NEB Grade-11 (English) 1.6 Two Little Soldiers - by Guy de Maupassant Part-2 ( Short Stories)

NEB Grade-11 (English)  1.6 Two  Little Soldiers - by  Guy de Maupassant Part-2 ( Short Stories)

Two Little Soldiers: Summary
—  The story "The Two Little Soldiers"  is a triangular love story with a completely unexpected result at the end was written by Guy de Maupassant, an author of the naturalistic school. It also includes friendship and romantic love with change, dissatisfaction, conflict, betrayal and jealousy.  The story takes place in Courbevoie, a town in the countryside of France. Although there is no fighting in the story, there is a war going on.
—  Two French Soldiers, Luc Le Ganidec and Jean Kerderen 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. On the way, they enjoyed for several minutes at Bezons's bridge to enjoy the river Seine and its white surging sails.
—  Eventually, their ritual comes to include a bit of an innocent young village girl who brings her cow out to pasture every week at the same time. Unfortunately, both the soldiers fall in love with the milkmaid. She share them coeds milk (milk juice) and next week, they share her  bonbon( a candy with chocolate) as a gift which they have bought and she was very happy.  But Luc starts to see her more in private and Jean ends up killing himself from being heart broken, because his friend went behind his back. 

Theme of the story: “Two Little Soldiers”
—  The central theme of "Two Little Soldiers" is the incompatibility of friendship and romantic love. Jean and Luc are best friends under the most trying of circumstances. When both fall in love with the same girl, however, that friendship cannot survive, and it ends in tragic circumstances.
—  Jean and Luc are comrades in the military, and despite their shared involvement in a system that traditionally allows "little freedom and little dignity for individuals," they are the best of friends. Every Sunday, the two make it a point to share a meal and some time for relaxation out in the countryside. Their idyllic relationship is challenged, however, when they meet a girl in whom they are both interested. Although neither directly declares his feelings towards the girl with the other, deception enters into their friendship as Luc begins to actively court her, unbeknownst to Jean. Luc even borrows money from Jean, who, not knowing what he is using it for, willingly lends it. When it becomes apparent to Jean that the girl is enamored of Luc, he suddenly realizes what has happened. His hurt is so great that he commits suicide, throwing himself into the river.
—  The betrayal felt by Jean is especially devastating because he not only has lost the girl that he loves, but he has also lost a friendship which he had valued greatly. Although Luc may not have known the true extent of his friend's feeling for the girl he is courting, the fact that he pursues her secretly indicates that he must have sensed that his actions would hurt him and create a rift between them. The bond of friendship had to have been violated for romantic love to bloom in this situation. The conflict between the two entities is so great that it is impossible that both - friendship and love - would have been able to survive in conjunction with each other.
—  This short story "Two Little Soldiers" is a triangular love story  by a French writer Guy de Maupassant  who here shows the compatibility of friendship and romantic love with change, discontent, conflict, betrayal and jealousy.

The setting of "Two Little Soldiers
—  The story is set in the French countryside, near the town of Courbevoie.  It is wartime, but the scene is peaceful and idyllic; Luc and Jean, who are soldiers stationed in barracks nearby, come here on Sundays for a quiet meal and to enjoy the area, which reminds them of home.  The beauty of the setting is enhanced by the presence of a young village girl, who brings her cow out to pasture every Sunday when the boys are there.  The boys begin to engage in "a bit of innocent ogling" of the comely girl, who after awhile begins to talk to them.
—  Although there is no combat in the story, there is a war going on.

 Style: Here in this story, the writer has applied a very realistic style of writing. Most of his writings include the events related to soldiers and war because he had spent his life in the army. He even preferred to write about love affairs.

Understanding the text  
Answer these questions.
a. Why do the two soldiers spend their free time on Sundays away from the barrack out in the countryside?
Ø The two soldiers spend their free time on Sundays away from the barracks out in the countryside because they had met a  beautiful village girl, a dairymaid on their way.
b. Why does the girl become the topic of conversation for these soldiers?
Ø The girl becomes the topic of conversation for these soldiers because they both fell in love with the same girl.
c. Why does deception enter into their friendship?
Ø Deception enter into their friendship as Luc started deceiving him by visiting the girl even on Tuesday till late night and on Friday as well which made Jean suspicious and worried about their friendship.
d. Do you think that Luc is a betrayer of friendship?
Ø Ofcourse,  Luc is a betrayer of friendship. If he wasn't so, he would inform his friend Jean about his visit to the village girl on Tuesday and Friday.
e. What is the cause of suicide of Jean? Do you think that it was the only release of his love?
Ø The cause of suicide of Jean was the betrayal from his friend Luc and the love of the village girl. I don't think the cause of suicide was only the release of his love. He could find another girl or alternative to save his life from suicide thinking life as precious gift of the God.

