The necklace free essay sample

This short story is centered on Mathilde Loisel, a charming and beautiful young woman who was born in a less fortunate economic status. She met a young man from the Ministry of Education who would provide her with a very modest lifestyle. She was very dedicated to the concept of marriage, but often fantasizes of a grand elaborate dinners served on fine china and eating in the company of well to do friends. Grand thoughts of this nature captivated her thoughts on a daily basis and motivated her self-esteem. This paper will display how Mathilde Loisel was driven by her fantasies to be wealthy and a part of the aristocratic society in her daily life. Mathilde Loisel has one wealthy friend by the name of Madame Forestier, but she avoids visiting with her because of the disappointment it will bring. Her husband realized her dilemma to be a part of aristocratic society and presented her one night with an invitation to a party held by the Ministry of Education. We will write a custom essay sample on The necklace or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His intent was that Mathilde would be ecstatic about the opportunity to attend the gala, but instead she became immediately distressed, and broke down in tears. She began to tell him her reason for her reaction and communicated that she did not possess that appropriate clothing for such an event. Also, she felt that he should give the invitation to someone else who can better afford to wear better clothing. Alarmed by her response, her husband asked, â€Å"How much a suitable dress would cost?† (Maupassant, 1989). After careful deliberation, he communicated to her that he would come up with the sum of 400 francs in order to purchase the dress. As time progressed, her mannerisms began to change and now she focused on her lack of jewels for the party. Initially her husband asked, why not wear flowers, but she emphatically resisted. So he made the suggestion, why not borrow some jewels from Madame Forestier and see if she would agree to lend them to her on a temporary basis. Much to the surprise of Mathilde, Madame Forestier agreed, and loaned her the jewels; she chose a diamond necklace. She was so elated by the generosity of Madame Forestier that she was overcome with gratitude. When the gala commenced, Mathilde  felt that she was the most beautiful woman at the event and everyone’s eyes were glued to her. She was overwhelmed with attention and floored by her sense of satisfaction. Once the event was over, Monsieur Loisel; garnered a cab and returned home. When Mathilde arrived home, she uncloaked her wrap and realized the necklace was gone from her neck. After several hours of searching, her husband returned in a great panic citing that he had not found the necklace. Subsequently he communicated to her, â€Å"write to Madame Forestier and say that she has broken the clasp or the necklace and is getting it mended.† (Maupassant, 1989). After a week of searching for the necklace, the two surmised that the best course of action was to replace the necklace. Instead of asking Madame Forestier the cost of the necklace as to not alarm her of its disappearance, they proceeded to visit with an abundance of jewelers until they were able to find a reasonable facsimile. The cost of the necklace was 40,000 francs, but the jeweler was gracious enough to part with it for 36,000 francs. Monsier Loisel worked feverishly to locate the money to purchase the necklace. After purchasing the necklace, Mathilde returned the jeweled piece to Madame Forestier. Much to Madame Forestier’s dismay, it had taken so long for Mathilde to return the necklace, and she never inspected the piece. Mathilde was relieved that she did not take the time to look. The Loisels initiated a long life of poverty based on their attempt to replace the necklace. They were forced to move to a lesser size apartment, take on extra jobs, and heavy housework for the next ten years. Over time Mathilde’s beauty had diminished and the many years of hardship had taken its toll. While out for a stroll, she spotted Madame Forestier and Mathilde reminded of their acquaintance; attempted to explain the dilemma with her necklace. Finally, Madame Forestier explained to her that the piece she had given her was just a piece of costume jewelry. Based on the issues in this short story there was much to be learned. The Loisels should have communicated that the piece of jewelry was lost between the function and the ride home. The two parties should have engaged in dialogue to search for the best course of action to resolve the situation amicably. Instead, they proceeded with what they thought was the best course of action. The intent cost them what seemed to be a lifetime of grief and misery over what was later revealed to be costume jewelry. In closing, I have demonstrated how aspirations on a small scale can become a catastrophe  caused by lack of communication and a lack of self-esteem. It cost Madame Matilde Loisel and Mousier Loisel many years of hardship and beauty for something she could have averted. Reaching for things in life that are above your means can be costly if you are not careful. It may cost you your soul if you are not careful. The Necklace free essay sample ‘The Necklace† is a popular story. Discuss the features that make the necklace a popular story. â€Å"The Necklace† by Guy de Maupassant is a well-known short story around the world. It was first published in the Paris newspaper Le Gaulois on February 17, 1884. The Necklace† features a young, beautiful woman in a social situation that she finds distasteful. Mathilde Loisel attempts to escape her social situation in life, but her scheming actions ultimately doom her. Some of the features that make this short story popular are an ironical beginning and ending, the third person narration style, climax and relevant themes. In this short story the author uses an ironical beginning and ending to contribute to success. Irony occurs when we predict about the happenings in a story, then the story takes a turn and the complete opposite of the prediction occurs. Guy de Maupassant