...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...
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...Critical Review “The Gift of Magi” and “The Necklace” Short stories, "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Necklace", by O. Henry and Guy de Maupassant, have many similarities and differences. These stories deal with love, greed, and envy. “The Necklace” shows that some things one wants may not be the things that one needs and “The Gift of Magi” by O. Henry shows that some people will give up their most prized possessions for the one they love. One main difference between these two stories is that in “The Gift of Magi” the couple are selfless, but in “The Necklace” Mathilde is selfish. She is known as social-climbing and vain woman who is unsatisfied with her life. She lives with a low-ranking husband and she ends up with debt because she lost a necklace she borrowed that ended up as just imitation. However, in “The Gift of Magi”, the two just want to make each other happy. They sacrifice some of their treasured belongings just to give each other gifts. In essence, they’re trying to make each other happy and Mathilde is only trying to please herself. A major similarity is the pride. Both couples could have saved themselves an immense amount of sacrifice and grief if they weren’t so prideful. The Youngs, are not capable of buying each other gifts but will not admit it. They don’t take a second to think before giving away sentimental items for gifts. The Loisels, on the other hand, have a larger amount of issues related to this. From the beginning Mathilde was described as a...
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...The Gift of Magi and Necklace Comparative Essay March 5, 2015 When you compare and contrast it can lead up to having antonyms or synonyms. Two characters and two short stories that have their similarities and differences is Della in The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry and Mathilde in The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant. It is said that all women like to shop and look fabulous and with Della and Mathilde they both want an accessory they cannot afford, but Della wants to use her possession in a thoughtful way and Mathilde wants to use her possession in a selfish way. Also Mathilde makes everyone sacrifice but in the end she has to sacrifice while with Della, she sacrifices to show her companion how much he is loved. ”She was ransacking the stores for Jim’s present.” (Henry 352). Mathilde in order to get one of the many necessities she wants, she makes her husband sacrifice the money that he wants to save up for himself on her. “ Finally she answered,’ I’m not sure exactly, but I think with four hundred francs I could manage it.’ He turned a bit pale, he had set aside just that amount to buy a rifle so that the following summer, he could join some friends who were getting up a group to shoot larks on the plain near Nanterre.” (Guy De Maupassant 200). Whereas Della sacrifices her most prized item, her hair, to raise money to purchase a gold watch chain for her lover, which he had been wanting for a long time. “She got out her curling irons and lighted the...
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...The Necklace Summary How It All Goes Down At the beginning of the story, we meet Mathilde Loisel, a middle-class girl who desperately wishes she were wealthy. She's got looks and charm, but had the bad luck to be born into a family of clerks, who marry her to another clerk (M. Loisel) in the Department of Education. Mathilde is so convinced she's meant to be rich that she detests her real life and spends all day dreaming and despairing about the fabulous life she's not having. She envisions footmen, feasts, fancy furniture, and strings of rich young men to seduce. One day M. Loisel comes home with an invitation to a fancy ball thrown by his boss, the Minister of Education. M. Loisel has gone to a lot of trouble to get the invitation, but Mathilde's first reaction is to throw a fit. She doesn't have anything nice to wear, and can't possibly go! How dare her husband be so insensitive? M. Loisel doesn't know what to do, and offers to buy his wife a dress, so long as it's not too expensive. Mathilde asks for 400 francs, and he agrees. It's not too long before Mathilde throws another fit, though, this time because she has no jewels. So M. Loisel suggests she go see her friend Mme. Forestier, a rich woman who can probably lend her something. Mathilde goes to see Mme. Forestier, and she is in luck. Mathilde is able to borrow a gorgeous diamond necklace. With the necklace, she's sure to be a stunner. The night of the ball arrives, and Mathilde has the time of her life. Everyone...
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...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 Magi is told to the reader in the first passage, whereas the time of year in The Diamond Necklace is alluded to by the invitation that is given to Monsieur Loisel...
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...character is one who does not change throughout the story; and, along those lines, a dynamic character is one whose ideals or personal mantras change because of circumstances or events extending from the plot. Thus. when analyzing Maupassant's leading male character in "The Necklace," one must ask the question if Mr. Loisel's character changes from the beginning of the story to the end. Mr. Loisel does not, in fact, seem to change. Life's circumstances due to the poor choices of his wife force him to endure ten years of hardship and sacrifice, but he remains stable to what his character represents throughout the story. Mr. Loisel, although the bread winner of his marriage, places his wife's desires above their own financial means; as a result, they suffer financial ruin for many years. The story ends after the ironic ending sheds light on the folly of the Loisels misfortune (due to misunderstandings and the lack of communication) so there is no evidence to suggest that either of the Loisels actually learned a lesson and changed their ideals or personal mantras. On the other hand, they did learn how to sacrifice their social lives and debt-ridden spending in order to pay back Ms. Forestier for the necklace they lost. This could be considered a type of worthy change of lifestyle in order to honor a debt. But again, there is no further evidence to show that they wouldn't fall back into their dream-filled ideals of what Madam Loisel...
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...and the mark of fortune.” (Francois).The quality of pride can be both destructive and harmless. In “The Necklace”, Mathilde Loisel proves that she is a very prideful woman. Mathilde’s prideful decisions not only affect her life, but they also affect the lives of those around her. The theme of the story, pride, is displayed in several occurrences throughout the story. The story writes, “When she sat down to dinner, before the round table covered with a tablecloth three days old, opposite her husband, who uncovered the soup tureen and declared with an enchanted air, ‘Ah, the good pot-au-feu! I don't know anything better than that,’ she thought of dainty dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestry which peopled the walls with ancient personages and with strange birds flying in the midst of a fairy forest…” (Maupassant 68). Mathilde was born a clerk’s daughter; however, she feels that she deserves more than what...
