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Application of the Statements made by Poe and Maupassant to their short stories By: Somaye Nouri Zenoz on 4/25/2005; 1:29 PM Application of the Statements Made by Edgar Allan Poe And Guy De Maupassant To their Short Stories Somaye Nouri Zenoz January 2005 All prominent artists have their specific points of view regarding art and artistic works. Ideal art is of some defined features to them as well as mediocre art. Literature is not an exception; most of the eminent writers and poets have made statements about noble literary works, defended kinds of it, or attacked some other. However, the most distinguished ones have always tried to apply their theories and ideas to their own works and not just orate on them. In the field of short story, Edgar Allan Poe and Guy De Maupassant are two of the most renowned figures. Both guys have made statements on ideal fiction. An overview of the short stories composed by them points to the fact that they have employed their intended notions in their works and have been faithful to their maxims on originality. This study focuses on application of Poe's ideas to his 'The Cask of Amontillado' and reflection of Maupassant's views in his two stories 'A Piece of String' and 'The Necklace'. To begin, it's helpful to have a general idea of Poe's theories on the goal of the writer and then examine the exact application of them to his work. According to Poe, the most substantial task of the writer is to sustain the unity of impression all throughout the work of fiction- from the opening sentences to the ending ones- to leave the deepest effects in the reader. Every single word should contribute to the creation of that pre-conceived impression. What is of greatest significance is the writer's treatment of the length of the story. As argued by Poe, the writer should have a certain duration or repetition of purpose in order to stir the soul of the reader. He compares this proper continuity of effort to the dropping of water upon the rock. Nevertheless, he adds that the best works are those providing the chance of being read in one sitting privileged by an uninterrupted reading. Consequently, he considers the domain of short story a suitable one to express the high genius in since a skillful writer can leave the profoundest impacts in an appropriate length with proper repetition and emphasis of the intended effect without interrupting the reader's mental flow out of weariness. The other significant issue, according to Poe, is that the proficient writer does not aim at accommodation of the incidents by his thoughts; instead, he aims at establishing a single effect and then proceeds to invent the required incidents. Poe further asserts that the writer of a short story should enter various modes and thoughts to his theme amongst which the sarcastic, humorous or ratiocinative can be named, thoroughly contrasting with the nature of a genre like poetry. Different feelings such as extreme passion, terror or horror find a place for manifestation in the fiction however in comparison poetry is typically the place for beautiful ideas. To finalize his ideas, Poe maintains that the key to success of the greatest writers is novelty in both tone and matter achievable through the utilization of the imaginative faculty. A careful reading of the 'The Cask of Amontillado' is quite reminding of the notions made by Poe. 'The cask of Amontillado' is a story about revenge discovering the depths and expressions of such an experience in a quite impressive manner. Sustaining a unified sense of lust for vengeance all throughout the story, Poe succeeds in creating his premeditated impression in the reader. His very initial sentences tend to disclose this intended effect- as it should according to his statements. The abrupt beginning of the story, embodying the main motif, builds the initial basis for the proposed effect in the reader: 'The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge….' From the very outset of the story, the reader comes to know that he is going to be entrapped in a revenge story. Thanks to the brief nature of the short story, the writer has achieved his goal to provide the reader with an uninterrupted and exciting reading which takes less than half an hour. Though short, the story contains sufficient repetitions of purpose and action to deeply affect the reader and appeal to his senses. As the narrator of the story, Montresor is seen justifying his terrific act of retaliation. From beginning to end, every single sentence is related to the major idea of the story and so contributes to creation of the single effect. Thus the reader is actually under siege of one unified impression repeatedly created and recreated to intensify the effect. Furthermore, in line with his statements, Poe has a pivotal impression of the revenge in his mind and arranges the related incidents in a way to develop that effect; he does not arrange his thoughts to adapt his incidents. What matters is the vengeance felt deep within and all actions and events are proceeded in a way to highlight and amplify that effect. Amontillado, the carnival, the plan t go to the vaults, intoxication and burying alive are all marginal events posed to leave a more durable impression of the depth of the revenge. Poe's appropriate choice of vocabulary also helps to create the deepest impacts in the shortest expressions. This is particularly seen in detailed description of Fortunato's state when his intoxication is worn off by his moaning cries and loud and shrill screams. Poe's vivid description of the setting also contributes t his goal of achieving the best in the least. The intensity of Montresor's desire for revenge is indicated through elongated description of his building the fifth, sixth and seventh tiers: '…I resumed the trowel and finished without interruption the fifth, the sixth and the seventh tier…' Powered by intense colorings of imagination, the story takes the reader into the actual atmosphere intended by the writer. Poe's sufficient stretch of conversation- as noticed in the beginning dialogues introducing the idea of Amontillado by Montresor- and his successive descriptions of the terror and horror ruling the story contribute to the unity of the supposed impression. As declared by Poe, he could have entered various moods and thoughts such as humorous or ratiocinative to his theme. The story involves many humorous parts, particularly when Montresor tries to stimulate Fortunato's thirst to get to the Amontillado. The text is also ratiocinative in that Montresor is constantly trying to justify himself and the reader for his awesome vengeance and brings reasons reminding the injuries Fortunato had caused for him. Additionally, Poe creates novelty in both matter and tone according to the features he recounted for the original mind. His matter is novel in that he treats the act of revenge so vividly, terrifically and