CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Fiction is a work of art, which has various kinds, and
one of these kinds is the short story. Dealing with short
stories

offers

the

readers

enjoyment

and

appreciation

because when reading short stories, the readers are able to

travel the world within the story, sometimes the readers
discover

fantasies

new

and

world-

wherein

imaginations.

In

they
other

dwell

on

dreams,

words,

the

readers

dwell on fancy things.

In addition, reading short stories does not just give
the readers simple enjoyment and appreciation, it also gives
them an opportunity to criticize the story from its setting,
characters and a plot. The readers will scrutinize the use
of symbols or metaphors and the pairs of opposite also known
as the binaries. The readers, being able to be introduced to
these

symbolisms,

reading

short

will

stories

have

especially

better
if

understanding

they

will

focus

on
on

textual analysis anchored on structuralism approach.

With this, the researchers will try to analyze the
selected short stories by Guy de Maupassant, and they will

try

to

examine

by

identifying

the

binaries,

symbols

or

metaphors and revealing the ideas that are not stated but
clearly understood.
Statement of the Problem
This study will analyze the selected short stories of
Guy

de

Maupassant

adapting

the

guide

questions

for

structuralism approach.1
1. What metaphors or symbols suggest a set of structures
of ideas in the short stories?
2. What concepts (binaries) suggests pairs of opposite?
3. What ideas are understood but are not stated in the
short stories?
Objectives of the Study
To

analyze

the

short

stories,

the

following

should

be

achieved:
1. To

identify

the

symbol

or

metaphors

used

in

the

stories;
2. To know the pairs of opposites or the binaries;
3. To reveal the ideas that are not stated but clearly
understood in the stories.
Importance of the Study
This study will be beneficial to the following:
1 Linda R. Bascara. World Literature (Manila, Philippines,

Rex Bookstore, 2003) p.12

Center

for

Samar

Studies.

This

study

will

be

an

additional entry to their collection of researches.

Department

of

Languages.

This

study

will

serve

as

an

additional entry to their collection of researches.

Future Researchers. This study will give them idea to
conduct similar study using other approaches in analyzing
other genre of literature.
Literature

Students.

This

study

will

serve

as

there

background in analyzing short stories and this will also

serve as their reference when they conduct similar study.
Lay Readers. This study will help them easily understand
the short stories of Guy de Maupassant.
Literature Teachers. This will serve as their guide in
teaching short stories with in depth analysis.
Scope and Limitation
The selected short stories of Guy de Maupassant were
analyzed

focusing

on

textual

analysis

anchored

on

Structuralism Approach. The said approach is concerned with

the identification of the binaries, symbols or metaphors
used and revelation of the ideas that are not stated but
clearly understood. Since the researchers were not able to
analyze

the

seven

selected

short

stories

of

Guy

de

Maupassant, they have come up with only six short stories

because of time constraint.
Theoretical Framework
In literary theory, structuralism is an approach to
analyze the narrative materials by examining the underlying
invariant structure, which is based on the linguistic sign
of system of Ferdinand de Saussure. The structuralists claim
that there must be a structure in every text, which explains
why

it

is

easier

for

experience

readers

than

non

experienced readers to interpret a text.2

Structuralism covers wide variety of fields psychology,
sociology, mathematics, linguistics, etc., and even in the
world

of

literature,

there

is

still

diversity

of

approaches, all under the wide umbrella of structuralism.3

This

harmony

between

mathematics

and

other

fields

cannot be written-off as simply the correspondence of a

language with the object it designates. Languages are not in
the habit of forecasting the events they describe; rather it
is a correspondence of human operations with those objects
2 www.wikipedia.com

Michael Lane Ed., Introduction to

York: Basic Books Inc., 1970) p. 23
3

structuralism,

(New

operators, then this particular operator- the human being as

body

and

mind-and

the

innumerable

operators

in

nature

physical objects at their several levels.4

This

theory

nations

also

or

human

deals

with

making

consciousness

conclusions

through

about

study

of

the

literature of that nation. It looks for the structure of

literature

that

parallels

the

structure

of

human

consciousness on the mind.5

Jean Piagets statement that there are two aspects common to
all varieties of structuralism; first, that the structures
are

possessed

therefore,

of

an

intrinsic

self-sufficient

intelligibility

because

one

does

and

not

have

are
to

refer to extraneous elements to be able to grasp, then; the

second

aspect

employment,

merely

structures

states

that

generally

in
have

their

theoretical

common

properties

despite their diversities.6

Literary

structuralism

often

follows

the

lead

of

Vladimir Propp and Claude Levi-Strauss in seeking out basic

4 Robert E. Scholes, Structuralism in Literature: An

Introduction, (New Haven, Yale: University Press, 1975) pp.

40-41
5 http//wikipedia.
6 Jean Piaget, Structuralism. Translated and edited by

Chaninan Maschler, (New York: Basic Books, 1970) p. 28

deep

elements

in

stories,

myths,

and

moved

recently,

anecdotes, which are combined in various ways to produce the

many version of the ur-story or ur-myth.7
Conceptual Framework
Structural Analysis helps pierce through the confusing veil
of life to reveal the hidden, underlying, logically complete
structure. In its broadest sense, structuralism is a way of
looking for reality not in individual things but in the
relationships among them.
Others would argue that structuralism simply reads too much
into text and allows clever professors to invent meanings
that are not actually there.8
With this in mind, the researchers revealed the underlying
invariant structure of selected short stories of Guy de
Maupassant

through

structuralism

approach

and

significant implications in teaching literature.