Reference to the context 
a. What is the central theme of the story?- See above ‘Theme’
b. "What are you doing here? Are you watching the grass grow?"
      i. Who is the speaker?
      The speaker is the milkmaid.
      ii. What does the word “here” indicate?
      "Here" means the place/ the wood where the two soldiers visit every weekend.
      iii. Who does “you” refer to?
      "You" refers to two soldiers.
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?
       The speaker is Luc.
      ii. Why is the speaker speaking with interruption?
       The speaker is speaking with interruption because he is in pain and scared of the death of Jean.
      iii. What does he mean when he says “he--fell--he fell---”?
       He means that Jean fell into the river.

c. Two Little Soldiers can be viewed as a series of dramatic scenes. Describe the story as tragedy.
—  This short story "Two Little Soldiers” presents a bizarre dramatic triangular love story  ending with a tragic incident and themes like jealousy, betrayal, romantic love with change, discontent as well as mental conflict.
—  The milkmaid has created enmity between two friends. She has become the main cause of Jean's fall down.
—  We find deceptive acts of Luc Le Ganidec. Due to  immoral as well as deceptive acts of both lovers, Jean suffers a lot. When he gets realization about their affair, he becomes so sad both physically and mentally. He wants to cry being desperate. The deception of both lovers makes him heartbroken.
—  When he finds them quite indifferent towards him, he doesn't reveal his painful feelings to them rather he feels better to commit suicide than to stay with betrayers. The tragic death of Jean at the end of the story surprises the readers too.
—  The author communicates the tragedy of the situation through the simplicity of his story.  The ending of the story comes as a shock, because there was little indication that the emotions involved would have been so intense and devastating.  The universal truth that it could be so quickly, effectively and chillingly illustrated by the author's skillful use of the surprise ending.

f. How would you describe the conflict between the friends?
—  The story “Two Little Soldiers” presents love triangular relationships along with conflicts scenes among the lovers.
—   The nature of the conflict is  found differently in different cases and in some cases conflicts cross the limits and sometimes conflicts turn into life long jealousy as well as enmity.
—  Both little soldiers' attraction towards milkmaid reach so high as she becomes the major topic of discussion for them. Among the two friends' relationship, deception takes an ugly entry through Luc Le Ganidec.
—  Jean's realization about their affair makes him angry as well jealous of both lovers. He finds himself being cheated and betrayed by his best friend Luc.
—  The conflict of Jean is unexpressed so that his mental conflict can easily be noticed.
—  The sole cause behind this conflict is the milkmaid and also the deceptive acts of Luc. Due to this hidden conflict, Jean loses his life at the end.

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?
      No, It is not good to have a conflict between friendship and love because these are the significant relationships which are very essential for true friends. True friends and loved ones always care for each other. Those who wish good things to their friends for the sake of the latter are friends most of all, because they do so because of their friends themselves, not coincidentally. True friends help their friends to  relieve tension and hardship. They will help their companions in difficulties.
—  It is not morally bad for two-person having the same feelings for the third one. Knowingly or unknowingly, this type of condition may arise in a person's life. Although it is not bad, possibilities are high for the problems to arise in the near future. Thus, the only solution this problem is to have table talk with each other and settle the problem by controlling our emotions and feelings.

b. How would you describe the triangular love?
—  The triangular theory of love is a theory of love developed by Robert Sternberg, a member of the Psychology Department at Yale University. This short story "Two Little Soldiers"  projects the theme of friendship, romantic love, discontent, betrayal and jealousy with projection of a triangular love where the deception of one friend has created an unfortunate incident for the next friend leading his death at the end.
—  A triangular love  is also known as love triangle or a triangle of romance which  is typically a romantic relationship involving three individuals. In it, two lovers run after a third partner romantically which typically arise conflict in relationships among three leading dreadful or mournful ending.

 

 All About " Two Little Soldiers." (pdf -file)

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