d from boating, swimming, to traveling all over. Maupassant is considered one of the finest short story writers of all time and a champion of the realistic approach to writing. “To the realists ideal of scrupulous diction Maupassant added an economy of language and created a narrative style noted for its austere power, simplicity, and vivid sensuousness.” (Gale Group)Maupassant was born in Normandy from wealthy parents, and both the setting and character of his childhood are clearly reflected in his fiction. The household in which the young Maupassant was raised was not a pleasant one. When he was six years old, his mother gave birth to a second son, Herve, who was somewhat, dull-witted, and who shared his mother’s nervous constitution. Maupassant haunting memories was his brother’s mental collapse and subsequent internment. Herve died in 1889. Frequent disputes, both verbal and physical, between his parents. After a bitter and unhappy life together, Maupassant parents separated when he was twelve years old, and he was placed in his mother’s custody. He remained in frequent constant with his father.Maupassant’s mother became the basis for his characterization of slighted and overbearing women, who appeared in many of his stories. He attended the Lycee Napoleon in Paris and the Lycee de Rouen and eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in letters. “Boule de suif,” which was his first published story, was part of a collaborative effort, Les Soirees de Medan, which included the work of several young French naturalists under the influence and direction of Zola. “Maupassant shared with his mentor a severe pessimism toward life and disdain for bourgeois values, both of which are reflected throughout his work.” (Donaldson-Evans 123)Maupassant who had gone to Paris to study law, enlisted in the army immediately. The monotony of his work was relieved by outdoor pursuits...