PARADIGM
Short Stories of Guy de
Maupassant

Interpretation and Analysis

7 www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/587448/tenor
8 http://wikipedia.com

draw

some

Binaries

Ideas not stated

but clearly
understood

Symbolisms

Fig.1. The paradigm showing the conceptual framework of the

study
DEFINITION OF TERMS
To facilitate a clearer understanding, the researchers
conceptually and operationally gathered the meanings of the
common terms mentioned in the study.
Binary- This refers to the pairs of opposites featured
in the stories.9
Fiction- It is the embodiment of the artistic structures of
unity

of

the

plot,

characters,

irony, symbols, theme and styles.10

9 Handouts in Literary Criticisms

10 Bascara, Loc. Cit.

setting,

point

of

view,

Linguistics This is the study of nature, structure, and

variation
morphology,

of

language,
syntax,

including
semantics,

phonetics,

phonology,

sociolinguistics

and

pragmatics.
Metaphor It refers to the analogy between two objects
or

ideas,

conveyed

by

the

use

of

word

instead

of

another.11
Short Stories These refer to prose, narratives of limited
length which must have characterizations, unity, cumulative
interests, climax and a resolution. In this study they are
the short stories of Guy de Maupassant.12
Structuralism

This

refers

to

the

approach,

which

deals with looking for binary opposition in the text.13

Symbolisms These are the use of multiple symbols
representing differentiated terms in a system which conveys
meaning.
Tenor this is a component of metaphor which refers to
the concept, object, or a person meant.14
11 www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/587448/metaphor
12 Bascara, Loc. Cit.
13 www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/587448/structuralism
14 www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/587448/tenor

Vehicle This is the image that carries the weight of

the comparison.15

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND RELATED STUDIES
Related Literature
On Structuralism Approach
Structuralism is an approach that attempts to analyze a
specific field as a complex system of interrelated parts. It
began in linguistics with the work of Ferdinand de Saussure.
Structuralism enjoyed little popularity and in the 1970s,
it came under internal fire from critics who accused it of
being too rigid and historical.16

15 www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/587448/vehicle
16 http://www.bookrags.com

There are four common ideas regarding structuralism that

form an intellectual trend according to Allison Assiter.
Firstly, the structure is what determines the position of
each element of a whole. Secondly, Structuralists believe
that every system has a structure. Thirdly, structuralists
are

interested

in

structural

laws

that

deal

with

coexistence rather than changes. Finally, structures are the

real things that lie beneath the surface or the appearance
of meaning.17
There is also a notion that the structuralism is an
idea of a system in which all the elements are interrelated
and

therefore

mutually

inferable

from

any

significant

sample.18
According to Culler, the advantages of structuralism have
something
protocol
firmer

to
of

do

with

reading.

starting-point

the
It
for

idea

states

that
that

reading

literature

is

structuralism

literature

than

the
is

other

approaches, because literariness or fictionality does not

have to be shown to be inherent in the text, but in the way,
it is read. It explains, for instance, why the same sentence
can have a different meaning depending on the genre in which
17 http://www.bookrags.com
18 http//www.classicreader.com

it appears; it explain how the boundaries of the literary

can change from age to age; it accommodates and explains
differing reading protocols-one can read a text for its
literary

qualities

or

its

sociological

or

ideological

qualities, for instance, and read as complex a text in doing

so.19
Gerard Genette suggests that the things that seem real to
people that are veiled and predicted lead to a consideration
of how reality is represented in art- what readers get is
a reality effect then signs which represents reality are
naturalized, that is made to seem as if the readers could
see the reality through them- or in the laws of reality.20
Related Studies
Gorgonias study analyzed ten stories of Bienvinido Santos
using the cultural approach to literary criticism.21
Solomon used the readers response theory in analyzing the
compulsion to gamble among Hemingways short stories. The
researcher found out that the power, self-fulfillment, good
19 http//bookrags.com
20 http//bookrags.com
21 Cora Amor Gorgonia, Cultural Reading of the ten Short

Stories of Bienvinido Santos. (Unpublished ABLLT Thesis,

University of Eastern Philippines, 2008)

future, good relationship, death, nothingness etc. are the

things that the character most likely to gamble.22
Lebeco used the Freudian approach in analyzing Oscar Wildes
novel the picture of Dorian Gray. The study pointed out the
represented desires of the author because it reveals the
characters wishes for immortality, women and impurity.23
Similarities and Differences
The studies of Gorgonia, Solomon and Lebeco are similar to
the present study in terms of the type of analysis, which is
the

use

of

textual

analysis

accompanied

by

specific

approaches in analyzing the short stories. The present study

is different because it used guide questions, concerning on
metaphors, symbolisms and binaries. During the course of
analysis, the researchers gave meaning to these symbolisms,
metaphors and binaries based on the stories.

22 Romulo T. Solomon, The Compulsion to Gamble in Ernest

Hemingways Short stories, (Unpublished ABLLT Thesis,

University of Eastern Philippines, 2008)
23Eric Lebeco, A Freudian Psychoanalytic Reading of Oscar

Wildes Noel the of Dorian Gray, (Unpublished ABLLT Thesis,

University of Eastern Philippines, 2008)

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
This

is

qualitative

study

focusing

on

textual

analysis anchored on structuralism approach that was used in

analyzing the short stories of Guy e Maupassant. In the
stories,

the

ideas

that

are

not

stated

but

clearly

understood, the symbols or metaphors used and the concepts,

which suggest pairs of opposites or the binaries.
Research Procedures
1. Collecting short stories of Guy de Maupassant;
2. Reading the short stories with in depth analysis;
3. Analyzing the short stories using the structuralism
approach;
4. Interpretation.
Framework Analysis
The

researchers

used

the

structuralism

approach

in

analyzing the data. It aimed at analyzing the stories by

identifying the symbols or metaphors used in the stories,

revealing the ideas that are stated but clearly understood
and knowing the pairs of opposites and the binaries.