Premium Essay

Literary Analysis of the Necklace

In:

Submitted By gelilamams
Words 1636
Pages 7
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 dishes and does other housework; this indicates that she has a decent life at the beginning. Nevertheless, Mathilde feels she deserves more in life, which allows her to be always selfish and materialistic. She dreams for material wealth and to be rich. “She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries” (par 3). Mathilde values elegance and looks for a

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Necklace: a Literary Analysis

...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

Free Essay

The Necklace vs. the Story of an Hour

...The Necklace vs. The Story of an Hour Pamela Richard ENG 125 Lesa Hadley May 11, 2012 The Necklace vs. The Story of an Hour A short story, “The Necklace” (“La parure”) written by Guy de Maupassant in 1884 and a poem, ‘The Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin in 1894 are literary works that are very comparable yet are different. The two women, Madame Mathilde Loisel and Louise Mallard, portrayed in these literary works are protagonists who have trouble because of conflicting expectations imposed on them by society. Both Mathilde Loisel and Louise Mallard want something more than what their lifestyle offers them. During the time when the authors wrote these pieces, the social behaviors showed gender suppression/oppression. This essay will compare and contrast elements of content, form, and style between two different literary works. Both authors chose the theme of gender roles in marriage. During the time when the authors wrote theses pieces, the social behaviors showed gender suppression/oppression. The nineteenth century was impacted by the industrial revolution which caused a gap in gender roles, especially in the upper and middle classes (Radek, 2001). Men and women were thought to have completely different natures. Men were considered to be powerful, brave, rational and independent. Women were considered weak, timid, emotional, and dependent. Those differences separated their functions in society. "Men were thought to have natures suited to the public...

Words: 3460 - Pages: 14

Free Essay

The Nacklace

...“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

Premium Essay

The Necklace

...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...

Words: 2467 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty vs the Necklace

...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...

Words: 1582 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Blame on Nothingness - Vertigo

...Vertigo (1958) is arguably no exception. Laura Mulvey, a vocal and influential feminist film critic, contends that Vertigo elucidates an active sadistic voyeurism of the male gaze that subjects the woman, as object-of-desire, to realize his impossible fantasy, time and again at the cost of brutish violence against her body and psychological wellness.[1] Also exploiting Freud’s theory, Tania Modleski deciphers female suffering in Vertigo as a punishment for her inherently close relationship with the mother with which the men envy.[2] In drawing on the phallocentric models of Freud and Lacan, these criticisms bear a blind spot in that they assume certain essentialist sexual development characteristics to formulate the backbone of their analysis, such as Mulvey’s reading of object-of-desire or Modleski’s draw on bisexuality. In order to fairly assess if the nature of violence in Vertigo is misogynistic, I seek a language that is not inherently phallocentric. And while Lacan offers a comparatively more structuralist framework, I find his psychological development theory inadequate to address fully the transition between development stages and the mechanism for regression, for which I perceive as very complex...

Words: 3079 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

A Rise for Emily Symbols

...All Summer in a Day Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. Critical Reading Identify the letter of the choice that best answers the question. ____ 1. What are the children doing as “All Summer in a Day” opens? |a. |They are teasing Margot. | |b. |They are reciting poetry. | |c. |They are peering out a window. | |d. |They are pushing Margot into a closet. | ____ 2. What does this passage from “All Summer in a Day” suggest about the setting? A thousand forests had been crushed under the rain and grown up a thousand times to be crushed again. And this was the way life was forever on the planet Venus. |a. |Venus was a thousand years old. | |b. |Venus had rain most of the time. | |c. |There had never been forests in Venus. | |d. |There were no forests in Venus. ...

Words: 2410 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

All Summer in a Day

...All Summer in a Day Children grow up not knowing how the world works. They don’t understand why people are different from each other, and sometimes they react to differences with jealousy or cruelty. In All Summer in a Day, by Ray Bradbury, the children are jealous and even angry with Margot because she has had experiences that they have not, and she suffers unfairly as a result. You could write a literary analysis about the Figurative Language in this story: The children pressed together LIKE so many roses, so many weeds intermixed. Simile They were remembering gold or a yellow crayon or a coin large enough to build the world with. Metaphor They always awoke to the tatting drum, the endless snaking of clear bead necklaces upon the roof. Metaphor They turned on themselves, like a feverish wheel, all fumbling spokes. Simile She was an old photograph dusted from an album, whitened away and if she spoke at all her voice would be a ghosts. Metaphor It’s like a penny. Simile The great jungle that covered Venus, that grew and never stopped growing, tumultuously, even as you watched it. It was a nest of octopi, clustering up great arms of fleshlike week, wavering, flowering in this brief spring. Metaphor You could write an essay about what Ray Bradbury is saying about mob mentality in "All Summer and a Day". "All Summer in a Day" shows Margot, the quiet, invisible outcast of the class, being singled out by the rest of her classmates, after telling...

