So overall the approach is correct, the students are good, the teaching is good, but we always want more, more, more! More reading! More speaking! But there is nothing to really 'complain' about, all of the students seem to have excellent English and no problem speaking freely with me.
Class Division in Wartime * Guy de Maupassant was a patriot; he fought in the Franco-Prussian war and, in “Boule de Suif,” he extends the most sympathy towards characters who have strong patriotic beliefs. Still, this short story is in no way a celebration of war. Set in 1880 as the war is ending, with the Prussians victorious, “Boule de Suif” demonstrates how the gaping class divides within an army make the concept of “victory” empty, since the poor foot soldiers on both sides suffer greatly and gain nothing, even if they ostensibly win. Maupassant’s most evident takeaway concerning war, likely inspired by his own experience, is that soldiers on both sides of a conflict have more in common with each other than with their wealthier leaders. In wartime, no matter who is victorious, it will always be the poor who suffer the most. * Maupassant’s depiction of the Prussian general shows how the wealthier officers (as opposed to the poorer soldiers) are cruelly exploiting war for their own gain. When the carriage first encounters the arrogant commander, he is described as having “an enormous mustache of long straight hairs…seem[ing] to weigh heavily on the corners of his mouth.” Since Maupassant had earlier mocked the French generals for being chosen as officers “on account of the length of their mustaches,” it is clear that this description is meant to signal that the Prussian officer (like the French generals) is decadent and unqualified for his position. Maupassant underscores this when the three wealthy men from the carriage confront the officer and ask him why he won’t allow them to leave Tôtes. The officer receives them “stretched out in an armchair, his feet on the mantelpiece…enveloped in a flamboyant dressing gown.” This image of an officer during wartime is striking: he is idle, disrespectful, and luxuriating while his troops are suffering tremendous violence. The French already see the Prussians as insolent invaders, and this general is confirming their beliefs. Finally, Maupassant shows the dynamic of wealthy officers exploiting the poor in wartime through the officer’s demand that Miss Rousset—the poorest and most vulnerable among the travelers—sleep with him. Since he refuses to free the other travelers until she does, it’s clear that this upper-level military commander is abusing his power and profiting from war in a totally inappropriate way. * However, Maupassant makes it clear that there is another side to the Prussians: unlike the cruel, exploitative general, the poorer foot soldiers act kindly towards the French townspeople. Despite their perception that the Prussians are an awful enemy, a group from the carriage come across soldiers in Tôtes being extremely helpful to the working-class French people with whom they’re supposedly at war. They see soldiers “paring potatoes…cleaning the hairdresser’s shop…even washing the linen of…an impotent old grandmother.” None of these images line up with the stereotype of a cruel and lazy enemy. In fact, when the richest traveler questions a poorer townsperson about what is going on, the French townsman replies “those men are not wicked; they are not the Prussians we hear about…they have left wives and children…it is not amusing to them, this war…they work [here] as if they were in their own homes.” By showing the kindness and sacrifice of these soldiers, Maupassant contrasts the cavalier, disgusting behavior of the privileged German commander with the hardworking and solemn attitude of the poorer Prussian soldiers. * This dynamic of the poor suffering disproportionately while the wealthy profit does not only exist on the Prussian side; it’s true for the French, as well. For example, the poorer Miss Rousset left Rouen for very different reasons than her wealthier traveling companions. Her house was stocked with food and she could have stayed, but she felt so patriotic that looking at the Prussians made her “blood boil with anger.” Her choice to leave her life behind was, in other words, a sacrifice made for moral reasons. By contrast, the wealthier travelers talk vainly about the “havoc” the war had caused on their businesses and the “losses” they suffered. They are leaving because they think there are better commercial opportunities in La Havre, which shows the wealthy finding ways to profit in wartime. In terms of the French army, Maupassant opens “Boule de Suif” by describing the “long and filthy” beards of the French army men—with their “uniforms in tatters,” their bodies “worn-out and back-broken.” This physical suffering parallels the grief of the Prussian foot soldiers in Tôtes, who have left their families and “weep for their homes.” This demonstrates how there is shared pain among the poorer members of both countries in times of war. In the army, as in the carriage, the wealthy have only selfish concerns while the more moral poor suffer physically and mentally. * War is complicated and horrible, but Maupassant wants to make it clear that it is far worse for some than it is for others. The Prussian and French foot soldiers leave behind their lives to wear ragged clothes, bear the brunt of the fighting, and serve lazy, selfish generals—all without the promise of any personal gain. Meanwhile, the French and Prussian officers are underqualified for their jobs, spared the worst of the fighting, and they personally benefit from the luxuries that their roles afford. From this, it’s clear that the main division in the story is not one of nationality, but of class. The poor French and Prussian foot soldiers, in other words, are collectively the victims of a war fought for the benefit of the wealthy.
