Art is construed to be a reflection of society; meaning it addresses the many aspects of lives of people in a society. Literary productions like short stories can serve two purposes at once: to pass a moral message and at the same time entertain. The entertainment part comes from how narrators tell the story, how the author uses language, and how the construction of the story is. Guy de Maupassant story “Boule de Suif” is about the war between French and German troops. This essay explores how the moral landscape in “Boule de Suif” is similar or differs with that in “A Vendetta,” another story by this author, and how the story is constructed and language used in baring these elements of morality.
At the beginning of this story, the author touches on the moral principle of contentment. Among the groups that formed the army were men “who lived quietly on their income” (Maupassant, n.p). The underlying message in this statement is that this segment of the army was contented with what they earned, and it sufficiently supported their silent lives. On the hand, “A Vendetta,” addresses a different moral issue that is the cruel murder of Antoine Saverini by Nicolas Ravolati after they had quarreled. Ravaloti had killed Saverini by slaying him with a knife. The treacherous murder of Saverini is from the outset immoral and wrong.
Additionally, in “Boule de Suif”, the author slightly touches on the issue of corruption especially during enlisting of army officers. The defeated army had a huge number of irregulars who met the cut of being enlisted in the army because of their money and mustachios. In “A Vendetta,” the author pursues the moral question of welcoming wrong-doers in our midst. Saverini’s murderer and Corsican bandits all fled to Sardinian village after committing atrocities. The moral thing was for the Sardinian people to kick them out.
Moreover, “Boule de Suif “questions the morality of exacting money from city inhabitants by German troops that had conquered the city. Despite the city inhabitants being rich, it was immoral for the soldiers to exact money from them because it was their hard-earned money. This instance serves to question the universal immorality of armies that make invasions with a single focus of stealing from people and defrauding them of their fortunes. Elsewhere “A Vendetta” addresses a whole different moral issue which is the morality behind avenging for wrongs committed against us. Saverini’s mother was focused on avenging the death of her son, and her plan to train Semillante, the dog, to devour Nicolas Ravolati succeeded in the long last. The moral question in this instance is if it is moral to take revenge for wrongs committed against us.
In “Boule de Suif”, the author questions why man in many instances, fails to be reasonable and why Heaven does not intervene when injustice is prevalent on earth and tragedies hit people. It is an injustice for people to use wars to impose themselves on others, to steal fortunes owned by other people, and cause the death of others. The actions are devoid of sound reasoning on the part of those who propagate wars since it results in deaths and accumulation of illegally acquired wealth. Wars waged by savage forces that do not value reason result in the blatant disregard of rights that are prescribed by Nature and laws of man. The author also questions the failure of Heaven to protect human beings from earthly tragedies they themselves lack the strength and skill to protect themselves from. These tragedies include earthquakes that cause houses to crumble, floods that result in drowning of people and animals, and shattering of houses, and blood-thirsty armies that mercilessly kill those who merely protecting themselves, and using arms to pilfer and unfairly imprison others. The writer questions the morality of Heaven to remain silent when such atrocities are committed against innocent people. The occurrence of such scourges that are against the reason of man and which depict Heaven as powerless to protect people is immoral and waters down the belief of people in eternal justice (Maupassant n.p).
“Boule de Suif”is beautifully written with widespread use of irony to bring to the fore the incapacities of this army. The irregulars in this army are given high-sounding names that are an exact opposite of their achievements. Some of these names include “Citizens of the Tomb,” “Avengers of Defeat,” and “Brethren in Death,” (Maupassant n.p). The regulars were a segment of an army that had been defeated at the battle and had failed to foil defeat as it would have been expected going by their high-sounding names. This irony serves to show that the army valued big titles rather than winning battles which was their core mandate. Despite the irregulars being brave men, they engaged in debauchery and pilferage indicating that their bravery was not used to protect people but to steal from them. Debauchery and pilferage are clearly immoral practices that had pervaded the French army.
Additionally, the author has incorporated the use of alliteration and similes in an attempt to bring out the feeling in St. Catherine’s Hill that had been conquered by German troops. Alliteration is seen in “a something strange and subtle” and the invasion is likened to odor in “an intolerable foreign atmosphere like a penetrating odor-the odor of invasion” (Maupassant n.p). The presence of German soldiers in the streets is something that terrified people and they were not ready to tolerate it any further. Their peace had been disturbed by the presence of foreign troops, and this is likened to a powerful odor that penetrates the senses and persists for long. The author also uses hyperbole to show the extent to which the invasion had terrified people. The odor of invasion could felt in all buildings and public resorts. Moreover, he exaggerates further by stating that the feel of invasion was enough to change the taste of food and caused strange imaginations among people (Maupassant n.p). The exaggeration serves to show that an invasion was unwelcome in this city, and it made people fear for their lives. The use of these devices serves to make the story livelier and to enable the reader to identify with the situation of this city's inhabitants whose territory had been invaded.
Additionally on stylistic aspects of the story, the author is exceedingly descriptive in narration to help the reader get a glimpse of what is being talked about. He describes Loiseau as being “undersized, potbellied, having a florid face with grayish whiskers.” His wife is described as “tall, strong, determined, with a loud voice and decided manner” (Maupassant n.p). The extensive description serves to help the reader to attach particular values or lack thereof to the character in the story and give life to the story. The in-depth description helps the reader to connect with the story and the characters therein, and therefore, the story is in tandem with the expectations of the audience it is written for. There also an extensive use of conversation between the characters to propel the story forward and let them tell their stories. The extensive use of conversation serves to humanize the characters and hence give a reflection of this society. The characters converse over what human beings encounter every day making the story easy to identify and connect with on the part of the reader.
Works Cited
Maupassant, Guy De. "Boule De Suif." The Literature Network. Jalic Inc., 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
