Chapter 6 Two Little Soldiers

 Chapter 6 Two Little Soldiers

Class 11 English 

Exercise 

Guy de Maupassant

Summary 

Luc and Jean 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.

 Eventually, their ritual comes to include a bit of innocent ogling of a
young village girl who brings her cow out to pasture every week at
the same time. One Sunday, however, the girl speaks to them on
her way to the pasture, and when she returns later, she shares the
cow’s milk with them and leaves them with a promise to meet the
following Sunday.
The next weekend, Jean suggests that they bring something for her.
They settle on candy as an appropriate present, but when the girl
arrives, both are too shy to tell her that they have brought
something. 

Finally, Luc tells the girl of the treat, and Jean, who
always carries the provisions, give the bonbons to her.
As the weeks pass, the girl becomes the topic of conversation for
these soldiers as they spend time at the barracks, and the three
become fast friends. The girl begins to share their Sunday breakfast
meal and appears to devote equal attention to the two recruits.
Then, in an uncharacteristic move, Luc seeks leave on a Tuesday,
and again the following Thursday. He borrows money from Jean on
that day but offers no explanation for his behavior. Jean lends the
money. 

The following Sunday, when the girl appears with the cow, she
immediately rushes up to Luc and they embrace ardently. Jean is
hurt because he is left out and does not understand why the girl has
suddenly turned all of her attention to Luc. Luc and the girl go off to
care for the cow and disappear into the woods for a long time. Jean
is stupefied. When they return, the lovers kiss again, and the girl
offers Jean a kind “Good evening” before going away. 

Neither soldier speaks of the incident, but as they return to their
barracks they stop momentarily on the bridge over the Seine. Jean
leans over toward the water, farther than he should in Luc’s
judgment, then suddenly tumbles into the torrent. Luc can do
nothing; he watches in anguish as his good friend drowns.

Two Little Soldiers – Complete Exercise 

Understanding the text 

Answer the following questions. 

a. Why do the two soldiers spend their free time on Sundays away
from the barrack out in the countryside? 

Answer: The two soldiers spend their free time on Sundays away
from the barracks out in the countryside because they have found a
spot which reminds them of home and they do not feel happy
elsewhere. 

b. Why does the girl become the topic of conversation for these
soldiers?

 Answer: The girl becomes the topic of conversation of these soldiers
because both of them have fallen in love with her. 

c. Why does deception enter into their friendship?

 Answer: Deception enters into their friendship because Luc used to
secretly leave the barracks to meet the girl without informing his
friends. 

d. Do you think that Luc is a betrayer of friendship? 

Answer: Yes I think that Luc is a betrayer of friendship as he has broken the faith of his friend Jean. He leaves the barracks without
telling anything to his friend so that he can meet the countryside
girl whom Jean loves equally. 

e. What is the cause of suicide of Jean? Do you think that it was the
only release of his love? 

Answer: The cause of suicide of Jean was his friend Luc because he
is mentally disturbed by the love affair of his friend Luc with the girl
whom he loves much. I don’t think suicide was the only one way to
release his love. He could have expressed his feeling to the girl or
could have moved on in his life accepting Luc’s love instead of
committing suicide.

Reference to the context 

a. What is the central theme of the story? 

Answer: The central theme of this story is the incompatibility
between friendship and love. Jean and Luc are best friends under
the most trying of circumstances. When both fall in love with the
same girl, feeling of hatred, jealousy raised between them and
hence that friendship cannot survive, and it ends in tragic
circumstances. 

b. “What are you doing here? Are you watching the grass grow?”

 i. Who is the speaker? 

Answer: The dairy maid is the speaker. 

ii. What does the word “here” indicate? 

Answer: “Here” means the place where the two soldiers visit every
weekend. 

iii. Who does “you” refer to? 

Answer: “You” refers to the two soldiers Jean and Luc. 

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? 

Answer: The speaker is Luc. 

ii. Why is the speaker speaking with interruption? 

Answer: 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—”? 

Answer: He means that Jean fell into the river. 

d. Two Little Soldiers can be viewed as a series of dramatic scenes.
Describe the story as tragedy. 

Answer: In a literary tragedy, a protagonist is typically brought to
ruin because of some character flaw. This flaw, which is usually
some common human flaw like greed or misplaced loyalty, causes
the character to deteriorate and leads to his ultimate downfall. 

In “Two Little Soldiers”, two friends, Jean and Luc, begin the story
in a pastoral and fairly idyllic setting despite being far from home.
Together, they enjoy their time together, eating a simple meal and
enjoying a bit of wine before having to return to their duties.
This sense of camaraderie is ultimately destroyed by the
introduction of a third party—a girl. Suddenly, the two friends are
equally fascinated by this girl, and they begin to chat about her
throughout their week. 

Neither soldier seems prepared to make a
move for the girl’s affections at first, and then suddenly, Luc
changes everything when he takes leave without telling Jean where
he is going.
When the three meet again, everything has changed. Jean and Luc
are no longer the central pair of the group; instead, Luc and the girl
have clearly become more intimate during his evenings of leave. 

They sneak off together, leaving Jean completely isolated.
Luc was Jean’s central line of connection in a world of confinement
and loneliness. Realizing that he has lost this connection, Jean is
bewildered and desolate. He presumably commits suicide by
intentionally falling into the river because of the fresh disconnect he
feels from humanity.

Luc is devastated by the loss of his friend, barely able to choke out
the news when he returns to the barracks. Thus, the tragedy is
dependent on Luc’s character flaw: he prioritizes romantic
possibilities over a close friendship. This ultimately causes the tragic
loss of the friendship which he had valued so much and which had
sustained him through the loneliness of being so far from home.

e. What is the setting and style of the story? 

Answer: 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 a while
begins to talk to them. 

f. How would you describe the conflict between the friends? 

Answer: In the story the conflict arises when the girl kisses Luc
passionately, without paying attention to Jean. Seeing this Jean is
upset and heartbroken. Jean got the reason behind why Luc seeks
leave and borrows money from Jean but offers no explanation for
his behavior. Luc and the girl go to attend to the cow and disappear
into the woods for a long time. When they return, the lovers kiss
again, and the girl doesn’t offer him any milk that day. Eventually,
the conflict between friendship and love leads to death of Jean. 

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? 

Answer: No, It is not good to have a conflict between friendship and
love because these are the relationships which are extremely
important for an individual. True friends and loved ones are always
concerned about each other. They shed light on your qualities, both
positive and bad, and improve self-esteem. Both friendship and love assists to relieve stress and suffering through laughing and
good times. They will help you move forward. 

As long as love and intension are pure towards the person, it is not
morally bad for two-person having the same feelings for the third
one. This type of condition may arise in a person’s life either
knowingly or unknowingly. Although it is not bad, but there is high
possibilities for the problems to arise in the near future. So, the
only solution is to talk with each other and solve the problem by
controlling your emotions.

b. How would you describe the triangular love? 

Answer: The triangular love is a relationship in which three people
are each in love with at least one other person in the relationship.
While it can refer to a polyamorous relationship between three
people, (i.e. Person A loves Person B loves Person C loves Person
A). The short story “Two Little Soldiers” has presented a triangular
love where the deception of a friend has created an unfortunate
incident for the next friend.