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...In 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...
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...The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant the social satire. Mathilde Loisel was a pretty woman born to be marrying a man of wealth. Mathilde in time married a little clerk who worked in the Ministry Of Education, sometimes things don’t go as planned or expected. The author does a very good job in describing the good and bad physical, moral, and emotional conflicts brought by Mathilda when she barrow the necklace from Madame Forestier. The only thing that Mathilde didn't knew was that the gorgeous necklace was an imitation. Madame Loisel receive the necklace and she felt younger and beautiful as described in the story, she already had this characteristics but never realize that beauty is something that the eyes cant see , that the hands cant touch....
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...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...
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...Haftom Wineh Eng. 112 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...
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...An ideal sought after husband in this world is often one with status. He is expected to have glorious fame or lavish fortune. However, the man with a loving and devoted character should be the most treasured. In The Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant, Monsieur Loisel is the loving husband of Mathilde Loisel. He never achieves an ideal status or accumulates any fortune, but is a very respectable man. Mr. Loisel’s humble, hardworking and loyal personality show that his type of character should be more appreciated in this world. Humility is apparent in Mr. Loisel by his unassuming attitude and simple desires. An example of Mr. Loisel’s appreciation of simplicity is most shown when he sits down to dinner and exclaims, “Ah, a good homemade beef stew! There’s nothing better,” (193). Mr. Loisel’s genuine excitement for a simple, yet tasteful dinner reveals his contentment with what he has. This is very unlike Mme. Loisel who, “visualizes elegant dinners with gleaming silver amid tapestried walls peopled by knights and ladies and exotic birds in a fairy forest/ she would think of exquisite dishes served on gorgeous china,” (193). Another example of Mr. Loisel’s humility is at the ball. Instead of partying all night and pushing the limit of capabilities like his wife, he accepts that his night of fun was over. He is found sleeping in a small, deserted sitting room at midnight. His wife on the other hand, stayed up for the whole party and left at four o’clock in the morning in...
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...Mitty VS The Necklace April Kahl ENG 125 Introduction to Literature Angela di Guaico March 3, 2014 When comparing and contrasting short stories. One should look at tone, irony, theme, symbolism, and imagination. When all these literary terms are combined they make stories. The secret Life of Walter Mitty, and The Necklace, there is similarities in gender role of the characters, but there is differences, both of these short stories represent relationships in their marriage, through the main characters, and the roles they play. In this paper I will explain the similarities as well as the differences the characters play in both stories. I chose these two stories because they both have the same theme about marriage and love. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Necklace are written in third-person narration, and throughout the two stories one person point of view it also allows you to see the dreams and thoughts of the main characters. In ‘ The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, you are given some insight to his imagination of events throughout his day of errands that his wife is having him do while she is getting her hair done at the salon. In ‘ The Necklace’, you are given some insight into Madame Loise’s unhappy and depressing life that she lives and when she is given the opportunity to go this high end event we get to see w her at the ball in her dream, in the dream she is admired as much as the necklace she borrowed...
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...Judy Blagg Mrs. Neal Comp. II 29 September 2015 Character Analysis Essay A story that has very few characters but progresses nicely is “The Necklace”. The two primary characters are Mr. Loisel and his wife, Madame Loisel. They interact with only one other named character who is a friend of Madame Loisel’s, Madame Forestier. Throughout the entire story, the main focus stays on Madame Loisel with her various moods and reactions. However, her husband deserves so much more recognition for his support, than he receives. Without the interactions of Mr. Loisel with his wife, the reader would be at a loss to as why Madame Loisel seems to be so bothered and moved. It’s easy to forget that Mr. Loisel is relevant to the story, for that is the view his wife has. Out of sight out of mind, is what appears when speaking of Mr. Loisel, yet without his support, the story would not read as smoothly. Mr. Loisel is a hard-working man who knows where he stands in society and is content with himself in his place. He is kind-hearted and seems satisfied with his life and his marriage. He goes off to work to be the bread winner for the family and then returns to who should be an adoring wife. Being faced with her constant whining and snooty comments of how mediocre her life is. Mr. Loisel is untouched by his wife’s negativity, always having a quick idea to try to appease her sour demeanor. He tries to make her feel appreciated in ways by complimenting the dinner when Madame Loisel shows disdain...
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...Sheri O'Connell ENG125: Introduction to Literature Instructor: Heather AltfeldFisher September 25, 2011 The Tale of Two Stories Thesis Statement This paper compares two short stories, "The Story of an Hour" (Chopin) and "The Necklace" (Guy de Maupassant). "How little a thing is needed for us to be lost or saved?" [ (Clugston, 2010) ]. Both stories portray two different yet alike women. Both women struggle to find their independence. Both women find trouble just when they believe they have 'succeeded' in their search. Introduction The poem “the Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is an impressive literary piece that attracts the feeling of the readers, as well as their minds. However, the story is very short and precise, but it is rich and complete, and every word of the poem has a deep thought and meaning (Charters 2003). Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" deals with a young American women's unanticipated sense of reprieve and independence upon hearing of her husband's death which enabled her to breathe the contentment during the last moments of her life with an anticipation, self esteem, and self consciousness. Mrs. Mallard's delight within her is termed as freedom in this story. (Jamil, 2009, 157) Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" deals with a young woman who struggles with wanting what she can't have and the consequences for trying to be something she is not. Mathilde struggles with her low social and economic class, she dreams of a life of leisure with servants...
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