Words: 1288 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Theme and Analysis

...Topic: Medium-stakes assignment   Order code: 81586685 | | | | | | Pages: | 1, Double spaced | Sources: | 1 | Style: | APA | | Order type: | Coursework | Subject: | English | Academic level: | Not specified | | | Language: | English (U.S.) | | Order Description The English class that I am taking right now is a bit different with other college level English classes. Before you start working on my assignment, I want you to read the course description of my class. Course Description: Texting the World brings together literary and nonliterary texts and considers how the same theme plays through them via analysis, evaluation, and creation of said texts. This particular section of ENG 200 is devoted to the theme of The Sea. Artists and writers have long found inspiration from the sea. In this course, we’ll examine representations of the sea throughout history, with an emphasis on contemporary and classical literature, as well as art, poetry, scholarship, and film. Through reading, writing, and discussion, we’ll consider the ways the sea, and what it encompasses and represents, can allow artists and writers to explore the human condition and show us something about our own values, attitudes, and beliefs. Assignments are designed to help you use writing as a learning tool and to improve your written communication abilities. You will be asked to complete a variety of low-, medium-, and high-stakes assignments, including informal writing tasks...

Words: 1659 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Bad Break-Ups and Madness: a Natural Connection

...Bad Break-ups and Madness: A Natural Connection Bryan Pi FRLT 46 Prof. Loucif Bryan Pi FRLT 46 Final Paper Bad Break-ups and Madness: A Natural Connection Sexuality and romance form a very strong bond between people that goes far deeper than a mere sexual attraction. When two people fall in love or even start engaging in sexual behavior, an attachment is formed that is very powerful and can stray how our minds function. In many cases, after engaging in sexual intercourse, our brains are tricked into believing that a person is perfect for us and that it can only be this person that we may fall in love with. We become infatuated with our lover and even obsess over them in their absence. When we are with them, we can't stop thinking about how perfect the situation is. When we are apart from them, we think about nothing else but the next time we will see them. We think about what our partner is doing when they're away and worrying about if they are okay. A separation from our partners for long periods of time causes our minds to think of nothing else but whether or not they are finding love elsewhere. This anxiety is the direct result of this separation and is a major contributor to the development of mental illnesses. It is not always a physical distance between these people that defines this separation. Quite often, a couple can still be living under the same roof but also feel this separation in a more emotional sense. This can be in the form of a distraction...

Words: 2723 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Good Essay

...Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Advanced Placement English III First Six Weeks – Introductory Activities: ▪ Class rules, expectations, procedures ▪ Students review patterns of writing, which they will imitate throughout the course: reflection, narration and description, critical analysis, comparison and contrast, problem and solution, and persuasion and argument. ▪ Students review annotation acronyms, how to do a close reading, literary elements and rhetorical devices. Students also review the SOAPSTONE (subject, occasion, audience, purpose, speaker, tone, organization, narrative style and evidence) strategy for use in analyzing prose and visual texts along with three of the five cannons of rhetoric: invention, arrangement and style. ▪ Students learn the format of the AP test, essay rubric and essay structure. ▪ Students take a full-length AP test for comparison purposes in the spring. Reading: The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne Writing: Answer the following question in one paragraph. Use quotes from the novel as evidence. Some readers believe that the elaborate decoration that Hester embroiders on the scarlet letter indicates her rejection of the community’s view of her act. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your position using evidence from the text. (test grade) Writing: Write a well-developed essay addressing the following prompt. Document all sources using MLA citation. Compare Hester to a modern...

