StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

What Can Be Learned from the Story The Devil by Guy de Maupassant - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
The author of the paper will begin with the statement that Honore Bontemps's mother aged 92 years was dying from Norman avariciousness. By her deathbed were the doctor and Honore. Honore was going to harvest his wheat even as his mother suffered in her last days on earth as the doctor claimed. …
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.6% of users find it useful
What Can Be Learned from the Story The Devil by Guy de Maupassant
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "What Can Be Learned from the Story The Devil by Guy de Maupassant"

La Rapet ironically called the priest to give Honore’s mother the Holy sacrament that the priest did. The Priest was respected and equally feared. To the disappointment of La Rapet and fun of Honore, his mother did not die as first as La Rapet anticipated. As a result, La Rapet started narrating and acting devil-like stories to scare Honore’s mother to death. The sick woman was disturbed and died three days and one night since La Rapet started caring for her. As such, La Rapet made a profit of twenty sows out of Honore (Maupassant, 2012).

The most prevalent theme in this story is the theme of poverty. It is overwhelmingly evident from the story that the main actors were so poverty-stricken that they had to gamble and trade over the life of a loved one. It can indeed be argued that the title, devil, depicts poverty as the real devil. When the doctor asked Honore to stay with his sick and ailing mother, he ironically argued that he must attend to the wheat in the field. He actually asked his mother for permission and the ailing but the protagonist woman agreed since she understood the importance of attending to the wheat farm.

She knew it was their only source of livelihood. Ironically, Honore could not spare some time with his mother as a show of last respect although he expected her not to last long. The theme of poverty is best demonstrated in Honore bargain for La Rapet services “How much will you ask to stay with her till the end? You know that I am not rich, and I cannot even afford to keep a servant girl” (Maupassant, 2012). Certainly, this is perhaps the worst it could get for the family. However, it was also ironic that the family could get to such abject poverty after the woman lived and worked hard for 92 years.

The protagonist nurse had two prices for her services, one price for the rich and another for the poor. She actually declined to set the price for the service until she saw the ailing woman, which further develops the theme of poverty. The worst-case scenario, depicting the theme of poverty, came when the nurse began frightening the ailing woman with stories of the devils so that she would die quickly. Accordingly, “Terrified, with an insane expression on her face, the dying woman made a superhuman effort to get up and escape; she even got her shoulders and chest out of bed; then she fell back with a deep sigh” (Maupassant, 2012). 

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(The Devil by Guy de Maupassant Literature review, n.d.)
The Devil by Guy de Maupassant Literature review. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1591163-literary-summaryinterpretive-essay
(The Devil by Guy De Maupassant Literature Review)
The Devil by Guy De Maupassant Literature Review. https://studentshare.org/literature/1591163-literary-summaryinterpretive-essay.
“The Devil by Guy De Maupassant Literature Review”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1591163-literary-summaryinterpretive-essay.
  • Cited: 2 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF What Can Be Learned from the Story The Devil by Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant: Stories of Regret

guy de maupassant: Stories of Regret.... guy de maupassant's short stories, “All Over,” “Regret,” and “A Stroll,” focus on the common sense of regret shared by the protagonists, Leras, Saval and Lormerin.... guy de maupassant: Stories of Regret.... guy de maupassant is considered the ‘Father of the short story.... On the fateful day of the story, he sets out on his stroll “with joy in his heart, at peace with the world” ( )....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Literary analysis of Guy de Maupassant The Necklace

Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Literary Analysis of guy de maupassant "The Necklace" The author of this story intended to bring political, cultural, and social statement of humanity as depicted in this particular story.... Literary Analysis of guy de maupassant "The Necklace" The of this story intended to bring political, cultural, and social statement of humanity as depicted in this particular story.... guy de maupassant "The Necklace'.... With reference to the cultural aspects of the story, the author portrays a society that cherishes jewelry as part of their attire in order to enhance their elegance especially when attending important functions....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Folly of Envy: A Comparative Analysis of Guy de Maupassants The Necklace and Raymond Carvers Neighbors

Henry-Rene-Albert guy de maupassant was born in Normandy, France to wealthy parents in 1850.... hellip; And yet, the thematic similarities in de Maupassant's "The Necklace" and Raymond Carver's "Neighbors" are gripping indeed, proving as it were the universality of the "friends with money" theme, and the eventual downfall wrought by envy and covetousness The Folly of Envy: A Comparative Analysis of guy de maupassant's "The Necklace" and Raymond Carver's "Neighbors" Many decades separate guy de maupassant and Raymond Carver....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

Depicted as a simpleton, The Necklace This short story by guy de maupassant is a tale of love, set against the backdrop of materialism and individualism.... He brings out in the story the irony of a materialistic world, which though has charm and appeal, is hollow and fake from the inside.... It tells the tale of Madame Mathilde Loisel who is not appeased by her comfortable living and dreams of reaching the opulent levels of society, even while her… This story depicts two kinds of love....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

English - reading and writing assignment

In a sample essay about “The Necklace,” Roberts explains how de maupassant uses setting to describe and explain Mathilde's character.... Writing requires having an argumentative position and supporting details from the text and sometimes, even other sources, to effectively show that all our points lead to our thesis.... These notes can be the spring of our thesis and supporting arguments.... The thesis stresses that Mathilde grows as a person and this growth can be seen through descriptions of her apartment, dreams about elegant rooms in a mansion, and her attic flat....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Priest in Clair De Lune by Guy de Maupassant

The object of analysis of this paper "The Priest in Clair De Lune by guy de maupassant" is a short story Clair de Lune which can be roughly translated as moonlight from French.... This work was written by guy de maupassant and it is set mainly in a garden situated near a monastery.... hellip; the story unfolds in the late evening as an orthodox priest is about to spy on his niece as she meets her lover.... The overall narrative of the story concentrates on the theme of love and shows love being derived from the vileness of society....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

According to Guy Maupassant, is Realism, Pessimistic

Their father has just retired from the jewelry trade and is now living with his wife and children in their farm.... This paper is a critical review of maupassant works and in particular Pierre ET Jean to try and look deeply into how he presents his realism and his general view of realism in literary form.... In particular, the paper is more concerned with affirming that indeed Guy maupassant sees and portrays realism as being pessimistic.... Realism was adopted from romanticism and became one of the most common tendencies due to its nature of approach. One of the major guy is one of the best short story writers and a major champion in the realist writing approach....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

The Life and Work of Guy de Maupassant

Guy maupassant contributed the famous ‘Boule de suif.... Guy maupassant made a reputation quicker than any other French writer of romance.... For the next ten years, maupassant contributed exemplary articles and stories until 1887 when some of his articles began to suggest that he was suffering from hallucinations.... Albert Wallace brings out the unhappy life of Guy maupassant.... Later in 1880, he joined other writers Zola, Huysmans and a host of others and published a collection of short stories, ‘Soirees de Medan....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us