The Piece of String
Guy De Maupassant
Summary
Guy de Maupassant was born in France. He is the 19th
century French author. He is remembered as a master of the story. He is also a representative
of Naturalist school. His stories often reflect human selfishness, wickedness,
envy, greed, cruelty and injustices of humanity and other bad qualities. In the
story "The Piece of String" he has presented injustice to a main
character and false faces of society to the justice. Hauchecorn is a main
character who didn't steal a wallet but accused of stealing a purse. He tries
much to prove himself as innocent but nobody believes on him.
It was a market day in Goderville of France. All the peasants and their wife go there to
make trade. The people don't look very smart their and their body is a bit
bending due to plough the land for whole week. They are wearing village
garment. Some of these fellows dragged a cow or a calf at het end of rope. And
their wives are whipping their animals. Woman were carrying large basket from
which came forth the heads of chicken or ducks. Some wagon was passing by the
road some are riding on them.
There is crowd in the town a mingle multitude of men and
beasts. The horn of cattle, the high, long-napped hats of wealthy peasants, the
headdresses of women come to the surface of that sea. And the sharp, shill,
barking voices made a continuous, wild din, while above if occasionally raised
a huge burst of laughter from the sturdy lungs of a merry peasant or a
prolonged bellow from a cow tied fast to the wall of a house. There was the smell
of the stable, of milk, of hay and of perspiration, giving off that half-human,
half-animal odor that is peculiar to county folk.
Maitre Hauchecorn
of Breaute had just arrived at Goderville, and he was directing
his steps toward the public square when he perceived up on the ground a little
piece of string. He thinks that everything is useful for him and bent to pick
up a little piece of string from the street. When he sees his enemy M.
Malandain is observing him, he is ashamed to be picking up a piece of
string from the dirt, so he pretends he is looking for something else. From the
start, therefore, Hauchecorn characterized as crafty and deceitful, misleading
others about his intentions.
He was soon lost in the noisy and slowly moving crowd,
which was busy with interminable bargaining. The women had taken out the
chicken for selling and some people are having some dishes in Jourdain's. There
were vehicles of all kinds, carts, gigs, wagons, dumpcarts are standing at the
shop. They are busy in buying the goods in low price and the shopkeepers are
busy in convincing the customers for getting high price. Some people are coming
and some people are returning to their homes. They can buy the goods, foods,
and animals in the market day. They are very careful to the venders who could
cheat or steal the things.
Suddenly the drum beat in the court before the house.
Everybody pay attention to its jerky voice. It was told that there was lost
this morning on the road to Benzeville, between nine and ten o'clock, a
black leather pocketbook containing five hundred francs and some business
paper. The people are requested to return to the mayor's office or to MaitreFortneHoulbreque
of Manneville, there will be twenty francs reward. After sometime one
officer comes and calls Hauchecorn to visit the mayor to his office. He
frightens to the mayor and follows the officer. The mayor accuses him something
picking up on the road Benzeville. Hauchecorn denied that he only picked up a
little piece of string. But the mayor insisted that Monsieur Malandain
has seen him picking a wallet and searching on the ground if there was other
money. ButHauchecorn denied and repeated the same thing that he was taken only
string. He requested them to search wallet in his body. They searched but
didn't find anything on him.
The news had spread that an old man stole a wallet. The
old man started to tell about his event when he picked up a string not a wallet
to everybody. But nobody believes on him rather they laugh at his logic. The
night came but he started to visit people and tell the story that he was
innocent.
Next day about one pm, the lost wallet was found with 500
francs. The man couldn't read and gave that wallet to his employer instead of
giving to MaitreFortneHoulbreque . Hauchecorn knows the news and gets
happy and started to tell his story. Next week he goes to the market and a
horse dealer man called him and told that it was a trick of old man, a story of
string. Moreover he explained that there is one that finds and there is one
that reports. At any rate he is mixed with it. He understood that they are
still accusing him of stealing that purse. He tries to protest it but all the
table began to laugh.
The more people accuse him, the more Hauchecorn insists
he is innocent, becoming more and more elaborate and obsessed with his defense,
which, ironically, leads him to be more and more disbelieved. His past comes
back to haunt him, he becomes more and more but peasant ridicule, and eventually some months
later he gets sick and dies saying a piece of string, a little piece of string.
Question answers
a.
Why cannot Hauchecorne prove innocent even after the
purse is found with the money?
It was
assumed that Hauchecorne found a purse on the way. He was called in Mayor's
office to ask about the thing which he has pick up from the street. Hauchecorne
has picked up a piece of string. But his enemy has seen him picking something
on the ground and thought that he might found a purse on the way. Then he has
complained to the mayor that he saw Hauchecorne picking up a purse and search
around if there is any other money. Hauchcorne takes out a piece of string from
his pocket and shows the moyor and explains that it was only a piece of string
and it is picked because which can be useful for any purpose. But the mayor
laughs his logic. He believes that he is lying.
Next day, the lost purse is found. Hauchecorne gets excited because all
the people's suspicion is getting over. But the situation is reversed people
doesn't believe him that he was not found that purse. They believe that he
found a purse and make a trick to cheat other people.
b.
How is the character
of Hauchecorne in your view? Evaluate him objectively.
In fact
Hauchecorne is not a bad man. But he tries to be a good man of the society. He
tries to prove hat he has not picked up a piece of string on the way. It was
nonsense thing for them that he was picking a string a useless thing. The
string was useful thing for him. He tries hundred time to prove him as innocent
person but never be believed. He was obsessed person and tries to prove that he
is the innocent person. But society doesn't believe him and he gets sick due to
that ridicule event of his life and finally dies due to this piece of string.
It was not necessary him to prove that he has not taken that purse, in one
point people may realize that he has not taken the purse. He is afraid of the social stigma that people
wouldn't accuse him of that he find a purse on the way and doesn't return. So
he started to tell all the people about his story of string. When people tell
this story people started to laugh at him.
