Summary, Characterization, and Setting of Two Little Soldiers by Guy De Maupassant

 

THE ANALYSIS OF

GUY MAUPASSANT’S THE TWO LITTLE SOLDIERS

By

Muhammad Al-Fathaan

Summary

The two little soldiers named Luc and Jean always spend their free time on Sundays away from their camp. They spend their time out in the countryside. This "free time" became their ritual thing. Every Sunday, they bring a food and wine for their breakfast. They always came to the same spot in the woods and sit to enjoy their food,wine, and the views of an area that reminds them of home.

One day, their free time involves the presence of a young village girl who brings out her cow to the grass field every week at the same time when they spend their free time. One day, the girl met them and speaks to them as she’s on her way to the grass field. After she came back from the grass field, she shares the cow’s milk with them. After that she leaves them and promise that they’ll the following Sunday.

On the next weekend, Jean suggests to Luc that they should bring something for her. They choose candy as their present, but when the girl arrives, they are too shy to tell her that they’ve brought something for her. At last, Luc encourage himself to tells the girl about the treat, on the other side, Jean who always brings the provisions, give her the bonbons.

As the weeks pass, the two soldiers always talking about the girl when they were in their camp. The three become a friends. The girl starts to share her breakfast meal and seems to put and equal attention to both of the soldiers.

Then, something unusual happen, Luc tries to leave on Tuesday and the following Thursday. He borrows money from Jean without any explanation. But Jean still gives him the money.

The next Sunday, when the girl shows up with the cow, she rushes up to Loc and they hug each other. Jean is really hurt and does not understand why suddenly the girl turned all of her attention to Luc. Luc and the girl disappear into the woods to take care of her cow. Jean is stunned. When they return, Luc and the girl kissed, and the girl greets Jean and gone.

They never speaks about the accident. When they return to the camp, they stop for a moment on the bridge over the Seine. Jean leans over facing the water, then suddenly fall down into the torrent. Luc can’t do anything but watching his good friend drowns with a pain.

Characters and Characteriziation

1. Jean Kerderen

Jean Kerderen, the main character, the main role. He is kind and love being together with his friend, Luc. In this lines, shows that Luc is always together with his friend, Luc.

Every Sunday, as soon as they were free, the little soldiers would go for a walk. They turned

to the right on leaving the barracks, crossed Courbevoie with rapid strides, as though on a

forced march; then, as the houses grew scarcer, they slowed down and followed the dusty

road which leads to Bezons.

Everywhere Luc go, Jean always with him. And they always have the same mind.

They always stopped for a while on the bridge at Bezons, and looked at the Seine. They

stood there several minutes, bending over the railing, watching the white sails, which

perhaps reminded them of their home, and of the fishing smacks leaving for the open.


He also care to his friend, Luc. In the story Jean was worried that Luc was’t came back until ten o’clock in the night. He also give Luc a money when Luc needed, even though Jean don’t know what will Luc do with the money.


One Tuesday something unusual happened to Luc Le Ganidec; he asked for leave and did

not return until ten o'clock at night.

Jean, worried and racked his brain to account for his friend's having obtained leave.
The following Friday, Luc borrowed ten sons from one of his friends, and once more asked

and obtained leave for several hours.

2. Luc Le Ganidec

Luc is the second main character here. He’s almost the same with Jean, kind, always thinking the same with Jean, but more brave than Jean.

She was a tall, strapping girl, freckled and tanned by the open air--a girl typical of the

Parisian suburbs.

Once, on noticing that they were always sitting in the same place, she said to them:

"Do you always come here?"

Luc Le Ganidec, more daring than his friend, stammered:

"Yes, we come here for our rest."


But there’s a time when Luc forgetting his friend and ignored him. When Luc and Jean walking together to their usual place as usual, the girl came and Luc came towards her and both of them kissed, and Luc knew that Jean was watching, and he ingnored it.


            Soon the girl appeared. They watched her approach as they always did. When
            she was near, Luc arose and went towards her. She placed her pail on the ground
            and kissed him. She kissed him passionately, throwing her arms around his neck, without
            paying attention to Jean, without even noticing that he was there.

3. The girl

The girl is a minor character, in the story she’s described as a friendly , nice smile and a dilligent girl, and she always brings her pail with her.

 

Soon they would see the girl, coming through the fields, and it pleased them to watch the

sparkling sunbeams reflected from her shining pail. They never spoke of her. They were

just glad to see her, without understanding why.

She was a tall, strapping girl, freckled and tanned by the open air--a girl typical of the

Parisian suburbs.

 

Once, on noticing that they were always sitting in the same place, she said to them:

"Do you always come here?"

Luc Le Ganidec, more daring than his friend, stammered:

"Yes, we come here for our rest."

That was all. But the following Sunday, on seeing them, she smiled with the kindly smile of

a woman who understood their shyness,


Setting

The story describe a two little soldiers that placed in a barracks, French countryside not far from Courbevoie. From the looks of it, looks like a war time but really quite and peacefull. They always have their free time on Sunday.

 

Every Sunday, as soon as they were free, the little soldiers would go for a walk. They turned

to the right on leaving the barracks, crossed Courbevoie with rapid strides, as though on a

forced march; then, as the houses grew scarcer, they slowed down and followed the dusty

road which leads to Bezons.


The next setting is the little forrest of Champioux, where they usually go when free time, to enjoy their time, eat their breakfast and let go their tiredness.

            They never spoke during their journey, going straight before them, the same idea in each one's mind taking the place of conversation. For at the entrance of the little forest of  Champioux they had found a         spot which reminded them of home, and they did not feel happy anywhere else. At the crossing of the         Colombes and Chatou roads, when they arrived under the trees, they would take off their heavy,                  oppressive headgear and wipe their foreheads.


Next is the bridge at Bezons. They stood there several minutes,
watching the white sails that reminded them of their home.

            They always stopped for a while on the bridge at Bezons, and looked at the Seine. They

            stood there several minutes, bending over the railing, watching the white sails, which

            perhaps reminded them of their home, and of the fishing smacks leaving for the open.


The last is their camp or barrack. In this story the barrack was mention 3 times, at first , middle , and last. But the most important one is on the last. When Luc came back from the bridge after he saw his friend died drowns in the river with heart full of pain remembering what he did.

Luc ran back to the barracks, crazed, and with eyes and voice full of tears, he related the

accident: "He leaned--he--he was leaning--so far over--that his head carried him away--

and--he--fell--he fell----"

 

References

Maupassant, Guy de. (1850). Two Little Soldiers. The Entire Original Maupassant Short Stories.

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