Review of The Colonel's Ideas Story by Guy de Maupassant

Review of The Colonel’s Ideas Story

The Colonel’s Ideas is a short story written by Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (August 5, 1850-July 6, 1893), known by name Guy de Maupassant. He was a popular French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents.

The Colonel’s Ideas is a short story that tells about a group French army who are in command to retreating from a war with Prussians and they have to reach Bar-sur-Tain before the sun rises. The trip seems very hard because they eat nothing since they day before and the condition of that night is dark, cold and also frosty. The soldiers are hungry, tires and wounded from the battle. However, they are the French Soldier that very interest and admire of the presence of the woman. When they are in the presence of the woman, they feel that they can do anything.

When they are in the mission to reach Bar-sur-Tain, sometimes they have to stop because they are very tired and very hungry. In the journey, they also meet with two prisoners, an old man and his beautiful daughter. They are escaping from Prussian. Colonel Laporte invites them to accompany with the soldiers and ask the old man to be the guider because he knows the road. After walking for some distance, the girl becomes tired and she cannot go any further. One of the soldiers named Pratique suggests the soldiers to carry the girl for the rest of the journey. The girl is lying, warm and comfortable among them and is raised upon six shoulders. They started off much more briskly and become cheerful and warm. A woman is quite enough to electrify Frenchmen. The soldiers carry the girl almost without stopping, but suddenly one of soldiers saw that there is a group of Prussian and they kill them with the shoot of the riffle. After the long journey, they finally reach The French line of Bar-sur-Tain. They are very happy and it seems like just save the whole of France and has done something that the other men could not have done, something simple and really patriotic. Colonel Laporte should propose to replace the drums, trumpets and bugles in every regiment by a pretty girl and that will be even better and wil put some spirit into a trooper.

Something that make this short story become interesting because it can make the readers think that the French soldiers that very tired, hungry and cold can have power and not feeling tired just because of the beauty of the girls. Because of the girl, the finally reach the Bar-sur-Tain. What make us amazed about this story is also because this story has some jokes that can entertain and amuse the readers.