The Soldier” is a successful literary art for at least three reasons. First, the elements of fiction — mainly character, plot, setting, theme, style and point of view — contribute to the constitution of a “single effect.” This “single effect” builds up the portrait of the soldier. The portrait allows the soldier to appear “a soldier in flesh,” in the way art works to “make a stone stony.” In the second place, the elements have been woven into the construction of a singular dominant theme: revelation. It is the revelation of a soldier, both as an ordinary human being and a man in uniform. Third, the structure of coherence and unity also renders the story artistic. The cohesion between the beginning and ending makes it “complete unto itself.” In fact, the capacity to maintain the “single effect,” unity and completeness proves to be Koirala’s craftsmanship as a literary artist.
While reading the text, I felt like bit enlightened. Really, my critic ability will stand out of flatness in coming works. The description of art here is like what I always knew, and that I never labored to feel in as a stony material. Art, truly, reflects a life besides being a complete life in itself.