uses ironical situations in his story to retain his readers interest. We will write a custom essay sample on The Necklace or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For example, in the first paragraph he uses irony, â€Å"With no dowry, no prospects, no possibility of becoming known, appreciated, loved, of finding a wealthy and distinguished husband. And so she settled for a petty clerk in the Ministry of Education. † This quote is situational irony because when the author uses the words prosperous and famous, the reader would expect the husband to be much more then just a minor clerk. The largest use of irony was in the last sentence of the story. â€Å"Madame Foreister, deeply moved, took hold Madame Loisel’s hands. ‘Oh, my poor Mathilde! My necklace was paste. It was worth at most five hundred francs! ’†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The author surprises the reader very much by having the twist at the end of the story. The reader would expect Madame Foreister to be angry with Mathilde, for not telling her the truth earlier, but she is surprised to hear that Mathilde and her husband had spent ten years repaying their debts for buying the real, thirty-six thousand francs necklace to replace only a fake. Therefore, the use of irony in this story does serve its purpose. Secondly the style of a third person narration was an influential feature in making this story popular. â€Å"The Necklace is fully told by a third-person who avoids judging the characters or any of their actions. The narrator does have access to the characters thoughts, and mentions that Madame Loisel is unhappy because she feels that she married below her status. But for the most part, the narrator simply describes the events of the story, leaving it up to the reader to determine the nature of the characters through their actions. â€Å"Now one evening, her husband came home exuberantly, clutching a large envelope. â€Å" Look,† he said, â€Å"here’s something for you. † She ripped it open and pulled out a printed card bearing these words: † Most of all, the narrator is concerned with Madame Loisel. Though most of the story concerns the events surrounding the ball, the narrator recounts her birth into a humble family, her marriage, and also the many years of poverty they suffer afterward as a result of losing the necklace. â€Å"Madame Loisel now knew the horrible life of necessity. However, she did her part, thoroughly, heroically. The ghastly debt had to be re-paid. She would repay it. They dismissed the maid; they moved to a garret. She performed the gross household task † This skillful narration into a simply presented story makes the story popular and interesting. It also enables the author to maintain the suspense of the story to keep the reader thinking till the last word. Moreover, climax is yet another crucial feature that effectively contributes to the popularity of the story â€Å"The Necklace†. The climax is the turning point in a story. In the Short story ‘The Necklace’ there are two major turning points. First, when the main character Mathilde realizes that she had lost the Necklace. â€Å"She turned toward him, panic – stricken: â€Å"I †¦ I†¦I don’t have Madame Forestier’s necklace. † † This particular incident raises a major conflict in the story as it further worsens the main characters family tatus. Second climax and the most interesting turning point occurs when the worn out woman learns that she has spent ten years buying a diamond necklace to replace a costume jewelry one. â€Å" Oh, my poor Mathilde! My necklace was paste. It was worth at most five hundred francs! † † Therefore, by employing two major climaxes in this story â€Å"The Necklace†, Guy De Maupassant has certainly made the story an exciting and a worthwhile one. Furthermore, as in any literature there are many relevant themes that the writer Guy De Maupassant portrays in this short story. The first theme that I would like to discuss is materialism. Guy De Maupassant in the short story â€Å"The Necklace,† portrays how most of us live in a materialistic world. Many people in society live a life similar to that of Mathilde’s. Maupassant presents how materialism can be deceiving through the sorrows and trouble of Mathilde for not being wealthy even though she lived a prosperous life. We in our daily lives also come across many people who are not happy with what they have, even though they are very fortunate. Thus issue is very relevant to the individuals on our society, just like the characters of â€Å"The Necklace†. Every person here always has something to look up to in a material world of theirs. Secondly another major theme used in this story to make it popular is appearances and reality. In the story The Necklace Guy De Manhassant’s present’s the theme â€Å"beauty is truth, truth is beauty. Madame Loisel is beautiful, but she is not content. She has the appearance of beauty but not the reality (or truth) of beauty. She is pretty and charming, but she is also unhappy with her life and believes that she deserves more. Living modestly with her husband before the ball, Madame Loisel believes she is suffering a terrible injustice by having few luxuries. In fact, she does not experience the reality of poverty until she and her husband go into debt to pay off the necklace. The necklace itself represents the theme of appearances versus reality. It also portrays that the society accepts the appearance is our real self while in reality it is not the true reflection of us. For instance at the ball everyone was able to notice her because of her appearance. â€Å"All the men gazed at her, asked for her name, and tried to get introduced. All the cabinet attaches wanted to waltz with her. The minister noticed her. † It was all because of her outside appearance and not the inner beauty that lied in her. Thus, the use of relevant themes has contributed greatly in the success of this short story as through these themes the readers are able to relate the story to their life and therefore improve their life for the betterment. Finally all these and many other features of this short story have made it popular.