Comparing the Grandmother in The Necklace and A Good Man is Hard to Find

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The Grandmother in The Necklace and A Good Man is Hard to Find

The main characters Mrs. Loisel in "The Necklace" and the grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" are very similar because both these characters refused to admit to a mistake that they had made. They both had the same motivation prior to the mistake and they also had the same reason as to why they wanted to keep quiet about it. Although Mrs. Lisle's and the grandmother's penalties were different, it is still fair to compare the two because either way, dead or alive, both their lives were ruined.

Mrs. Loisel and the grandmother are very similar due to the fact that they both had the same motivation prior to their accident. It was a selfish motivation that cost them their lives. Mrs. Loisel's character was selfish in "The Necklace" because instead of wearing flowers like her husband suggested, she chose to borrow her friend's jewelry. "You can wear some natural flowers. At this season they look very chic. For ten francs you can have two or three magnificent roses. 'No, she replied, there is nothing more humiliating than to have a shabby air in the midst of rich women.'" (67) This is truly an act of selfishness on Mrs. Loisel's part. If she wouldn't have been so arrogant, she could have just worn the flowers to the party and it would have saved her a lot of trouble.

The grandmother's character in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is also very selfish in her motivations. She felt she had to lie to her son, daughter-in-law and her grandchildren in order for her to be able to see that nice house again. "'There was a secret panel in this house' she said craftily, not telling the truth but wishing that she were, 'and the story went that all the family sil...

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... comparable because like I illustrated before, they were both selfish people.

All in all, these two characters were very similar. They both had the same selfish motivations. They both wanted something, and they didn't care what they did to get it. They also had the same reasons for keeping their secrets quiet, they were afraid of embarrassment. And in the end they both ruined their lives. Mrs. Loisel had to be a hard working woman for 10 years, which really took a toll on her. The grandmother was killed, as well as the rest of her family. If Mrs. Loisel and the grandmother would have told the truth from the start none of this would have happened. But now, just like most everyone in life, they were forced to pay the consequences for doing something wrong. Even though they didn't deserve the punishment they got, I guess it was all in the "luck" of the draw.

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