A famous story, "Two Friends", was translated by Gordon R. Silber. This story took place during the Franco-Prussian War that began in 1870. This war was a conflict between France and Germany. At the beginning of Maupassant's story, the city is on the verge of surrender. Two men try to ignore this violence and fish often and become true friends. This essay will carefully examine how Guy de Maupassant used six different literary elements in creating this exceptional tale known as "Two Friends." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In this paragraph we will look at how the author uses setting and tone within and throughout the story. The story is set in early 1871 in France. The author uses many descriptive words to describe the setting throughout the story. The tone of this story is overall very dark and boring. He conveys this tone through many quotes in the text such as “They began to walk side by side, distracted and sad” (1235). Maupassant gives off this sad, dull tone through many quotes similar to that one. The setting and tone also contribute to the purpose and imagery of the story. You can see that the author uses figurative language in a few different instances in the text. It uses figurative language along with many other literary elements to show the purpose of the story. As many know, figurative language is one in which the author uses words or expressions that mean something other than the literal interpretation. Maupassant uses his words from beginning to end to show figurative language such as when he writes, "And a feeling of uneasiness paralyzed the two friends as they faced this desert region (1236)." The two friends were not paralyzed, so it is figurative language since it says one thing to interpret another. Many elements are used to create purpose, which is what the author hopes to accomplish or communicate through the text. The purpose of this story is to teach a lesson in friendship. It shows that you can connect with people even when times are tough. It also shows that you should try to be positive and live life to the fullest because you never know when death will be upon you. Purpose helps convey theme, which is the overall overall message that is very similar to purpose. The author's theme that he is trying to show is that friends remain faithful to each other even when they stare death in the face. Another theme he conveys is that even though many people want peace throughout humanity, it will never happen. Maupassant also uses symbolism when he explains throughout the story that men regularly went to the river to fish before the war began; now that it has begun it is dangerous and the days are less bright, the sun shines less. This shows that time is a symbolic element because before it was bright and now times are sad and dark. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The author wrote this short story that uses many literary terms such as tone, setting, purpose, figurative language, theme, and symbolism. The story started brightly before the war, but with the start of the war things started to get darker, but the two friends remained loyal to each other. In all short stories, we need to take a closer look to see what the author is trying to convey through them.