Political Regimes in France - Book Report/Review Example

Political Regimes in France According to Emile Guillaumin’s book “The Life of a Simple Man”, Tiennon is described as a man who lived in the 19th century and born in 1823. The author’s main reason for writing the book was to fight for the rights of peasants in the contemporary French society. Being a peasant himself, the author was born fifty years after Tiennon and did his farm work in central France till he died. It is the kind of life he passed through as a farmer in France that inspired him to write his book “The Life of a Simple Man.” In the French society, peasants were people in the lower class who the author of this book felt were misrepresented in the contemporary French society. Generally, political regimes and the French authority were the main causes of the sufferings experienced by the French peasants. The paper will therefore look at the political regimes in France in relation to Tiennon’s life of a simple man. It will also seek to look at the political leanings for the life of a simple man in the French Society. According to Guillaumin, Tiennon is described as a person who lived a life just like any other peasant in the French society (15). He spent most of his early childhood herding sheep and pigs. From the readings of Guillaumin’s The Life of a Simple Man, Tiennon had very little awareness of politics in general. Throughout his lifetime, he spent very little time being concerned with political matters. According to Guillamin, Tiennon is called an old socialist by the young people he was with in a room taking coffee and smoking cigarettes (264). He pretends that he has a headache and he is supposed to go take care of his cows. Moreover, during the discussions, Tiennon contributed rarely in the talks that were politically driven. From the readings in the book, the peasant had very little knowledge about the political happenings in the society. He spent most of his time partying and dancing with very little knowledge about politics. From the beginning, the peasant known as Tiennon herded animals. He used to be woken up by his mother at five o’clock morning hours to go and herd sheep. In (6) “Before five o’clock in the mornings my mother pulled me out of bed”. This shows that being a poor boy brought up in the rural French community, he had to do just as his parents told him. He did his duty of herding, most of his entire life and had very little time with getting acquainted with the political world. In Guillamin’s “The life of a Simple Man”, Tiennon confesses to have gotten involved so much in politics during the time a person who worked for small communes in Renaud’s name was soliciting for votes. Tiennon states that “It is the only time in my life that I have talked politics so much”(264). These were Tiennon’s sentiments in page 264 of book by Guillamin. Therefore, the peasant did not know much about political developments in his country because he further claims that whenever he commented about politics, he said stupid things and repeated himself. Tiennon writes, “No, really; I have a little headache, which makes me feel no so well. Besides, I have talked enough. Up to now I have said freely what I think; now, I know I should only repeat myself or say stupid things; that are always what happens when one stays too long at the inn. Good-bye” (264). This shows the peasant’s lack of concern for politics. From Guilllamin’s book “The Life of a Simple Man”, there are instances of Tennon’s leanings and openness regarding politics in the rural French society. It is evident from the readings that at some point in time, Tennon the French peasant gets open about his political perspectives. In the beginning of the book, Tennon gets close to his uncle Tonoit who was a soldier under the reign of Napoleon in the French government. Being in the military, the peasant’s uncle had political opinions about the French government. He had been injured while in the Russian campaign, but despite this, he was able to take a walk in the plantations and handle his plow shares. “Uncle Tonoit had been a soldier under Napoleon: he had been in the Russian campaign…Even when he was not ill he preferred to go to the fairs, to carry ploughshares to the furrier, or to walk in the fields”(1). Despite the fact that Tennon’s uncle was in the government as a soldier, Tiennon was open about his political affiliations because he did consult his uncle about any political issues. This means that the peasant was not concerned and did not want to get involved in political issues in the French government. Additionally, towards the end of the book “The Life of a Simple Man”, Tiennon becomes open about his political affiliations. “Bravo, Father Tiennon. Long live Socialism!” exclaimed three young people who had heard me. And they offered me coffee. But I felt myself a little giddy with the noise in the room and the smoke. I looked at the clock.” From this excerpt, the peasant tries to ignore his friends because he does not want to be associated with the politics around the rural French society. In the later