...In the short story, "The Necklace,"by Guy de Maupassant portrays the theme that being grateful for what you have isn't always easy. Although being grateful for your belongings is not easy, Guy quotes, ”She had no gowns, no jewels, nothing. And she loved nothing but that.” (1) She wasn’t necessarily poor, she just did not understand the value of what she had while her husband worked for everything they had and was content. Even though most people thinks it is a general thing to be grateful for what you have, but say that if you want more you must be ungrateful for what you have but that is not always the case, he also says, ” ‘Why, my dear, I thought you would be glad. You never go out, and this is such a fine opportunity.’ ” Mathilde did not know how to be grateful to be around people because she had been working...
Words: 429 - Pages: 2
...Moderata Fonte says, you cannot always go by what was written down on paper because it is not what actually happened. These words spoken by Fonte relate with the story The Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant. Not only do they both describe different thoughts between men and women, but they both display misogyny. In this short story, Monsieus Loisel is immensely misogynistic against his wife. I understand that time has changed from today and the late 1800s, so the way that he treated his wife was just erroneous. Monsieus...
Words: 758 - Pages: 4
...The short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant portrays that when greed and selfishness take control over a person,bad things are sure to come. In the beginning, a woman named Mathilde is sobbing over her life in poverty: she is blinded by her own tears to see how lucky she is to have a husband who goes to the end of the world to make her happy. As the story progresses, Mathilde has a crisis because she has nothing nice to wear to the ball, but since it was her time to shine, her thoughtful husband gave her all the money he had saved; thus, the only thing left to do was wear a fine piece of jewelry for that evening (a diamond necklace borrowed from Madame Forestier). After arriving to the ball, Mat admired her, and she had a glorious...
Words: 674 - Pages: 3
...In the short story “The Necklace” written by Guy de Maupassant, Maupassant writes a story about a woman who has a middle class social status but longs to live a luxurious lifestyle. Through the entire story Mathilde is displeased with the way she has to live her life as a middle class woman. Mathline character in “The Necklace” changes drastically throughout the story as being ungrateful, to satisfied, then finally distressed. Mathilde was born to a family of clerks and was married to a hardworking middle class clerk in town. In everything she does, it seems that she is never pleased, and feels she deserves more than just a middle class lifestyle. Maupassant wrote that,” She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. She...
Words: 734 - Pages: 3
...The Necklace Around the world, values are expressed differently. Some people think that life is about the little things that make them happy. Others feel the opposite way and that expenses are the way to live. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”, Madame Loisel, a beautiful woman, lives in a wonderful home with all the necessary supplies needed to live. However, she is very unhappy with her life. She feels she deserves a much more expensive and materialistic life than what she has. After pitying herself for not being the richest of her friends, she goes out and borrows a beautiful necklace from an ally. But as she misplaces the closest thing she has to the life she dreams of and not telling her friend about the mishap, she could have set herself aside from ten years of work. This is a story that shows the true irony in life. “The Necklace” ends up to be a very ironic story as it explains why valuing the more important things in life can be very effective towards a person’s happiness. One example of the story’s irony is when she is at the party dressed as a beautiful and fancy woman. ‘She danced madly, wildly, drunk with pleasure, giving no thought to anything in the triumph of her beauty, the pride of her success…’ .(Maupassant) This is a form of irony because Guy explains earlier that Mme. Loisel is just a middle class woman who dreams of a wealthy life, but she is just alluding herself as a luxurious woman. Another example of irony in the story is when Madame...
Words: 1335 - Pages: 6
...“The Necklace” Literary Analysis In the short story “The Necklace,” Guy de Maupassant uses literary devices such as situational irony and symbolism in order to effectively convey the theme of deceptiveness of appearances. Mathlide Loisel, who was born in a family of clerks and desires to be a member of the elite class, blames the mistake of destiny for her place in society. She longs to live a life of leisure and luxury, but this urge to appear wealthy ultimately makes her and her husband worse of financially than they were before. With the use of irony, Maupassant illustrates how excessive pride can mangle and deteriorate the lives of people who obsess over wealth and physical appearances. Guy de Maupassant uses symbolism to describe a deeper meaning behind the fake necklace, which would be the division between appearance and reality. In “The Necklace,” it is clear to the readers that Mathilde cannot come to terms with her place in the middle class. She’s the wife to a clerk, who can provide her with a modest lifestyle. Although she is aware that she cannot escape this position, she refuses to accept it. The first instance of irony is when Mathilde begins to daydream and fanaticize. She is a “pretty and charming” girl who thinks that she is “born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries.” Destiny however placed her in the middle class, where she cannot afford these materialistic items. The only way she can be a part of a more elite class was through her own imagination....