effectively under a very simple plot on the basis of some insult and not necessarily a very strikingly damaging action. The whole chain of the story's events is quite novel not repeating the themes of the previous writers, embodying the truth of the story which is the intensity of the hatred felt within leading to such a bizarre revenge. He is also novel in tone. The combination of a humorous tone with terrific revengeful actions, invention in mixing the narrator's statements with dialogical exchanges and engaging our auditory faculty as in 'ugh! ugh! ugh!' and 'he, he, he', all point to Poe's originality of tone and structure. At the end, as previously mentioned by Poe, a satisfied reader is noticed who has fully participated in the act of revenge- though a bitter experience- step by step and at its fullest possible. This reader has identified himself with the narrator and tangibly felt the disgust felt within him, experiencing the truth once he could own if he were Montresor. Giving an account of Poe's application of his statements in 'The Cask of Amontillado', it is the time to discuss Maupassant's views of the writer's goal and analyze his application of the idea in his two major works 'A Piece of String' and "The Necklace'. Maupassant declares that the writer's main goal is to make the reader think and understand the deep and hidden meaning of the events. The writer shall try to communicate his personal view of the world to the readers by reproducing it in fiction. According to him, the writer should pick up his characters at a certain point of their existence and show how minds and sentiments are modified and developed under the influence of environmental circumstances. In this fashion, the writer shows men's interests, hates and most importantly their struggles in different social conditions; more particularly how social and financial interests compete with each other. Accordingly, the writer should emphasize the small constant facts of life escaping the notice of less profound ones. Considering that life is brutal, full of unpredictable and incongruent elements and inexplicable and illogical catastrophes, the author should give every detail its exact degree of shading according to its importance. Thus the writer can produce the deep impression of the particular truth he wishes to. Maupassant further argues that the writer shall give the complete illusion of reality- since there is no absolute reality due to innumerable personal illusions- following the logical order of facts. Finally he states that the writer's goal is to reproduce the illusion of life faithfully using the required literary techniques. In application of the above ideas to the stories under discussion, it is clearly seen that the major idea behind the two works is that how a small thing, event or negligence can change the whole course of a man's life. The simple bending to take the insignificant piece of string from the ground unusually changes the whole life of Maitre Hauchecome; the same happens to the poor couple of 'The Necklace' when simple borrowing of a necklace and a simpler mistake in its return, costs their lives for the pair of the story. This is the hidden meaning of events implied by Maupassant. Life is so inconsequential and irregular that such a trivial act might cause a life of repentance and confusion for a man. This is Maupassant's personal view of the world which he tries to communicate to the readers. He further picks his characters at certain points of their existence and shows how their minds and feelings are modified under the environmental circumstances. Minds and feelings of Hauchecome and the couple are deteriorated in the flow of their terrible lives. The man in 'A Piece of String' can no more be the man he was before that event when he is totally considered as a rascal by his surroundings. The couple of 'The Necklace' modify terribly under the pressure to compensate for the lost paste necklace. As believed by Maupassant, his characters are as well viewed in states of struggle in different social conditions. Hauchecome struggles to prove his innocence to the society he lives in while the pair of 'The Necklace' struggle physically and mentally to pay for their transient ambitions. Mme Loisel, dissatisfied with her social condition and disabled by his financial condition, strives to mask even for one single evening to live and seem the way she aspires to. However she should pay for the pleasure of those hours with years of inconvenience and suffering. Emphasizing the small constant facts of life, Maupassant delicately illustrates the ordinary daily facts of life in 'A Piece of String'. He depicts the life of Goderville society with all the details which might seem so common and unimportant to the superficial mind. However, out of the same trivialities, he draws the major truths pointing to the brutality and unpredictability of life. The attempt to make a face for the party, as portrayed in 'The Necklace', is just another small fact of life which can become so significant if looked at profoundly. By giving small details the proper shadings, Maupassant succeeds in producing the impression of his intended truth; the truth that life is abundant with random elements and unfair disasters. It is so unstable in nature that can be entirely destroyed by the most insignificant seeming things or happenings. Recounting the mischance of the characters, though partly their mischief, Maupassant presents the complete illusion of reality- as he believes a writer should constantly do. Reality is something to Hauchecome completely incomprehensible by those surrounding him. Reality is something to the unfortunate pair again completely strange to the aristocracy attending the grand party and even to Mme Forestier as the lender of the paste jewel. The fact that there is no absolute reality and every single individual has his/her own perception of the truth is quite tangible in the mood of the two stories. Life is too complex to be associated with one absolute reality. Reproducing this illusion of life by the artistic literary techniques is the writer's ultimate goal according to Maupassant. The above considerations are well representing the reflection of the two writers in their works and so the discussed stories can be fair representatives of the masters' outlooks. Detailed analysis of the works indicates the gist of their ideas to be applied to the stories: Significance of the single effect in Poe's works and reproduction of the illusion of life in Maupassant's works. Accordingly, their texts can be line by line compared to their statements and their intended aims specifically regarding the treatment of reality and truth can be clearly traced in them. The proper application of the two writers' notions and theories to their works points to their original expertise and genius along with faithfulness to the declared maxims.
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