pages, the peasant does not want to get involved with the politics when he claims that the elections were easily forgotten. “The elections were quickly forgotten, and the discussions and social dreams of social improvement which they had aroused” (264). Looking back at the peasants' lives, it is evident that most of their time was spent partying and dancing despite being poor. The peasants were able to get drunk and attend pleasure parties without contributing any money. From the excerpt, “Fortunately at that time there were ways of finding amusements without money; there were many pleasure parties which cost nothing; in fine weather we had balls in the open, which we called vijons and in winter we had soirees” (54-55). The peasants had outdoor parties where all age groups could attend. Young girls and boys, married people, children and the elderly attended such parties. During such parties, young boys and girls kissed, the elderly who felt misplaced could play certain games. This means that the peasants spent most of their time partying while not working because they felt they were poor and misplaced in the contemporary society. From these happenings, there was no time when the peasants could gather and get opinions about the political world. For instance, the elderly were supposed to be in the front line in educating the others on the political happenings but all they did was to party. There was no so much change in the life of Tiennon according to the readings found in “The Life of a Simple Man.” According to the book, Tiennon grows as a herder keeping sheep and pigs. During the middle stages of Tiennon’s life, the book records that he did various jobs for his master. Fauconnet was the master of Tiennon with whom they had issues when his father was selling him sows. The peasant did jobs such as; cleaning the horse and his carriage. Moreover, they also had to work on his farm and cut his plantations. “… For he had no domestic servant. We had to look after his horse, clean his carriage, harness and unharnessed it whenever he used it; also we had to work in his garden and cut his wood ” (64). Generally, there is no much change the life of Tiennon the peasant. Additionally, in the life history of Tiennon the peasant, he used to accompany his mother to the market for shopping and sometimes his father to sell sows. According to the book, the peasant used to go with his sisters in law to the market to shop for baskets and fruits. “.. On market days, when my mother was starting out, Madame Bountry was always there, as if by chance, to inspect the baskets, no doubt fearing that they contained some commodity subtracted from what belonged to the community ” (65). The peasant also accompanies his father to the market to sell sows. During the sale, arguments arise between his father and the master he worked for. The violent arguments arise because the master wants mother of the sows being sold. This leads to the two calling each other thieves. “My father wanted to sell one of his sows and some little ones because food was scarce that year. But the master declared that he wished to keep the mother and let the little ones grow” (59). It is evident from the above examples that the life of the peasant had no major transitions but lived the life that all peasants in the rural society lived. From the above discussions and reviews about the book “The Life of a Simple Man”, the character Tiennon, had various issues as he grew up in the rural French society. According to the book, Tiennon the French peasant lived a monotonous life of poverty that many other peasants lived in the French rural settings. From the review, the peasant’s life had nothing remarkable. Tiennon spends most of his life herding sheep and pigs. He is also seen when he has entertainment. This is evident when they go partying with young girls and boys, the elderly and children in their village. The most remarkable thing about these peasants in the French society is that they do not associate themselves with the political happenings. This is evident in Tiennon’s life from the time he starts his childhood. For example, he avoids giving his personal opinions regarding politics. From the readings of Guillamin’s “The Life of a Simple Man”, Tiennon claims that his political decisions are always stupid and he does not want to be associated with the happenings in the rural French setup. Generally, Tiennon, the French peasant suffers in most states during his development as a worker in the rural society. Guallamin’s a peasant farmer in the French society uses the character Tiennon to fictionalize the life of peasants in France during the nineteenth century. The author writes this book to prove what other novelists in France were unable to accomplish. Guillamin’s work when writing the life of a simple man known as Tiennon was to fight for their rights because he felt they were neglected due to their financial status. He felt that the peasants were misrepresented yet they deserved better treatment. Works Cited: Guillaumin, Emile. The Life of a Simple Man. New Hampshire: UPNE. 1983. Print Read More