Guy de Maupassant

In Guy de Maupassant's "The Uncomfortable Bed," themes such as pride, paranoia, appearance versus reality, and victimization are explored. The narrator's pride and paranoia lead him to misinterpret...

In Guy de Maupassant's "The Umbrella", Madame Oreille is portrayed as a miserly, short-tempered woman who is very careful with her finances despite being well-off. She is described as active, hasty,...

"A Coward" by Guy de Maupassant is narrated from a third-person limited point of view, focused on the protagonist, Viscount Gontran-Joseph de Signoles. The main theme is the conflict between societal...

In "Moonlight" by Guy de Maupassant, the story centers on a widow who reveals her inner turmoil and loneliness to a priest. She confides how the moonlight evokes memories of her lost love and the...

In "The Umbrella," Guy de Maupassant uses satire to critique an excessively thrifty upper-class couple. His main target is Mme. Oreille, a non-working housewife who tightly controls the household's...

The theme of "The Adopted Son" by Guy de Maupassant highlights the importance of money over familial bonds and morality. The story contrasts two families' decisions about selling their sons,...

In "A Dead Woman's Secret," the concept of identity is created by the children's impressions of their mother as a pious and moral figure. This identity is destroyed when they discover letters...

The theme of "An Adventure in Paris" by Guy de Maupassant is the contrast between fantasy and reality. The protagonist, a bourgeois wife, dreams of a glamorous Parisian life but finds reality starkly...

In "A Piece of String," the main conflict is between Maître Hauchecorne and his community, who wrongly accuse him of theft. Despite his innocence, his insistence on proving it only deepens their...

In "The Umbrella" by Guy de Maupassant, Monsieur Oreille finds it difficult to get pocket money because his wife is in charge of the family finances, and she is a miser. Madame Oreille hates spending...

Guy de Maupassant uses comedy—through the irony of the results of the narrator's own fear and paranoia—to reveal the idea that our fears can prevent us from enjoying our lives and lead us to...

Contradictions present in the short story "A Wedding Gift" by Guy de Maupassant include the marriage of a philandering man who swore he would never marry, the appearance of new life in the midst of...

A thesis statement for "A Dead Woman's Secret" could address how the story critiques moral rigidity and the lack of compassion in the characters of the magistrate and the nun. It suggests that true...

"A Duel" by Guy de Maupassant ends with irony when the Frenchman, M. Dubuis, unexpectedly defeats and kills the Prussian officer in a duel. The Englishmen, initially indifferent, reveal their support...

In "A Dead Woman's Secret," characters face death with grief, mercenary attitudes, reverence, and wistful remembrance. The judge and nun exhibit intense grieving but revert to stoic personas upon...

In "The Duel," Maupassant contrasts facade and reality through the characters of a boastful Prussian officer and the seemingly passive Frenchman, Monsieur DuBuis. The officer's arrogant demeanor...

The fishing experience is special for the friends because it represents a rare escape from the wartime hardships in Paris. Despite the danger, their intoxication and hunger drive them to seek the...

Guy de Maupassant's writing style was deeply influenced by his pessimistic worldview, shaped by his tumultuous childhood, syphilis, and admiration for disillusioned writers. His Naturalist approach...

Revealing the truth to family in "A Dead Woman's Secret" is profoundly painful, leading to secrecy and deception. The deceased mother concealed her affair from her children, who discover it...

In "Two Friends," symbolism is used to convey themes of war and loss. The fine weather symbolizes the contrast between the pre-war peace and the current conflict. The cloudless sky turning smoky...

The Abbé was a very strict and rigid man who believed in the system of nature. He did not believe in love, sex or women. He thought love was sinful and wrong, but when he saw his niece with her lover...

Guy de Maupassant embodies naturalism by depicting characters as victims of uncontrollable circumstances, driven by inherent traits and societal forces. In "The Necklace," Madame Loisel's desire for...

"The Debt" by Maupassant tells the story of Tall Fanny, a prostitute who helps a hungry child by giving him shelter and food. She is later arrested, and the boy, François Guerland, becomes a...

In "Two Friends," neither of the men offer up their passwords when they are captured because they are patriotic Frenchmen who refuse to assist the enemy Prussians. Though both men are disillusioned...

The moral of "The Beggar" by Guy De Maupassant is that man is alone and helpless against life's hardships. The story illustrates this through the character of "Bell," who, despite initial aid from...

Humor in "The Uncomfortable Bed" is a double-edged sword due to three key points. First, the narrator's paranoia ironically leads to the embarrassing outcome he feared, showcasing humor through...

Morissot and Sauvage are the two main characters in Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Two Friends." Morissot is a jeweler and Sauvage a draper, both passionate fishermen and friends. Set during...

Maupassant uses "the autumn towards the close of day" in "Two Friends" to symbolize both night and fall, reflecting the end of peaceful times and the onset of war. The autumnal imagery also...

In "Two Friends" by Guy de Maupassant, the German officer's remark "It's the fishes' turn now!" is a grimly humorous comment made after the execution of two French friends, Morissot and Sauvage. The...

The main characters in "A Piece of String" are Maître Hauchecome and Maître Malandain. Hauchecome is frugal and picks up a piece of string, observed by his adversary, Malandain. When a wallet goes...

Guy de Maupassant's "The Grave" explores themes of love, decay, and the impermanence of beauty. Influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, the story contrasts the romantic idealization of eternal love with the...

The main characters in Guy de Maupassant's "Moonlight" are two French sisters, Julie Robere and Henriette Letore. Henriette, the older sister, is emotionally driven and narrates her romantic...

The story is set in Madame Julie Roubere's parlor in Paris. It uses a third-person omniscient point of view, revealing the thoughts of the characters. The central conflict is internal, as Madame...

The point of view in "The Grave" by Guy de Maupassant is a combination of third-person limited and first-person narration. The story begins and ends with a third-person limited perspective, setting...

In "Two Friends," Maupassant shows that the French are more civilized and less war-like than the hated Germans. He also shows that German soldiers are ruthless, despicable men.

Morissot and Sauvage exhibit a complex attitude towards the potential arrival of Prussians. While they harbor resentment against the Prussian invaders and the impact of the war on France and their...

Maupassant's satirical writing is often directed at the upper class characters in his stories who are clueless as to how fortunate they are.

To repay their debts, Matilda and Monsieur Loisel endured severe hardships. After replacing a lost necklace with a costly substitute, they dismissed their servant and moved to a cheaper apartment....

The flashback in "Two Friends" takes up the first fifteen paragraphs of the story and is used to show how two Frenchmen, Morissot and Sauvage, liked to spend their Sundays fishing for pleasure. They...

"My Twenty-Five Days" by Guy de Maupassant tells the story of a man's diary found in a hotel. The diarist visits a health resort, initially finding it dull and lonely. He temporarily finds joy with...

"Rust" by Guy de Maupassant contains elements of realism, similar to "The Necklace." Although the story can feel like a fable with its exaggerated aspects, such as Hector's extreme passion for sport,...

In "That Costly Ride," Hector proposes to celebrate frugally by renting a carriage and horse for a ride, hoping to impress his family and colleagues at the ministry with his horsemanship. However,...

Taylor's article "The Double-Edged Sword of Humor" and Maupassant's "The Uncomfortable Bed" both use the image of a double-edged sword to show that humor can be both good and bad.