Two Friends Guy de Maupassant Guy de Maupassant

Two Friends Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant � Born in 1850 � Died in 1893 � He was born into an aristocratic family � Spent his childhood in Normandy � After graduating from high school he joined the armed forces during the Franco-Prussian War � Following his service in the army he went on to work as a government clerk � Lived in Paris and improved on his writing

1. (a) What is the mood, or atmosphere, of the story? Happy towards the beginning and stressful towards the end. (b) How and when is the mood established? The mood is established when they get kidnapped.

2. (a) How does Maupassant characterize the friendship between M. Morissot and M. Sauvage? There is an equal friendship between them. (b) What motivates the two men to go fishing? Memories of them going fishing in the past.

3. (a) What is the significance of the fact that the villages of Colombes and Argenteuil and the surrounding areas are deserted? - The war caused the people to leave to safer areas. (b) How does the emptiness of the landscape foreshadow, or hint at, the events that occur later in the story? - It has been taken over by enemy forces.

4. (a) Considering the outcome of the story, what is ironic, or surprising, about M. Sauvage’s remark that if they met the Prussians they would “offer them some fish”? - The Prussians killed them and took their fish. (b) What is ironic about the happiness that the men feel when they begin to fish? - They get kidnapped and shot. (c) What is ironic about M. Morissot’s remark, “That’s death for you”? - They will both die.

5. What is the significance of the two men’s comments concerning war and its relation to republics and monarchies? - It was talking about how there is war everywhere and they get involved in the war and killed.

6. How does the description of the physical appearance and actions of the Prussian soldiers support the two men’s earlier impressions of the Prussian forces? - It shows that their ideas of the Prussians were true.

7. (a) How would you characterize the Prussian officer’s manner and the outlook on life? - He’s a soldier and he has orders that he has to follow. (b) How does his outlook on life compare to that expressed by the two fishermen prior to the arrival of the Prussians? - They are feeling good about life and he just wants to win the war.

8. How does the suddenness of the story’s climax contribute to its effectiveness? - It happens all at once so you get the full effect of how the story ends.

9. (a) What effect does Maupassant produce by juxtaposing the execution of the fishermen with the frying of the fish? - It gives the effect that it’s just another day for the Prussians. (b) What is the effect of his juxtaposition of the peacefulness of fishing with the violence of war? - They are opposites that don’t go together, giving the effect of cruelty.

Realism �A manner of treating subject matter that presents a careful description of everyday usual life. � They are showing the characters as real normal people, not wealthy powerful kings.

Naturalism �A manner of technique of treating subject matter that presents through volume, 2 a determination view of human life and actions. The Natural thing about ‘two friends’ is that the persons fate is is determined by heredity, chance, and the elements of their environment.

Situational Irony called irony of events, is most broadly defined as a situation where the outcome is incongruous with what was expected, but it is also more generally understood as a situation that includes contradictions or sharp contrasts. � Sometimes �A man who takes a step aside in order to avoid getting sprinkled by a wet dog, and falls into a swimming pool. "

Universal Theme � The theme of a piece of fiction it is controlling idea or its central insight. In order to figure out theme, a reader must ask what view of life a work supports or what insight into life in the real world it reveals. � Sacrificing Country. your own life for your own

Protagonist and Antagonist � Protagonist is the main characters of the story while the Antagonist is the opposing characters of the story. � The protagonist of ‘Two Friends’ is M. Morissot and M. Sauvage � The Antagonist of ‘Two Friends’ is Prussians that attack M. Morissot and M. Sauvage.

Conflict � Conflict is to come into collision or disagreement; be contradictory, at variance, or in opposition; clash. � The Conflict is that the Prussians are attacking France.

Franco Prussian War. � The Franco Prussian War was fought between the French and the Prussians from July 19 th 1870 to May 10 th 1871. The outnumbered French troops were beaten back, surrounded in Paris, and surrendered. � Some major battles were Sedan, Paris, Toul, and Metz. "Wars of the World*. " Franco Prussian War 1870 -1871. Armed Conflict Events Database, 16/12/00. Web. 8 Sep 2011. http: //www. onwar. com/aced/data/foxtrot/f ranceprussia 1870. htm

Why go to war? Napoleon III declared war on Prussia in fear of being attacked so he attacked first. Otto Von Bismarck saw war with France a chance to unify the German States.

How is war important to the story? � M. Morissot and M. Sauvage are accused of being spies and will not give up the password to get into the city so they are killed by the Prussians. � If there was no war they could fish with no worries but there is a war and they are killed for not giving up the password to get into Paris, to the Prussians.

The Meet � They met on the side of the road after one year of fighting. After they meet they would go fishing.

Getting the Pass � After they met, morissot went to get the pass from his friend Cl. Dumoulin.

Morissot � Every Sunday Morissot would grab his bamboo pole and get on the Argenteuil railroad. He would get off at Colombes and walk over to Marante island. As soon as he arived to this spot he would begin to fish until nightfall.

The Prussians vs France � The Prussians spoke in their language and then grabbed morissot by the arm and whispered to him. He commanded the password. Then the soldier raised there rifle and the officer shouted “fire!”

Death � The Prussians capture Morissot and sauvage demanding the password. After both the guys denied giving the password they were shot and killed.

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