Learning Through Literature: “The Necklace”
At a young age, reading was a struggle that many parents had to force their children to do, every single day. Although reading is becoming less and less popular, because of new technologies, it is still very effective and useful. As the world develops and humans begin to find other ways to get information on a culture and on the meaning of individuality, reading still proves itself the best way to learn these things. The story, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, proves that literature is the most effective way to provide readers with the best insight into French culture and the meaning of individuality through Mathilde’s journey in France.
Mathilde Loisel, a French woman who dreams of riches, goes …show more content…
The story gives the reader an inside scoop on all three social classes, the lower class, the middle class, and the upper class. Mathilde and her husband, begin in the middle class. Monsieur Loisel is happy with his status, but Mathilde is not. She strives to be in the highest class and tries to make herself appear richer than she is. She thinks that being rich is everything and is needed to be happy in life. When Mathilde gets the invitation to the ball she quickly goes to her friend in the highest class, Madame Forestier. She begs to borrow a beautiful necklace that belongs to Madame Forestier to go along with the dress that Mathilde just bought for 400 Francs, with her husbands spending money. Madame Forestier and the other women at the ball are examples of the upper class in France, while Mathilde is from the middle class. At the end of the story, Mathilde and her husband end up in the lowest class, lower than where they started, and are forced to work long hours to pay off a big debt. The story allows the reader to get a different outlook on the different social classes in France, and what it is like to be in them. In the end, Madame Loisel is struck with the reality of her lower class life which becomes worse after she must pay off a big debt for losing the necklace she …show more content…
After losing the necklace she borrowed from her friend in the highest class, Madame Loisel finally begins to learn that being rich is not the most important thing in the world because it comes with huge responsibilities and burdens. Loisel works for 10 years to pay off the replacement necklace. During this time she becomes to realize the heavy loads of work around the house such as cleaning and cooking. Reading this story provides the audience with a clear and concise example of being an individual and striving for more than what you actually are. This is a lesson that is best described in reading because the reader gets to experience the character’s choices, in this case Mathilde, and make their own interpretations on the story, unlike social media that is already created to interpret in a specific