Additional Activity
A Piece of String
Guy de Maupassant penned A Piece of String in the early 1900s. It's hard to
overstate the significance of this story's use of descriptive imagery, theme, and irony—
the story of a man navigating his social life. Guy de Maupassant, one of the best artists,
wrote this short story. Maupassant is well-known for the realism he conveys stories, as
many of his tales are based on his observations of life in the actual world. Because of
this, A Piece of String is one of the finest works I've ever encountered.
A man claims to have stolen a pocketbook with some money. The plot revolves
around his efforts to clear his name. I think this is the crux of what's going on. While
reading the story, I was drawn in by this detail. Humans' social lives are extremely
delicate affairs. It is possible to positively impact ourselves and others by engaging in
healthy social interactions, whereas inappropriate interactions can have a negative
impact. It is an excellent subject for a short story since it can open readers' eyes,
particularly given the period in which Maupassant wrote it. Socioeconomic status was a
significant issue in the past, particularly in European countries. The impoverished are
seen as the lowest social class by the rich. Maitre Hauchecorne, the story's protagonist,
was subjected to this fate. Maitre Hauchecorne is a farmer and belongs to the lowest
strata of society, which makes it simple to believe that he stole the pocketbook as the
story depicts. Every word he says is a lie since that's how people in the lower classes
are viewed by society. No one believes in him, so he has no legal standing to speak up
for himself. People's perceptions of you shape your identity when you've been poor in
the past. To the very end, Maitre Hauchecorne continued to demonstrate that he did not
act by expectations placed on him by others and died in obscurity.
Guy de Maupassant's goal in his short story is to show how a trivial argument
may wreck a man's life. That Maitre Hauchecorne died without a care in the world is
heartbreaking; it shows how cruel society was to him, and we can all agree that what
happened to him in the narrative is happening right now, such as in the past. Even now,
certain persons face difficulties assimilating into society and being accepted.
Additional Activity
Why Women Wash The Dishes
The characters in the story were amusing. However, if we take the story in its
entirety, rather than only focusing on the ridiculousness, we can get a better sense of it.
It got into a scuffle because of the reason why they had to quarrel about the dishes.
Doing the dishes was a relatively minor inconvenience for a husband and wife. They
were identifying and weighing each contributor's role in the problem. Complaints were a
significant element in marriage breakdown if it weren't resolved. However, in our
society, we have a set of expectations about how men and women should dress,
behave, and show themselves. Various groups of people have different expectations for
gender roles in their societies, ethnic groups, and cultures. However, women are more
commonly stereotyped because of their gender than any other group—labeling and
stigmatizing women as the inferior sex because they must conform to socially
prescribed roles.