Words: 1327 - Pages: 6
...Compare and Contrast Gift of the Magi and The Necklace Deanna Pennington Eng125 Journey into Literature Instructor Carter September 28, 2014 There are many differences in The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry and The Diamond Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant, there are also various similarities. Some of the similarities include being set around the same time of year, winter, both set at the turn of century, both couples have the same economic situation, both couples love each other, both couples made sacrifices and the pride shown in both stories. The differences are what stands out the most, Mathilde is selfish and only thinks of herself, Della and instead of just bemoaning their lack of funds figure out a ways to get each other a gift for Christmas, Mathilde lies to her friend about the necklace. Although there are many similarities and differences, these are just a few. Both stories are set in the winter, this is made obvious in both stories by certain passages. In The Gift of the Magi we know that Della is trying to by a Christmas gift for Jim. “One dollar and eighty seven cent. And the next day would be Christmas” (Henry, 1906). In The Diamond Necklace, we are left to draw the conclusion that it is winter with the date of the ball being January 18th. “The Minister of Public Instruction and Madame Ramponneau request the honor of M. and Madame Loisel at the palace of the Ministry on Monday evening January 18th” (de Maupassant, 1884). The time of year in The Gift of the...
Words: 2472 - Pages: 10
...08/04/15 Literary Analysis of “The Necklace” In the short story of “The Necklace,” Guy De Maupassant narrates about a woman who just cannot seem to be happy and dreams about being rich. Maupassant uses imagery and symbolism to convey his theme as well as the value of a false materialism in the story. The narrator uses the necklace as a symbol to show us the biggest deception of appearances. At the story’s heart is a masterful depiction of the protagonist, Loisel Mathilde. She is a young, beautiful, charming, materialistic, discontent and snobbish lady. Mathilde agrees to marry a clerk at the Ministry of Public Instruction, who always tries to make her happy. Mathilde cares very much about beautiful things and appearances that, in fact, do not match with her reality. She borrows a necklace and loses it, and then spends ten years of hard life paying back the cost of the lost necklace. Maupassant shows ironic situation by using a necklace as a symbol to illustrate Mathilde’s obsession with wealth and her dishonesty, which cause her downfall in the story. The protagonist, Mathilde, lives in middle-class society but longs to be a member of high-class society. She spends most of her time envying everybody with a sweeter life than her own. Maupassant narrates that Mathilde has a little peasant girl who works in her house and washes the dishes and does other housework; this...
Words: 1636 - Pages: 7
...De Maupassant’s and Dahl’s Methods of Theme Dalai Lama, the Tibetan leader, once said that “appearance is something absolute, but reality is not that way.”This quote brings to light the theme that appearances can be deceiving, a theme in many stories. With their utilization of symbolism and figurative language, Guy de Maupassant in “Lamb to the Slaughter,” and Roald Dahl in “The Necklace,” convey the theme that looks can be deceiving. In both of these stories there are several examples of these authors using symbolism to convey the theme. After the party, in “The Necklace”, where Madame Loisel wore the necklace, de Maupassant said that “Madame Loisel was a success. She was the prettiest woman present”(de Maupassant 4). In this part of the...
Words: 536 - Pages: 3
...The technique de Maupassant uses is seen as naturalistic, as in his habit of observing his characters from the outside and not from the inside: "The characters in 'The Necklace,' and there are only three, are viewed externally, being as it were characters in a drama rather than a prose fiction" (Adamson). At the party, she is the most popular woman there, and she believes it is because she has managed to acquire a good enough dress and the pearls she wears. The sees the necklace as a necessity to prove her own value. She must wear something of great value to be of great value herself. She does not see that her popularity is because of her beauty and charm, things that are inherent to her and that she has not made use of because she believes she cannot dress as well as she should: She dressed plainly because she could not dress well, but she was as unhappy as though she had really fallen c=6&stab=512&ai=59015&ste=16&docNum=H1420005411&bConts=16047&tab=2&vrsn=3&ca=1&tbst=arp&ST=maupassant%2C+guy+de&srchtp=athr&n=10&locID=longbeach&OP=contains. Pierce, Jason. "An overview of 'The Necklace.'" Exploring Short Stories Detroit: Gale Research, 1998: http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/LitRC?c=13&stab=512&ai=59015&ste=16&docNum=H1420005948&bConts=16047&tab=2&vrsn=3&ca=1&tbst=arp&ST=maupassant%2C+guy+de&srchtp=athr&n=10&locID=longbeach&OP=contains. Sosnoff, Martin. "False Values." Forbes 157(11)(3 jUNE 1996), 180. Steegmuller, Francis. Maupassant: A Lion in the Path. ...
