Two Little Soldiers || Guy de Maupassant || Compulsory English Grade 11

 

Literature
 
Unit-1, Short Stories

Guy de Maupassant:

 

v He is also known as Henri Rere Alberd Guy de Maupassant, Guy de Valmount, Joseph Prunier Maugrigneuse (pen names)

v He was born on August 1850 in Tourville-sur-Arques, France and died on July 1893

v A popular 19^th century French writer (novelist and short story writer)

v Best known for his short stories,

v His stories captures various day to day life in France during the time,

v Many of his stories are based on the Franco-Prussian war, and the lives of innocent people

v He has written more than 3000 short stories, 6 novels etc.

v Suffered from syphilis, which caused him much mental agony and trouble for the rest of his living

 

Summary:

Luc and Jean are two soldiers who habitually spend their free time on Sundays away from the barracks, out in the countryside. Their day off has taken on the character of a ritual. Every Sunday, they bring food for breakfast to the same spot in the woods and lie back to enjoy the food, wine, and sights of an area that reminds them of home. Eventually, their ritual comes to include a bit of innocent ogling of a young village girl who brings her cow out to pasture every week at the same time. One Sunday, however, the girl speaks to them on her way to the pasture, and when she returns later, she shares the cow’s milk with them and leaves them with a promise to meet the following Sunday.

 

The next weekend, Jean suggests that they bring something for her. They settle on candy as an appropriate present, but when the girl arrives, both are too shy to tell her that they have brought something. Finally, Luc tells the girl of the treat, and Jean, who always carries the provisions, give the bonbons to her.

 

As the weeks pass, the girl becomes the topic of conversation for these soldiers as they spend time at the barracks, and the three become fast friends. The girl begins to share their Sunday breakfast meal and appears to devote equal attention to the two recruits. Then, in an uncharacteristic move, Luc seeks leave on a Tuesday, and again the following Thursday. He borrows money from Jean on that day but offers no explanation for his behavior. Jean lends the money. The following Sunday, when the girl appears with the cow, she immediately rushes up to Luc and they embrace ardently. Jean is hurt because he is left out and does not understand why the girl has suddenly turned all of her attention to Luc. Luc and the girl go off to care for the cow and disappear into the woods for a long time. Jean is stupefied. When they return, the lovers kiss again, and the girl offers Jean a kind “Good evening” before going away.

 

Neither soldier speaks of the incident, but as they return to their barracks they stop momentarily on the bridge over the Seine. Jean leans over toward the water; farther than he should in Luc’s judgment, and then suddenly tumbles into the torrent. Luc can do nothing; he watches in anguish as his good friend drowns.

 

Themes

Love and Romance Betrayal Setting Conflict Person vs Person The milkmaid causes the conflict between Luc and Jean, leading Jean to committing suicide. The countryside and the milkmaid brought Luc and Jean together, but eventually they ended up leading to Jean's death.

 

 

Answer these questions:

a. Can there be conflict in love?

Ans:- There can be conflict in love. It can even cause social conflicts such as between two religious groups, two cultural groups, and two castes when the lovers fall in love against the values and norms of the communities, races and religions they belong to.

 

b. Is it good to betray a friend?

Betray is considered is one of the sinful deeds, and the betrayer is even given punishment. Two friends can betray each other when there are the matters of job, earning, competition, prestige and love affair. It is not good to betray a friend. The betrayal can bring fatal consequence. Somebody dies when they don't bear betray from their close friends.

 

c. Have you ever read a tragic story or watched a tragic movie? What happens in tragedy?

Yes, I have read many tragic stories and watched several tragic movies. In a tragedy, everything seems normal in the begging of the story or movie, but later the downfall of the characters of our interest occurs because of his or her own flaw. There is sadness, unhappy situation, death, destruction and damages in such stories or movies.

 

Understanding the text

Answer these questions.

 

a. Why do the two soldiers spend their free time on Sundays away from the barracks out in the countryside?

Ans:- The two soldiers spend their free time on Sundays away from the barracks our in the countryside because, they feel lonely, bored, and home sick in the barracks as they are far away at Courbevoie from their home town Plounivon. In the countryside there are lots of places which remind them of their home town and they started to meet a milk maid and they felt happy with her.

 

b. Why does the girl become the topic of conversation for these soldiers?

Ans:- Far away in the country side near to Bezons, they happened to meet a beautiful milk maid on one Sunday outing. Both of them liked her as she talked to them and would give milk to drink. In the second and third time she became so close to them so she became the topic of conversation at barrack between them.

 

c. Why does deception enter into their friendship?

Ans:- Every Sunday Jean and Luc goes far away at countryside to spend their free time. Both of them meet a milk maid, who is very beautiful and become so close to them. Both of them wait for her arrival at the place where she comes to milk her cow. Both of them meet her, but in one week, on Tuesday and Friday, Luc secretly meets her talking leave from barrack. The following weekend, when the two meet her, she kisses Luc passionately ignoring Jeans. She shows her intimacy to Luck. Because of this activity of Luc, Jean feels pain, heartbroken and upset.

 

d. Do you think that Luc is a betrayer of friendship?

Ans:- Yeas, Luc is a betrayer of friendship. They were close friends in the barrack and would share everything to each other. The milk maid met and talked to both of them. Both of them would meet her Sundays. But on week Luc secretly meets her hiding the truth that the Milk mail and he fell in love each other. Until the kissed Luck, Jean had not known about the intimacy between them. Jean and Luc stayed all the time at the same barrack but he did not tell the secret. So Luc is a betrayer of friendship.

 

e. What is the cause of suicide of Jean? Do you think that it was the only release of his love?