Words: 3064 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Joy Luck Club

...[pic] Chinese Traditional Woman Image --- the Chinese Mother in Joy Luck Club by 陆婉霖 A thesis presented to the School of English Studies of Xi’an International Studies University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts May 18, 2011 Class: 2007-19 Advisor: 常莉 西安外国语大学 毕 业 论 文 开 题 报 告 |姓名 |陆婉霖 |性别 |女 |班级 |2007-19 |学号 |0701011921 | |论文题目: | |Chinese Traditional Woman Image --- the Chinese Mother in Joy Luck Club | |《喜福会》中中国式母亲体现出的中国传统女性形象 | |任务起止日期: 2010 年9 月1 日 至 2011 年 5 月27日 | |论文主要内容及参考文献: | |本文从跨文化交际和文学的角度对谭恩美的小说《喜福会》进行了分析。通过认知解读传统文化中的女性角色以及书中主人公的遭遇,使读者理解| |书中上一代母亲们的自我认知历程以及在此过程中所形成的价值观。文中展现了四个母亲和四个女儿的成长背景及人物性格,概述了每个人物所| |经历的不同境遇,分析了单独事件的文化原因及影响,从而呈现出典型的中国传统女性形象。文章从不同角度举出例子概括这一普遍的社会现象| |并且分析了母女冲突的原因并且从积极的角度对其结果给予了分析与展望。 | |参考文献: ...

Words: 6293 - Pages: 26

Free Essay

Essay

...[pic] JPPSS ELA COURSE GUIDE 2011-2012 ENGLISH I The JPPSS Instructional Sequence Guides are aligned with the LA Comprehensive Curriculum. JPPSS Implementation of Activities in the Classroom Incorporation of activities into lesson plans is critical to the successful implementation of the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum. The Comprehensive Curriculum indicates one way to align instruction with Louisiana standards, benchmarks, and grade-level expectations. The curriculum is aligned with state content standards, as defined by grade-level expectations (GLEs), and organized into coherent, time-bound units with sample activities and classroom assessments to guide teaching and learning. The units in the curriculum have been arranged so that the content to be assessed will be taught before the state testing dates. While teachers may substitute equivalent activities and assessments based on the instructional needs, learning styles, and interests of their students, the Comprehensive Curriculum should be a primary resource when planning instruction. Grade level expectations—not the textbook—should determine the content to be taught. Textbooks and other instructional materials should be used as resource in teaching the grade level expectations...

Words: 21740 - Pages: 87

Premium Essay

Prose Fiction

...the English Language Education KLA and Cross KLA Links 3.4 Time Allocation 3.5 Progression of Studies 3.6 Managing the Curriculum – Role of Curriculum Leaders Chapter 4 1 2 2 3 3 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 21 Learning and Teaching 4.1 Approaches to Learning and Teaching 4.1.1 Introductory Comments 4.1.2 Prose Fiction 4.1.3 Poetry i 21 21 23 32 SECOND DRAFT 4.1.4 Drama 4.1.5 Films 4.1.6 Literary Appreciation 4.1.7 Schools of Literary Criticism 4.2 Catering for Learner Diversity 4.3 Meaningful Homework 4.4 Role of Learners Chapter 5 41 45 52 69 71 72 73 74 Assessment 5.1 Guiding Principles 5.2 Internal Assessment 5.2.1 Formative Assessment 5.2.2 Summative Assessment 5.3 Public Assessment 5.3.1 Standards-referenced Assessment 5.3.2 Modes of Public Assessment 74 74 74 75 77 77 77 Quality Learning and Teaching Resources 104 6.1 Use of Set Texts 6.2 Use of Other Learning and Teaching Resources 104 108 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 109 Supporting Measures 7.1 Learning and Teaching Resource Materials 7.2 Professional Development 109 109 Appendix 1 Examples of Poetry Analysis 110 Appendix 2 Examples of...

Words: 41988 - Pages: 168

Premium Essay

Summary of as You Like It

...wrestler to a bloody pulp. Orlando's wrestling skillz catch the eye of a local girl named Rosalind, who has her own family drama to worry about. (Ros is the daughter of Duke Senior, who used to rule over the French court but was overthrown by his snaky, backstabbing brother, Duke Frederick. Because Rosalind's dad is living in exile in the Forest of Arden, Rosalind has been crashing at the palace with her BFF/cousin, Celia. Did we mention that Celia is the daughter of snaky, backstabbing Duke Frederick? And you thought your family had issues…) Rosalind thinks Orlando is the dreamiest boy she's ever laid eyes on and Orlando feels the same way about her. The two fall in love faster than you can make Ramen noodles. Rosalind gives Orlando her necklace, which means the two are officially an item. Things go downhill from there. Orlando finds out that his big brother Oliver is planning to burn his house down (with Orlando in it), so he runs away...

Words: 7831 - Pages: 32