Words: 277 - Pages: 2
...A Comparison of Two Stories with the Same Theme Angela Baer ENG 125: Introduction to Literature Instructor Hinton September, 3, 2013 In comparing two short stories that include similar themes such as Country Lovers (1975) by Nadine Gordimer and The Necklace (1884) by Guy de Maupassant; it is apparent that not only do they share the same theme of gender roles and marriage they also share the underlying theme of prejudice and stereotyping as well. Both women in these stories marry within their socioeconomic caste and race. However, both women also suffer from prejudice, whether by their hand or the hand of someone else. It is a struggle of women that has been handed down through the ages. The fact that these two stories Country Lovers (1975) and The Necklace (1884) were written almost a century apart and contain the same theme proves this plight for equality of women. Country Lovers (1975) by Nadine Gordimer not only deals with gender roles and arranged marriages but also with racism. This underlying theme of racism is not surprising; since Gordimer lived in South Africa during the apartheid movement. Ms. Gordimer was very much against this socioeconomic movement and included this tone in her writing (Clugston, 2010). Ms. Gordimer once wrote that the importance of great literature is its power to change the consciousness of the reader even if they are unaware it had been done (Gordimer, 2001).This idea is what she wished to accomplish with her writings. She...
Words: 2806 - Pages: 12
...ESSAY: SETTING OF “THE NECKLACE” "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant tells of a vain, narcissistic middle-class housewife – Mathilde Loisel who longed for the aristocratic lifestyle that she believed she deserved. The price she pays for a single evening of elegance turns into years of drudgery and despair. This is a meaningful story that is as relevant today as when Maupassant wrote it in the late nineteenth century because of its characters. That makes meaning and beauty for the characters is the setting: the place, the time and the social environment. The story is set in Paris, magical and glamorous city of lights. The name “Paris” and the name of its famous river “Seine” are called in “The necklace” with the detail that Mathilde and her husband walked toward the Seine and finally found on the quay one of those nocturnal coupés one finds only in Paris after dark. Paris is the city which famous for romantic Seine river, wealth, ladies in the most glamorous and expensive dresses and elegant balls. Like other citizens of magnificent Paris, the main character – Mathilde Loisel – likes these beauties. She dreams to be wealthy, to be lady from high social position and to join in elegant balls in spite of the fact that she is only a narcissistic middle-class housewife and cannot have such luxury life. That is Mathilde’s own tragedy. Next, the time of “the necklace” is about the 1880s or so, around the time Maupassant wrote it. One of the clues for the...
Words: 559 - Pages: 3
...In the late 1800’s, two writers with very different backgrounds, wrote surprisingly similar stories. Guy de Maupassant was born in France and was largely known for his work in short stories. O. Henry, born a little later than de Maupassant, was a southern American writer who also specialized in short stories. Both were known for ending their stories with unexpected plot twists. Two of these stories, The Necklace by Maupassant and Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry have very different settings and characters however several aspects of the stories show remarkable similarities. In both of these stories the main characters make a decision that looks like it will help them but something goes wrong the decision puts them in a situation worse than...
Words: 555 - Pages: 3
...An Analysis of “The Necklace” Some people will lie and go to great lengths to try and appear to be something they really aren’t without considering that embracing who they truly are is far more important. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story “The Necklace” placed in France during 1800’s, things were not much different. During this time, France was a city ruled by classicism. At that time, wealth was seen to be essential, and social class was even more so. A person could be very wealthy and have luxurious things, but none of that mattered unless they were considered upper-class in society. In this story, De Maupassant develops a young and beautiful working class woman who desires a more luxurious lifestyle and sees it as something she absolutely needs to truly be happy. She constantly despised her husband’s plainness, and his satisfaction towards the basic life they lived. She felt as if she deserved more than the life she was wrongfully born into. One night she borrowed a friend’s beautiful diamond necklace for a party only to misplace it. She couldn’t bare the idea of telling her friend how she lost her necklace, so she used the money her husband’s father had left him and borrowed from wherever else her and her husband could to buy another diamond necklace. It took her husband and her ten years to pay off this unnecessary debt. When she finally had the courage to tell her friend the truth after the debt was finally paid, she found out the necklace was an imitation. Madame Loisel...
Words: 954 - Pages: 4
...the short story, “The Necklace,” Guy de Maupassant illustrates a dynamic character. The author illustrates: Her tastes were simple because she had never been able to afford any other, but she was as unhappy as though she had married beneath her [....][…] She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury.[…]All these things, of which other women of her class would not even have been aware, tormented and insulted her. […]The day of the party arrived. Madame Loisel was a success[….][…]Madame Loisel came to know the ghastly life of abject poverty. […]She came to know the heavy work of the house, the hateful duties of the kitchen. […]And, clad like a poor woman, she went to the fruiterer, to the grocer, to the butcher, a basket on her arm, haggling, insulted, fighting for every wretched halfpenny of her money. (de Maupassant) This quote describes a drastic change in the protagonist, the author narrates “She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury.” She lives in an illusionary world where her actual life does not match the ideal life she has in her head; she believes that her beauty and charm makes her worthy of greater things. “The day of the party arrived. Madame Loisel was a success” The party is a triumph because for the first time, her appearance matches the reality of her life. She is prettier than the other women, sought after by the men, and generally admired and flattered by all. (de Maupassant) Her life is as she...
Words: 733 - Pages: 3