Ans:- As we read the story, we know that Jean and Luc both like the same girl but they don't confess each other. But when the story turns to the climax when Luc and mild maid kiss each other ignoring Jean, he fells fallen out of a cliff. He is heartbroken, sad, and upset know the relation of them. He loved that girl one sided and waiting an appropriate moment to revel. But before he spoke, he found out the secret affair between Luc and Jean. The pain made him hard to bear. The ghost of his love to her was almost impossible to remove and hard to bear so he committed suicide. This was the final release of his love because for him it was impossible to release his love to her being alive. If he was alive, it would be hard to bear to see the girl being of his friend Luc.

 

Reference to the Context

a. What is the central theme of the story?

Ans:- The central theme of the story is 'Even the dearest and nearest friendship ends in a cause when the two fall in love with a same girl". Or the true friendship having a strong connection between dies in the case of a triangular love affair. Such case happens even to the case of girl, when two girls love a same boy.

 

b. "What are you doing here? Are you watching the grass growing?"

i. Who is the speaker?

The milk maid is the speaker.

 

ii. What does the word 'here' indicate?

The word 'here' indicates the little forest where the solder spend they outing, a little far away from Bezons.

 

iii. Who does 'you' refer to?

'You' refer to Jean Kerderen and Luc Le Ganides.

 

c. "He leaned--he--he was leaning--so far over--that his head carried him away--and--he--fell-he fell----"

i. Who is the Speaker?

Ans:- Luc Le Ganides is the speaker.

 

ii. Why is the speaker speaking with interruption?

Ans:- He is speaking with interruption because he fried Jean committed a suicide by falling down into Seine river from the bridge at Bezons.

 

iii. What does he mean when he says, "he--fell--he fell----"?

Ans:- He means falling down of his friend Jean from the bridge into the river Seine at Bezons.

 

d. Two Little Soldiers can be viewed as a series of dramatic scenes. Describe the story as tragedy.

Ans:-  When we read the story we find many scenes such as Luc and Jean leaving barrack, walking through the road, observing the River Seine at Bezons, meeting the mild maid at the forest etc. The beautiful rural landscapes, meeting with a girl suggest the story to be a romantic story, but the story turns to be a tragic story when Jean dies after he could not bear the betrayal by his dear friend Luc. In tragedy, there is an unhappy ending at the end of either the drama or story or novel. The ruin of any character is because of own fault. Here in this story the downfall of Jean is because of his jealousy when Luck won the favor of that beautiful milk maid. Luc is also devastated by the loss of his friend Jean. He chooses the romantic love affair instead the true connection in friendship. He even cheats his best friend for the girl. Because of their own fault, Jean lost his life and Luc lost his friendship. Luc is not happy at the last of the story.

 

e. What is the setting and style of the story?

Ans:- Setting means the time and place where a story takes place. The short story "Two Little Soldiers" takes place in a small city in the countryside of France called Courbevoie. The story is full of pastoral surroundings. The two little soldiers spend their free time in countryside, close to Bezons.

 

The story is told in second person point of view by the omniscient narrator. The narrator knows everything about the incidences and in the minds of the characters. The story is realistic because characters and settings are familiar to the readers.

 

f. How would you describe the conflict between the friends?

Ans:- The two characters in the story are soldiers who take part in physical conflict against opponent parties. They are even ready to die for their country. Though the characters are soldiers, the writes is here showing inner conflicts between the two soldiers. There are many causes that brings crack in the friendship, such as job, relation, property, pride, ego, money, and girl. In the story the two soldiers are very much close and share everything to each other. There is a strong bond in their friendship, but when there enters a female character in their life, the story takes U turn. Luc secretly meets the milkmaid, and his betrayal and intimacy to the girl make Jean unbearable. There is an internal conflict between two hearts. When the pain is unbearable, to get relief Jean commits suicide.

 

Reference beyond the Text

a. Is it good to have conflict between friendship and love? Is it morally good that a person and his best friend can love the same person?

Ans:-

Conflict between friends accounts for jealousy, ego, pride, prestige, property, social profile, relationship etc. However the conflict between friendships is not good. A friend is such a person with whom we have a bond of mutual affection. There is trust, honesty, dependency, loyalty, empathy, and understanding in friendship. But the flaw in any such qualities brings enmity and conflict between friends. Their friendly love to each other turns apart when there is betrayal, cheating, jealousy, and ego and so on. The most terrifying situation occurs in a friendship between two men when both of the love a single girl. Many best friends turn to be enemy to each other in terms of love affairs. Love is not visible so it can't be said both friends love the same girl. But once a situation comes between the two friends in which one reveals his love to the girl. It hurts another one. Morally a girl is not shared between two friends. It is not usual to love a same girl by two males. It is unacceptable socially and morally. If a girl loves two men who are best friends to each other, people questions about her character. So it is not good that a person and his best friend can love the same person but one can have ideal or platonic love. In love relationship there is physical contact, but such relation can happy only between one girl and one boy.

 

 

b. How would you describe the triangular love?

Ans:- The triangular love and a love triangle is a relationship in which three people are each in love with at least one other person in the relationship. Or in other words there is a romantic love between three people either two boys or a girl or vice versa. In such a relation, two boys love the same girl or one boy loves the girl but the girl falls in love the friend of that boy. For example there is a triangular love in the story the Little Soldiers. Here the two soldiers love the same milkmaid. The soldiers are Jean and Luc. Both of them like and love same girl, but the girl loves Luc. Such kind of love affair is dangerous as it is proved in the story. There is jealousy, deception and betrayal in such a relation. Luc betrays Jean secretly engaged with the milkmaid and this deception is unbearable to Jean as he is jealous to his friend as a result he commits suicide to release his love to the milkmaid.