Analysis Of Mother Savage By Guy De Maupassant

1061 Words3 Pages

Although not stated directly, Guy de Maupassant suggests that his main character, the protagonist, is also the antagonist. The title alone leads the audience to believe this is true. Though it is in third person and one cannot read the thoughts of the characters, the narrator accurately shows the reader the change of heart. Traditionally, the protagonist and antagonist are separate individuals, but Mother Savage should not be viewed as such. Victoire Simon (Mother Savage) experiences a change in herself that forces her to share the role of the protagonist and the antagonist. In order to be a protagonist, any certain character must be the principal person with whom the story is concerned (CITATION page 20). Mother Savage follows the short …show more content…

Usually, the antagonist is portrayed as the villain in the story and is a separate character from the protagonist, but this story is different. The protagonist and antagonist is the same person. She received a letter from Césaire Rivot, a private in her son’s regiment. This letter was rather straight forward. “This letter has a sad story to telco. Your boy Victor was killed yesterday by a cannonball, which cut him practically in two” (CITATION page 1348). After receiving the letter informing her of her son’s death, the motives change within her. With a letter this blunt, anyone would see a change in themselves. The Prussians killed her son three weeks prior to her receiving this …show more content…

The two different terms give the audience a feel of her protagonist and antagonist personalities. A mother is someone who would care and love for someone. This is shown through her protagonist portion of the story. She houses these Prussian soldiers without ever wanting to harm them. Savage suggests that she is wild and cannot be contained. The ‘savage’ comes out in her when she becomes an antagonist. As soon a Victoire Simon kills the Prussian soldiers, the antagonist and the act of being savage is present. Guy de Maupassant titled it because of the role Victoria Simon portrays in his

Show More
Related

  • Comparing A & P And David Updike's Summer

    1837 Words  | 4 Pages

    He exhibits the bashful side of most people who are so timid it would be impossible say so everyone can hear how they feel about an alternate single person. The fundamental character yearns to express his emotions to the young lady whom he really likes for the whole summer. Nonetheless, he never admits his sentiments to her. Toward the end of the late spring, the principle character picks up some fulfillment when the young lady's foot coincidentally winds up against his skin. Rather than rapidly moving her foot away she abandons her foot where it is. The primary character takes this as his smash at last returning and eventually admitting the affection she has for

    Read More

  • In the Fall, by Alistair Macleod

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Boat By Alistair Macleod

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    This passage defines the character of the narrators’ father as an intelligent man who wants a better life for his children, as well as establishes the narrators’ mothers’ stubbornness and strong opposition to change as key elements of the plot.

    Read More

  • The Most Dangerous Game and The Cask of Amontillado

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    Has a Story ever made a reader want to hurt the character responsible for trouble that’s being caused? Of course; usually the antagonist is often the nuisance. Richard Connell creates these instigative characters with pleasure and diversity. In his story “The Most Dangerous Game”, He Creates General Zaroff so that he is easy to hold a grudge against. Likewise Edgar Allan Poe Creates a character that is easy to hate. In his short story “The Cask of Amontillado”, Poe creates a mastermind killer. Connells antagonist, General Zaroff, and Poe’s antagonist, Montresor, give the reader an invitation to hate them. These two characters are similar yet different in their evil persona, wealth, and challenge.

    Read More

  • Allusions In Invisible Man

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    protagonist throughout the book as well. Even earlier in the chapter, a reference to Edgar

    Read More

  • Mis And Insecurity In Everyday Use By Alice Walker

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    The protagonist, Mama, shows two distinct traits throughout the story. She possesses a hard working demeanor and rugged features, leading to her insecurities shown throughout the story. She raised two children without the assistance of a man in her life, forcing her to take on both roles, and further transforming her into a coarse, tough, and burly woman. Mama portrays this through her own account of herself, saying “[i]n real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man”(Walker 1312). It is very difficult for Mama to raise her kids on her own, but she does whatever

