# Coco explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

## What happens

A young farmhand, Zidore, is tasked with caring for an old, retired horse named Coco. Resentful of feeding a useless animal, he gradually starves it to death by moving its tether less and less until it dies of hunger. The horse is buried on the spot, and the grass grows lush from its body.

## Themes in this chapter

### Cruelty and Suffering

Zidore's deliberate starvation of the helpless horse Coco exemplifies casual, unpunished cruelty born of resentment and economic pragmatism.

### Isolation and Loneliness

Coco is left alone in the valley, tied up and unable to reach food, abandoned by the only person who visits him.

## Character check-ins

### Coco

The old white horse, kept out of charity, is slowly starved to death by the boy Zidore.

### Isidore Paturon

The fifteen-year-old farmhand, called Zidore, who cruelly torments and starves the horse Coco out of resentment.

## Key lines

> The animal, almost crippled, could hardly lift its heavy legs, thick at the knee and swollen above the hoofs. Its coat, which was no longer groomed, looked like white hair, and its long eyelashes gave its eyes a melancholy air.

The old horse was nearly lame, with swollen legs and a neglected white coat, and its long lashes made it look sad.

_Describes Coco's pitiable condition at the start of the story._

> The boy beat it savagely, running relentlessly after it, his teeth shut hard in anger.

Zidore struck the horse furiously, chasing it without pause, clenching his teeth in rage.

_Illustrates the boy's violent treatment of the horse._

> The grass came up lush, verdant, and vigorous, nourished by the poor body.

The grass grew thick and green, fed by the horse's decaying corpse.

_Final image of the horse's body enriching the earth._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/coco
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters