wants to teach Jean Italian, since he's good with languages. He even picks up some Italian words during a conversation between Primo and another guy as they continue their walk to the kitchen.
- Since their time together's almost over, Primo decides to recite for Jean the Canto of Ulysses from Dante's Inferno. Jean should understand it if he's smart.
- But Primo has a hard time remembering the passages he's trying to recite for Jean, and it loses meaning in trying to translate it from the Italian poetry.
- Primo continues to struggle to remember the verses, and becomes frustrated. He urgently wants Jean to understand him, because it seems to Primo that these passages are meaningful to their situation.
- Too late: they're now in the kitchen picking up their cabbage and turnip soup.