    Read More

  • Rorschach In Alan Moore's The Watchmen

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first character the book introduces to the reader to is Rorschach, Walter Joseph Kovacs, one of the main characters. Rorschach reveals his past and why he wears a mask on page eleven. Walter’s past is revealed in chapter six when he is examined by a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist gives Walter ink blots and his first vision is of his mother and a man. Also on chapter six, the reader, see that his mother was a prostitute who worked out of her home. Her reasons for practicing prostitution appear when she interacts with Walter. On page four of chapter six, Walter walked into his mother’s bedroom while she was entertaining a man. As soon as his mother realizes he is watching she hits him across the face. "You little shit! You know what you cost me, you ugly little shit. I shoulda listened to everybody else! I shoulda had the abortion." (Pg.4, chap.6, panel 6-7) Walter’s mother did’nt hesitate to physically or verbally abuse him. Her first reaction was to punch him in the face. This reflects the issue of a chain of a abuse. Walter’s mother was probably abused in more ways than one by her parents. Through her behavior of name calling and the rage she portrays it is most likely she was subjected to the same as a child. She basically told Walter that she didn’t want him and regretted having him. She neglects Walter of attention and love, just as she was by her parents. Both Walter and his mother are dealing with issues of neglect and a craving for attention. As a prostitute, we see on page three in chapter six Walter’s mother substitutes sex for love, attention, beauty, and care. She begs her male friend to stay, "Oh baby, please, listen. he’s kinda backwards. Please don’t get mad." She begs the man to stay because having sex makes her feel beautiful because the men want her and touch her. In chapter 6 on page three she says, "Oh you’re hurting me." She says this to her male customer, she did not make him ...

    Read More

  • Savagery Lord Of The Flies Analysis

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of British schoolboys are stranded on an island, and soon find that fending for themselves and staying civilized is not as easy as they thought it would be. Although they start off with an organized society, through interactions with each other and objects around them, they become completely savage over time. Golding employs the symbolism of Jack, the conch shell, and the beast to serve the purpose of the allegory of the inherent evil of the human race.

    Read More

  • bryce

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mom – hinders the protagonist. Mom does not want to argue with Mike, but she wants him to stop fighting and...

    Read More

  • Conflict In The Yellow Wallpaper, By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    The narrator cannot be the antagonist because no matter how much the wallpaper bothers her, she still knows the difference between right and wrong, “To jump out of the window would be admirable exercise, but the bars are too strong even to try. Besides, I wouldn 't do it. Of course not. I know well enough that a step like that is improper and might be misconstrued” (656). The narrator admits that she has suicidal thoughts because of how much the wallpaper bothers her, but knows that suicide is not the answer, and may be confusing for her loved ones. The narrator’s loved ones would be confused if she committed suicide since they believe she is getting better. The narrator proves her determination to get better when, she claims, “I wish I could get well faster” (649). When the narrator states that she wishes to be better she, is proving that she is motivated to get back to her daily routine. The narrator also knows how much John struggles with his wife not being well that she wants to get better for him. In addition, the narrator declares, “…for my sake and for our child 's sake, as well as for your own…” (652). When the narrator discloses that she wants to get better for John and the baby she reveals what her motivation is to get better, even though the narrator is struggling with the wallpaper she is still continuing to try and get better for John and her newborn

    Read More

  • Analysis of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar

    2556 Words  | 6 Pages

    The second example is the character of Esther, she can be seen as the victim and as the heroine. The reason she can be seen as the victim is because of the many injustices she faces. For example when she is subjec...

    Read More

  • The Misfit

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    The antagonist is “The Misfit”. He is never identified by his real name. He is an escaped convict who is curious, unsure, and believes he is not a bad person. By his actions, the reader can assume that he does not enjoy killing the family, but feels more obligated to do so.

    Read More

  • Four Freedoms

    2334 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ramsis #53 Mon. 4:00-6:40 History 110 Nobiletti 12/12/13 Four freedoms 11 months before the United States of America would declare war on Japan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a speech to the American people known as the “four freedoms” on January 6, 1941.1 The main purpose of this speech was to rally support to enter World War 2, however in order to declare war the United States of America had to abandon the isolationist policies that emerged out of WWI. These four freedoms would establish human rights after the war, but more importantly they would resonate throughout the United States for decades after the war. Some of these freedoms have remained the same, and some of these freedoms have changed throughout the years. We will be looking at three periods and comparing how the freedoms varied from each of the three periods.

    Read More

  • Protagonist as Antagonist: A Study of Petry and Chopin's Works

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    In both Ann Petry’s “Like a Winding Sheet” and Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby” the protagonist is also the antagonist. In the story, Like a Winding Sheet its Mae’s husband, Johnson, and in the story Desiree’s Baby it’s Desiree’s husband, Armand. In the beginning of both stories their husband seem to be loving, caring husbands who would never hurt their family. Then, the stories turn in a twist when the husband became insolent and angry toward their wives, but they were feeling furious towards themselves. Johnson was repeatedly getting abused from the outside world and in his mind and he starts to espouse a dismissive image that turned to anger against his wife and eventually he kills her. Armand was angry at his wife because his son turned out

    Read More

  • Feminism in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s the female character. In total, the female characters are always victimized because of their qualities and gender. In conclusion, by destroying the female characters, Mary Shelly alludes to the idea that women are always in victimized positions in society.

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Mother Savage By Guy De Maupassant

Open Document