The Piece of String by Guy de Maupassant || Grade 11 || Optional English || Summary and Exercise

About the author:
•Guy de Maupassant(1850-1893) was a  popular French short-story writer, poet and novelist of the 19th century.
•His stories are characterized by their economy of style and their efficient effortless conclusion.
About this story:
•Published in 1883 AD.
•Setting: Normandy, France
• Genre: social realism
•Moral lesson: We must tell the truth to maintain a reputation of honesty and gain trust from others. Honesty is the best policy. Once we lose people's trust upon us, they will never trust us even if we tell the truth.

Characters:
1.Maitre Hauchecorne- He is a farmer who picks up anything useful from the ground. He is accused(आरोप लगाइनु) of stealing a wallet(purse) by his enemy Maitre Malandain.
2.Maitre Malandain- He is a harness maker. He once quarrelled with Maitre Hauchecorne. They are enemies to each other.
3.The Mayor of Goderville.

Summary:
"The Piece of String" is a realist story written by a French writer Guy de Maupassant. It shows the tragic story of a farmer who is falsely accused of theft and the consequence of his lost reputation(इज्जत).
Maitre Hauchecorne was a peasant/farmer who used to pick up anything he saw as useful off the ground. Once he was walking through the market and saw a piece of string(धागो/डोरि) on his way. He picked the string up and kept it for himself. At that time, his enemy Maitre Malandain had seen him and Hauchecorne pretended to be searching something else.
Later, in the Market, it is heard that someone lost a pocketbook/wallet with 500 francs(फ्रान्सको मुद्रा). Malandain accused  Hauchecorne of stealing someone else's pocketbook. This soon got around Goderville, and people began to distrust and dislike Maitre Hauchecorne, despite his claim of innocence. Whenever people saw him, they harassed him. Maitre Hauchecorne already had a bad reputation with the citizens of Goderville due to his previous lying and over exaggerations and telling unbelievable stories. Hence, people stopped believing him although he was telling the truth. Later, the pocketbook was found. People still treated Maitre Hauchecorne unpleasantly. No one believed that he was innocent. Eventually, he fell ill and died of the same pain.
The story teaches us that 'honestly is the best policy' in life and that lies and deceit will always come back to us negatively.

MCQs:
1. What did Maître Hauchecorne pick up from the ground?
a. a wallet
b. a piece of string
c. a golden ring
d. a knife

2. What disease did Maitre Hauchecorne suffer from?
a. asthma
b. rickets
c. rheumatism
d. bone cancer

3. How much money did Maitre Fortune Houlbreque lose with his pocketbook?
a. four hundred francs
b. five hundred francs
c. eight hundred francs
d. ten hundred francs

4. Where did Maître Hauchecorne live?
a. Goderville
b. Breaute
c. Beuzeville
d. None of these

5. Maitre Malandain was:
a. a harness maker
b. an ironmaster
c. a farmer
d. a carpenter

6. Who returned the pocketbook of Maitre Houlbreque?
a. Marius Paumella
b. Maitre Breton
c. M. Malandain
d. None of these

7. Who was the enemy of Maître Hauchecorne?
a. Maitre Breton
b. M. Malandain
c. Marius Paumella
d. Maitre Houlbreque

8. Maître Hauchecorne was died in:
a. January
b. April
c. September
d. December

9. How is the main character of the story ‘The piece of string’ by G. D. Maupassant?
a. Maitre Hauchecorne
b. Maitre Malandain
c. Maitre Houlbreque
d. None of these

10. Who is the author of The Piece of String?
a. George Sand
b. Gustave Flaubert
c. Guy de Maupassant
d. Madame Bovary

11. When was the story ‘The piece of string’ published?
a. in 1879
b. in 1880
c. in 1883
d. in 1885

12. What is the theme of The Piece of String?
a. revenge
b. truth and deception
c. birth and death
d. none of these

13. Maître Hauchecorne was surprised when the police officer asked him to accompany him to the:
a. market
b. police station
c. court
d. mayors office

14. A public announcement was made about:
a. Loss of a pocketbook
b. Lost Jewellery
c. loss of a bag
d. Money

15. What was M. Hauchecorne’s reaction to being falsely accused?
a. He Skipped
b. Upset and Frightened
c. Happy
d. None of these

16. What did Maitre Hauchecorne realize?
a. It was impossible to return home
b. It was impossible to find the pocketbook
c. It was impossible to answer the questions
d. It was impossible to prove his innocence

17. What happened to Maitre Hauchecorne at the end of the story?
a. He topped talking
b. He died
c. He left the village
d. None of these

18. What were the last words that Maitre Hauchecorne murmur before the death?
a. “tow piece of stings’
b. “a little bit of string”
c. “I did nothing”
d. “I’m innocent”

19. At what place did the Maitre Hauchcorne find the piece of string?
a. At Goderville market
b. At Brenzeville market
c. At Breaute
d. Non of These

20. Maitre Hauchcorne was a :
a. Norman peasant
b General
c. Soldeir
d. Shop Keeper

Answers of MCQs:
1-b, 2-c, 3-b, 4-b, 5-a, 6-a, 7-b, 8-a, 9-a, 10-c, 11-c, 12-b, 13-d, 14-a, 15-b, 16-d, 17-b, 18-b, 17-a, 18-a.

Important Question-Answers:
1. What is the story "The Piece of String" about?
Ans: The story "The Piece of String" is about an innocent farmer named Hauchecorne who is falsely accused of stealing the pocketbook and its result on him. Thought he had not stolen it, people regarded him as a thief because he had lost his trust in the eyes of people because of his previous lying(झुटो बोलाई) and over exaggerations (बढाई-चढाई गरेर बोल्नु) and telling unbelievable stories.

2. What is the moral of the story?
Ans: The moral of the story is that we must tell the truth to maintain a reputation of honesty and gain trust from others. Honesty is the best policy. Once we lose people's trust upon us, they will never trust us even if we tell the truth.

3. What is the conflict in the story "The Piece of String"?
Ans: The conflict in the story is between Hauchecorne and his enemy Malandain. They had quarreled in the past. Malandain accused Hauchecorne of stealing the pocketbook. Another conflict is between the society and Hauchecorne. The society took him as a thief though the pocketbook was found. Hauchecorne couldn't prove himself as an innocent in the eyes of the society. Due to the loss of his reputation, he died.

4. Who is responsible for Hauchecorne's death? What do you think?
Ans: I think Hauchecorne himself is also responsible for his death. He had lost his trust among the people due to previous lies(झुट). Malandain is also responsible because he accused Hauchcorne of theft. Similarly, peope of the society also took him as guilty. All of them are responsible for his death.

5. Sketch the character of Hauchecorne.
Ans: Maitre Hauchecorne is the protagonist in 'The Piece of String.' He's a thrifty man with rheumatism(बाथ रोग) who picks up everything from the ground which he thinks useful. His enemy saw him picking up the piece of string.  He felt embarrassed(लज्जित) when his enemy saw it. Hauchecorne is falsely accused of stealing it because of suspicious(संकास्पद) behaviour।. No one listens to Hauchecorne's side of the story. Even after finding the lost wallet, no one believes that he's innocent.  Hauchecorne ends up becoming physically ill and dying because he's so upset at this accusation(आरोप).

Grade 12 Optional English Reference Book