Calvary · Chapter
II explained
The narrator describes the chaos and fear among French soldiers and refugees as the Prussian army approaches.
What happens
The narrator describes the chaos and fear among French soldiers and refugees as the Prussian army approaches. Peasants flee, soldiers prepare defenses, and the general issues orders to fell trees and build barriers. The chapter captures the tension, confusion, and dread of impending battle, with the narrator reflecting on death and the futility of war.
Themes in this chapter
War and Disillusionment
The chapter vividly portrays the horrors and futility of war, from the refugees' exodus to the soldiers' fear and the general's incompetent orders.
Class and Materialism
The peasant's concern for saving his pigs and poultry contrasts with the larger military conflict, highlighting the impact of war on ordinary people.
Self-Destruction and Obsession
The general's obsessive destruction of trees, even causing deaths, reflects a self-destructive and futile approach to defense.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The narrator is a soldier in the French army, observing the refugees and preparing for battle against the Prussians.
- The General
The general gives strategic orders, oversees the felling of trees, and struggles to locate the Saussaie mill on a map.
- Spy
A country doctor with a blond beard and blue spectacles is arrested as a suspected German spy by a sentinel.
Key passages
“I questioned an old man who led a donkey pulling a cart, at the bottom of which in the midst of bundles, tied with kerchiefs, and carrots and heads of cabbage, on a pile of straw there shifted about a peasant woman with a flat nose, two pink-colored pigs and a few domestic fowls tied by their feet in twos.”
The narrator asks an old peasant fleeing with his family and livestock about the attackers.
This encounter illustrates the civilian experience of war and the confusion about who the enemy is.
“And I had a sudden vision of Death, red Death standing on a chariot, drawn by rearing horses, which was sweeping down on us, brandishing his scythe.”
The narrator imagines Death personified as a red figure on a chariot charging toward them.
This vivid imagery conveys the narrator's terror as battle becomes imminent.
“It was an orgy of destruction, criminal and foolish; a shout of brutal joy went up every time a tree fell on top of another with a great noise.”
The soldiers and general engage in a reckless and joyful destruction of the forest.
This highlights the senselessness and violence of the war effort.