Zhao Xin | Short Story Series IX: Maupassant's "Foreword" (1) "The Blind Man"

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Zhao Xin | short story series nine: Maupassant

"Preface" (1) "The Blind Man"

《Preface》

"It vividly shows the Heartfelt Love of the French People for the works of this genius novelist." - "Genius"? Can't call it.

"Maupassant's short and medium stories, like his novels, are almost all closely linked to his life experiences. The pain left by his parents' early divorce... Feelings of mental illness for half a lifetime, ... - He may have been an ordinary person, but the misfortune of the original family and the torment of mental illness created this product.

"As the 'king of the short story', and especially as a literary giant of social genre painting, Maupassant is also one of the most prestigious French writers in the world." - How can it be so easy to become a king? Probably read less.~

"Maupassant advocated 'representing the real situation of contemporary man' and describing 'the normal development of feelings, souls and intellect'." What does it look like about news reporting or naturalism?

"Maupassant believed that novelists 'should try to exclude exceptions', 'to make an average of human activity, to derive universal philosophies from them, to raise general ideas from facts, customs, customs, and the most frequently occurring wonders.'" - Can the tube be wide, can the tube be managed?

"An important 'secret' of his novella creation is to select typical individual characters, events and fragments from ordinary life, and to reflect the universal truth with a small view. It is precisely because of the 'universal ideas' extracted from ordinary life that the stories of these little people can reflect the broadest real, most fundamental human feelings, and the most basic philosophy of life. This is also a limitation, and there is a suspicion of flattery, pandering, and kitsch.

"Maupassant once said: 'If a book has some kind of lesson, it should not be imposed by the author, but by the facts he cleverly narrates.'" This is desirable.

"Maupassant advocates and excels at expressive techniques from the surface to the inside: 'The psychological part of the novel is certainly the most important, but it can only be powerfully revealed through the description part.' The inner tragedy of a soul can only turn us around when we clearly see the face that hides the soul. His novels rarely have direct descriptions of the psychological activities of the characters, but through the portrayal of external images to reveal the inner world and inner qualities of the characters, so his characters are always flesh and blood, both vivid appearance and distinct personality. That's okay.

In the depiction of the external image, Maupassant puts the detailed description in a prominent position. He argues that 'the uniqueness of an artist is first manifested in small, not large, things. Some masterpieces are made of trivial details, on the vulgar and ordinary. - A little absolute.

Maupassant's short stories all use a single story line, but the artistic techniques are rich and diverse. He can always see the different subject matter and themes, using different forms of expression, or tragedy, or comedy, or tragicomedy intertwined. Most commendable is his versatility in structural layout. "—Sometimes it seems too simple.

"The language of Maupassant's novels is neither rich nor vulgar, but pure and clear, as he said in praise of the French language, 'like a pool of pure water.'" - Sometimes it seems boring.

"It should be admitted that Maupassant saw and wrote about more human shortcomings than strengths, and he never gave prescriptions or guidance." - Pessimistic nature.

"As Zola said in his speech at Maupassant's funeral: 'His works can make people laugh, they can make people cry, but they are always thought-provoking.'" "--Some are very shallow.

* * *

People often say that Maupassant is the "king of short stories", saying that they have only read "Necklace" in English textbooks, heard of "Lamb Fat Ball", and coaxed with the current, anyway, they are not responsible, and there is no interest.

When I was a child, I really bought a few of his short story collections, and now the impression left is disappointed and ambiguous, I never thought he was the "king", this time I concentrated on reading it to confirm it.

After reading all the articles behind the scenes, and then summarize well.

1. "The Blind Man"

"How can we be so pleased to see the rising sun? Why does the sunshine that shines on the earth fill us with the happiness of life? ~~~~ So we have a strong desire to dance, run, sing, taste the spiritual ease, the love of the heart; we almost want to hug the sun and kiss it. To write about the blind, first write about the happiness of those who can see.

"But the blind men living in eternal darkness under the door are indifferent to all this; they are in a new pleasure, but inexplicably, so they always stay there quietly, and from time to time they bark at their old dogs, and tell them to settle down... If the child says, 'It's so nice today!' The blind man would reply, "I think it's good today, because Lulu won't be honest." Blind people feel the changes in the weather through small animals.

