Guy De Maupassant Research Paper

The first significant influence on Guy de Maupassant’s writing was his early life experiences and education. Maupassant was born in 1850 in Dieppe, France (May). He was born into a noble upper class family at the Chateau de Miromesniel (Diamond). Due to growing up in the picturesque Normandy province of France, he started to gather details for his stories from a young age. (Diamond). When young Guy was eleven years old, his parents got divorced, and he was sent to live with his mother (May). From the divorce his mother became a large influence on his life (May). Maupassant’s mother passed her love for literature and learning onto him (Bloom). The love for literature she instilled in her son fueled his success as a writer and influenced his …show more content…
He was enrolled at the Institution Ecclesiastique in Rouen (May and Bloom). However, he didn’t like the school, so he purposely got expelled (May). While Guy was very unhappy at school he found shelter in his writing (Bloom). Maupassant went to study law in college but was called off to serve his country in the Franco-Prussian War (May). After the war, Maupassant moved back to Paris with his father (Bloom). From his experiences in the war Maupassant was able to write one of his best stories of all time, “Boule de suif” (Diamond). This story is set during the war and describes a prostitutes life in an unfair society (Diamond). His father was responsible for introducing Guy to the Ministry Department for the Colonies, which included writers such as Emile Zola, Alphonse Daudet, and Ivan Turgenev (May). Such authors were responsible for putting Maupassant’s writing on the map and being mentors to him throughout his writing career (Bloom). His childhood caused him to create very vivid and imaginative …show more content…
According to May, “Gustave Flaubert is the most famous and important influence on Maupassant’s writing.” Gustave Flaubert was a very close family friend, as he grew up with Maupassant’s mother (Bloom; “(henri)(rene Albert) Guy de Maupassant.”). After Maupassant was expelled from school he moved back home and fell under the advisement of Flaubert (May). Flaubert’s close friend , Louis Bouilhet, also became a mentor to young Maupassant (Bloom). Bouilhet’s help and guidance brought Flaubert closer to Maupassant’s mother again (Bloom). Flaubert taught young Maupassant about the writing craft and how to brainstorm ideas for stories (Diamond). After the war, Flaubert helped Maupassant write and publish his first poems and stories into a couple of small journals (May). Maupassant’s first short story published, “La main ecorchee” was full of details from his real life experiences as a teenager (Diamond). Emile Zola and Flaubert edited and published Maupassant’s story “Boule de suif” in a journal full of other young authors contributions (Diamond; “(henri)(rene Albert) Guy de Maupassant.”). This story, “Boule de suif” or “Roly-Poly” is still said to be one of Maupassant’s best works (May). Since his first story was such a success Flaubert advised Maupassant to quit his day job as a government employee and spend all of his time writing (May). Guidance from Flaubert made