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3.0 TASK 2CRITICAL ANALYSIS ESSAY

The Piece of String by Guy De Maupassant is the story Maitre Hauchecorne, an

innocent man who dies trying vainly to convince others of his innocence. The

principle that one is considered innocent until proven guilty is well established

according to law, but there is another principle Maitre Hauchecorne should have

kept in mind. The other principle is not applicable in law, but it does operate in

the mind of the general populace, and it is in the opinion of the populace that

Maitre Hauchecorne is found guilty.

Maupassant is considered one of the finest short story writer of all time

and a champion of the realist approach to writing. His short stories, noted for

their diversity and quality, are characterized by the clarity of their prose and the

objective irony of their presentation, as well as their keen evocation of the

physical word. To the realist’s ideal of scrupulous diction, Maupassant added an

economy of language and created a narrative style outstanding in its austere

power, simplicity, and vivid sensuousness.

This story also had unfortunate and quite tragic endings. Maitre

Hauchecome's of "The Piece of String" was never able to recover his innocence

and his reputation until he died of agony trying to prove his innocence. The main

characters of the story had ego to feed. Maitre Hauchecome kept on telling

people how innocent he was but nobody believes him. He suffered because of a

missing item which is the missing wallet that was lost by an aristocrat. Maitre

Hauchecome was just accused of taking the wallet by Maitre Malandain. Maitre

Malandain was the root of the accusation against Maitre Hauchecome. For me,

the cause for the whole incident that drove Maitre Hauchecome to death was his

own fault. He tried to hide the fact that he pick up a piece of string from his

enemy Maitre Malandain. His action makes Maitre Malandain think he actually

picks up the missing wallet from the ground and thus makes him the suspect for

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the missing wallet case. This shows that Maupassant’s story is often attentive to

the failings of society, demonstrating that humankind’s inherent instincts do not

always conform to social values. This also shows how Guy de Maupassant that

lived during the era of war view of the society and humanism. Guy de

Maupassant’s clearly shown his view of humanity and society in this short story

and his other pieces.

Besides, biographical criticism theory, this story also can be analyzed

using the mythological (archetypal) criticism theory. This theory that evaluates

the content for instinctual and inmost emotions in human nature which are

influenced by certain events, happenings and character situations are suitable for

this story. The short story, A Piece of String wrote by Guy de Maupassant shows

events and character situations that may influence emotions in human nature.

The clearest evidence shown in this short story is the tragic death of the main

character, Maitre Hauchecome. His death was caused by the depressed feeling

of not been trusted. The people around him still believe that he was guilty for the

crime he did not do. The society even makes fun of him when he continuously

tried to prove his innocence. Because of that, by day and by night he brooded

over it. Obsessed with his grievance, he became desperately ill and died. In the

delirium of his death struggles, he repeatedly murmured, “A piece of string, a

piece of string.” (The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Roslyn, New York: Black’s

Reader Service, n.d., pp. 34–38.)

Regarding to the short stories A Piece of String, I would choose

biographical criticism to talk about as well as suit to the short story themes.

Firstly, Maupassant was born in Normandy, France, in 1850. His father and

mother separated when he was eleven years old, and Maupassant was raised

under the influence of his strong, domineering mother. The young Maupassant

cynical view of marriage seems to have stemmed from these early experiences

and is evident in much of his work. With the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War

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in 1870, he left his law studies in Paris, which he had begun the prior year, to

enlist in the army. His experiences as a soldier inform some of his finest stories.

After the war, due to financial problems, the author was forced to accept a

position as a clerk in the Naval Office. In 1877 he was diagnosed with syphilis,

for which there was no known cure. In 1878 he accepted a position in the

Ministry of Public Education. Maupassant devoted a great deal of time to writing

during his tenure as a civil servant, writing plays, poetry, and narrative prose.

Gustave Flaubert became his friend and mentor, helping him with his writing and

introducing him to prestigious literary circles. After Flaubert's death, Maupassant

became a regular contributor to Le Gaulois, a respected Paris newspaper, and

eventually wrote for the periodicals Gil Blas and Figaro, often under

pseudonyms. After he left the ministry, his literary output increased dramatically

and he enjoyed much success. The syphilis he had contracted as a young man

led to recurrent problems with his eyesight and eventually to a complete physical

and emotional collapse.

Throughout Maupassant’s lifetime and into the twentieth century, scholars

generally have been united in their favorable assessments of his work. Flaubert,

Leo Tolstoy, and Anatole France all recognized his talent. The critical reception

of stories has focused on several major areas, among them his morality, the

nature of his realism, the influence of Flaubert on his work, and the

autobiographical aspects of his fiction. Recent commentators have noted

Maupassant's influence on other important writers, such as Ernest Hemingway,

Joseph Conrad, and Henry James. Readers have consistently found

Maupassant's stories fascinating, and his works have been widely translated. For

their variety, concision, clarity of prose style, and realistic approach,

Maupassant's short stories have earned him a place among the finest exponents

of the genre.

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