Men, Women, and Power * “Boule de Suif” is fundamentally a story about power, and the women Maupassant depicts enjoy very little of it. Six of the story’s ten French travelers are women: two nuns, three married ladies, and a single prostitute—Miss Rousset, or “Ball-of-Fat.” All of these characters suffer for being female, although they suffer differently based on their class background. Miss Rousset, who is poor, disreputable, and unmarried initially has more autonomy than the married women around her because she has no husband to control her life. However, being unmarried also makes her vulnerable; the group targets her, first with their scorn and then with their demand that she sacrifice herself by sleeping with the Prussian officer—both of which would be unimaginable were she traveling with a husband. By showing men manipulating and exploiting Miss Rousset—and by showing the wealthier women around her aligning with the men—Maupassant suggests that male power damages women twofold: by subjecting them to manipulation and violence, and by undermining the possibility of female solidarity. * The initial carriage ride depicts Miss Rousset as having more autonomy than the married women around her, since she has no man to control her. The three married women in this story are literally “installed” into the carriages by their husbands. They have no say as to whether or not they leave their homes in Rouen—instead, they are uprooting their lives because their husbands decided that they should. By contrast, Miss Rousset herself has chosen to leave, and she explains this choice to others, showing that she is independent in her actions and thoughts. That the married women do not weigh in suggests that their opinions about the move don’t matter. In addition to being more autonomous than the married women, Miss Rousset seems to have more power than the two other single women in the carriage, who are nuns. These women have given their lives to religion (and to a church hierarchy controlled by men). One is “pitted with smallpox” while the other has “a disease of the lungs,” descriptions that make them “appear like martyrs” for their religion. Maupassant does not develop the characters of these women beyond their martyrdom, which draws out Miss Rousset’s vivacity and self-sufficiency by contrast. Perhaps most important, when Miss Rousset produces a basket of food that everyone eventually shares, she experiences a brief moment of unusual power, as the whole group—even the wealthier men—are dependent on her. * While Miss Rousset initially appears to be the most powerful woman in the party, her unmarried status eventually makes her vulnerable to predatory men. When the slimy German officer demands that Miss Rousset sleep with him, he is not seeing her as an autonomous businesswoman: he sees her as a lowly prostitute, a woman without a man to defend her. He does not care that she despises him, demonstrating how he places no importance on her desires or opinions. The Count—a member of her own traveling party—degrades Miss Rousset in a similar, albeit subtler, way. He consistently reminds Miss Rousset of her “place,” bending her to his will by emphasizing how little power she actually has compared to the men around her. When she at first refuses to even meet with the Prussian officer, the Count says “[i]t is never worth while to resist those in power.” He is referring to the officer, but he also means himself. This foreshadows when, towards the end of the story, the Count is the critical voice pressuring Miss Rousset to sleep with the officer for the benefit of the group. * As the men exploit and manipulate Miss Rousset, the other women never stick up for her; in fact, they support the men. Mrs. Loiseau, for example, tries to justify the situation by saying that the Prussian officer “respects married women.” This implies that Miss Rousset, as a single woman, has no right to her own body. Implicitly, Mrs. Loiseau wants to believe that her marriage protects her from male violation, so it’s not in her interest to stick up for Miss Rousset. In addition, Mrs. Loiseau says of the officer that “we must remember too that he is master. He has only to say ‘I wish,’ and could take us by force with his soldiers.” This shows that, deep down, Mrs. Loiseau understands the gendered aspect of the officer’s demand; he is simply asking from Miss Rousset what he could otherwise violently take from any of the women. In the face of this threat, though, the women choose not to stand up for their collective interest, but rather to protect themselves by justifying Miss Rousset’s sacrifice. Mrs. Carré-Lamadon, for instance, tries to convince herself that sleeping with the officer isn’t so bad: she thinks to herself that it is a pity the German is “not French, because he would make a pretty [well-dressed commander], one all the women would rave over.” * While the married women’s choice to throw Miss Rousset to the wolves is cynical and self-serving, it does, sadly, protect them: by sacrificing Miss Rousset and aligning with the more powerful men, all of the married women emerge with their bodies and dignity intact. This bleak ending, in which Miss Rousset has lost control of her body while the married women still cannot control their lives, shows how men maintain power. They encourage the divisions between women, all the while controlling those women for their own benefit.
There are TWO PARTS.
A: Aha! I have finally caught you! Now I will take the gold! B: I don't think so! A: Oh no! B: Oh Yes!
Question: WHat's going on? We need to fix the script! We need to add stage direction.
[Speak slowly, as if to a child.]
A: Aha! I have finlly caught you! Now I will take the gold!
[Pull out a gun. "Click!"]
B: I don't think so!
[A is suddenly afraid. Shakes hands.]
A: Oh no!
[Shakes the gun aggressively.]
B: Oh Yes!
There is no class today because of the test.
No class because they are not finished their script.