"I know a blind man whose ordeal life is so cruel that the average person cannot imagine it. ~~~ His brother-in-law took his share of the inheritance, but he was reluctant to give him more soup, only to give him a little bit that he would not starve to death. ---------------------------------

His face was earth-colored, and his two large gray eyes were like two small doughs for a paste letter. Because in the countryside, useless is equal to harmful, and the hen will peck them to death with disabilities; if necessary, the countrymen will also do this perfectly. —born to face the cruel reality of the animal kingdom.

"After drinking the soup, in the summer he would go to the gate and sit down, and in the winter he would stay by the fireplace until it was dark and not moving. His hands did not move, nor did he move his feet; only his eyelids, harassed by some kind of neuropathic pain, would occasionally hang down to cover two gray eyeballs. No one has thought about these questions. ------------------

"That's been the case for some years. But since he could do nothing, and because he was indifferent to anything, and which over time annoyed his relatives, he became an airbag, a clown to be teased, a victim of the great old men around him who vented their innate animalistic and barbaric pleasures. "------------------------------------------------------

"The cruel pranks that are reminiscent of his blindness have all been imagined. In order to make him pay for what he ate, his meals became a moment for the neighbors to be happy and the disabled to suffer. "—Base your own happiness on the suffering of others.

Several nearby families also came to participate in this pastime; they passed from house to house, and the kitchen of the farm was packed every day. The animal sniffed out by its instincts that it was a disabled man, and walked slowly over, ate silently, and licked it with taste; in case it made a little noise when it smacked its tongue, and attracted the attention of the poor worm, it would carefully walk away, dodging the spoon he had thrown at its face. Man bullies people with animals.

At this time, the audience crowded by the wall laughed, you pushed me, and stomped your feet. And he, always silent, ate it with his right hand, and at the same time extended his left hand to the front to protect his soup plate. Blind people generally have sensitive hearing, what does it feel like in his heart?

"Sometimes they'll get corks, wood, leaves, and even garbage for him to chew on, and he won't be able to tell the difference." - Pain to numbness.

Later, people got tired of even joking; his brother-in-law, because he had raised him like this, was so angry that he beat him and kept slapping him; it was funny to see him dodge and even try to raise his hand to fight back. He didn't know where to hide, so he kept stretching out his arms to prevent anyone from approaching. --Brutal escalation.

Finally, he was forced to ask for food. ~~~~ But the countrymen don't like to spend money indiscriminately, and it takes a few weeks, and he doesn't bring back a Single Su. - Further writing about the cruelty and ruthlessness of the French countrymen.

"The hatred of him was so intense and cruel. But the next day, he didn't come back. This is murder.

It turned out that the blind man had waited and waited, waited for several hours, and was so cold that he could not stand it, and felt that he was about to freeze to death, so he began to walk back. He never stood up again. --Frozen alive.

"The goose feathers snow kept falling, covering him. They even cried a few times. —further writing about the cruelty and hypocrisy of the family.

"The winter was very cold and the thaw was late. ~~~They are searching for something. "------------

A young man walked over to see what they were doing, only to find that the body of the blind man, had been torn to pieces and had been half eaten. His dull eyes were gone, letting the greedy long beak peck away. The blind man's invisible eyes are eaten by crows... It's a heavy metaphor.

"Now whenever I feel happy on a sunny day, I can't help but think of this miserable memory in my mind, and I can't help but think of this blind man with sadness: he was so lucky and miserable in the world, and his tragic death seemed to all who knew him to be a relief." - Take care of the beginning, and compare again. Is there only such an ending?

At the beginning, a large part of the page is a conclusive straightforward narrative, too conceptual, abstract, boring to read, and annoying.

After reading it, I found that about 80% of it was such a third-party narrative, and I don't know if it can be regarded as a way of telling a story, but because the content itself is powerful enough, it can still be read.

The tragic experience of the blind man, whether it is his family or outsiders, there is not even a kind, upright, compassionate person around him, it is simply dark.

I do not know whether this is the case, or whether Maupassant, because of his strong feelings, is exaggerated and has to make some deep impression on the national character of the French countrymen.

As far as literary creation is concerned, this article is not successful; in terms of social significance, it is not known how many real components of this part are.