Throughout time, the setting of a story has been enhanced by the brilliant usage of images. Whether it is the time period, a character's home, or an aspect relating to one, or all, of our five senses, imagery gives the reader an insight of the setting that the writer wants to reveal. The setting in the short story "The Piece of Sting", by French author Guy de Maupassant, has been introduced by using specific imagery styles to show the reader the importance of such literary usage and its effects. The time period of the story can only be assumed to be in the late 1700s or early 1800s. We know this due to the description of the country being divided among wealthy and powerful figures. The majority, however, were poor peasants, who worked the land with painful rheumatisms. In addition to the time setting, the environment setting is of major importance as well. The mayor's house, the market place, the bar, and the Maitre's death bed are epitomes of the setting. Within each of these places, is a uniformly unique idea that helps give all readers an understanding and reality to the story. .
The beginning of the story refers to the hardships of the peasants, and the work that is done at that time. The image of the peasant's deformed walking relates to how hard they worked and suffered. They had to plow fields, raise animals, and tend gardens, day after day. This is the only way they could have survived at that time; they could not work in the city or find a suitable job or profession. The visual imagery used gives a detailed description of the peasants, such as in this quote, "The men walked easily, lurching long legs twisted and deformed by the slow, painful labors of the country- The harsh walking of the peasants better gives the reader an understanding of how the migration to the town square must have been. The bent and sweat covered bodies of the workers making their way to market to sell their life stock and other produce.
