Maupassant’s The Necklace
analytical Essay
1604 words
Mathilde Loisel lived the life of a painfully distressed woman, who always believed herself worthy of living in the upper class. Although Mathilde was born into the average middle class family, she spent her time daydreaming of her destiny for more in life... especially when it came to her financial status. Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”, tells a tale of a vain, narcissistic housewife who longed for the aristocratic lifestyle that she believed she was creditable for. In describing Mathilde’s self-serving, unappreciative, broken and fake human behaviors, de Maupassant incorporates the tragic irony that ultimately concludes in ruining her. Mathilde lives in an illusive world where her desires do not meet up to the reality of her life. She yearns for the status of being upper class, and she believes that her beauty and charm are worthy of much more. Mathilde spends her life doing everything in her power to create the dream life she has always imagined, to be beautiful, rich, and admired. Her husband provided her with a well-off lifestyle that she neglected and treated poorly due to her selfishness and greediness, and took advantage of his hard work at the first chance possible. When presented with the invitation to the party, she immediately rejects the request due to her fear of others judging her “middle class appearance”. But her loving husband offers her the hard earned money he had been saving up so she can treat herself to a brand new dress for the party. Her actions are centered around the happiness of herself, and have no good intentions towards her husband or her marriage, resulting unfortunately by portraying her true colors of being greedy and unappreciative of the little money her family had. With her... ... middle of paper ... ...re the human behaviors of an unappreciative and broken lifestyle. Together the two look up the the high class and luxury lifestyle with beliefs that they deserve to be apart of it. Taking advantage and looking past the hard working families that they come from, they force themselves to live miserable lives that others dream of. Both authors use a specific detail that the characters lives through to find happiness in their illusive lifestyles; For Mathilde is the diamond necklace, and for Paul is the escape to the theatre arts. Mathilde and Paul were both ashamed of their belongings and where they come from, but both collected joy from societies mistaken vision of the wealth that they portrayed. Although both characters had minor human behaviors that varied, Mathilde and Paul both shared the desire for the aristocratic lifestyle which fundamentally dilapidated them.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how mathilde loisel lived the life of a painfully distressed woman, who always believed herself worthy of living in the upper class. guy de maupassant's short story, "the necklace", tells her self-serving, unappreciative, broken, and fake human behaviors.
- Analyzes how mathilde lives in an illusive world where her desires do not meet up to the reality of her life. she yearns for the status of being upper class, and believes that her beauty and charm are worthy of much more.
- Analyzes how mathilde proves her cheated personality by looking down on the average life she has, and only looking up to the luxurious lifestyle of the wealthy.
- Analyzes how mathilde is forced to learn that the power of material items may be her desired interest, but cannot afford to let her craving for wealth take control of her life.
- Analyzes how mathilde's story of desire and hope for wealth portrayed her self-serving, unappreciative, broken and fake human behaviors to her husband and to society.
- Analyzes how willa cather's "paul’s case" depicts the fatal progression of deliberate seclusion that presents the unhappiness of a young man who desires for wealth.
- Analyzes how cather expresses paul's anger and resentment through descriptions of his surroundings and his neighborhood. he longs for the abstract world of upper class that he is surrounded by at the theatre.
- Analyzes how paul is stuck in a fantasy land where he views cordelia street as poverty when in reality the residents of his neighborhood are hardworking, diligent people who are successfully providing for their families.
- Analyzes how paul's job as an usher at carnegie hall allows him to indulge even further into his obsession with money. he finds himself lost in the theatre, music, and paintings.
- Analyzes how the closely told third-person narration begins by introducing the reader to the exterior world's feelings towards paul, establishing a first conception of his exclusion from his surrounding society.
- Analyzes how may have been discluded in school or from his friends/family to separate him so far from society, but as the short story continues it becomes more visible that he views himself in a completely different environment.
- Analyzes how willa cather weaves an interesting and enlightening twist of the point of view by carefully weaving a deep character whose understanding is extremely complex.
- Analyzes how the characters of mathilde and paul share the human behaviors of an unappreciated and broken lifestyle.
Related
- analytical
- The Necklace Short Story Essayanalytical essay“‘The Necklace’ is one of the most famous of Maupassant's short stories but also one of the most enigmatic” (Adamson). Guy de Maupassant was born in Normandy to wealthy parents. His childhood setting and character reflected in his fiction writing. His mother provided the characterization of slighted, overbearing women in most of his stories. The plot is about the loss of a diamond necklace by a low-ranking officials wife. She finds outs the price of a similar necklace is 36,000 francs. Madame Loisel spent 10 years paying off her debt for the necklace only to find out that the gems were paste costume jewelry instead of diamonds. Guy de Maupassant develops his theme that objects can have a perceiving power in his short story “The Necklace” through the use of characterization, symbolism, and irony.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how guy de maupassant develops his theme that objects can have a perceivable power in his short story "the necklace."
- Analyzes how guy de maupassant uses irony to provide a sense of suspense and to make the story moreinteresting. madame loisel mistakenly thought the costume jewelry necklace was an expensive diamond necklace.
- Analyzes how shirley jackson used irony to show that mme loisel wanted what she could not have and paid attention to the things nobody really cared about.
- Analyzes how symbolism is used in the story to signify how little things can play such a large role in someone's life.
- Analyzes how mathilde's husband sacrificed the money he was saving to buy his wife a dress because she wanted to look pretty at the party. mme loisel wanted high-class things that wealthy people owned.
- Analyzes how characterization is used to show the characters' personalities and how they change in the story.
- Analyzes how characterization is used to describe other characters in the story. madame forestier wanted to help madame loisel look her best at the high-end party, so she let her borrow any jewelry.
- Analyzes how guy de maupassant uses three literary elements to devise the theme in "the necklace" that objects can disappoint and trick people just by their appearance. madame loisel wants to be in the upper class and own expensive things.
907 wordsRead More - Characteristics Of Mathidle In Guy De Maupassant's The Necklaceanalytical essayIn Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace,” Mathidle is unhappy with the life she currently has. Furthermore, Mathidle is always striving to be like her “rich” friends. Even though Mathidle’s husband tries extremely hard to please Mathidle, Mathidle is always unsatisfied with her materialistic wealth in the beginning of her life. Likewise, Mathidle is an object-oriented idealist who momentarily escapes reality only to experience a tragic loss and eventually finds happiness through her journey.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how mathidle in guy de maupassant's "the necklace" is unhappy with her life and striving to be like her "rich" friends.
- Analyzes how mathidle's longing for a wealthy lifestyle shows her disappointment with her less fortunate husband.
- Analyzes how mathidle escapes reality and encounters an unfortunate loss. de maupassant reveals more of her passion for wealth and living this type of lifestyle.
- Analyzes how mathidle finds happiness within her authentic life and learns valuable life lessons. she lets go of her dreams to be in a higher social class and accepts who she really is.
- Analyzes how mathidle, the protagonist in guy de maupassant's "the necklace," cannot find joy in the humble life she lives as a clerk’s wife.
1035 wordsRead More - Comparison Of Mathidle In Guy De Maupassant's The Necklaceanalytical essayIn Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”, Mathidle is unhappy with the life she currently has. Furthermore, Mathidle is always striving to be like her “rich” friends. Even though Mathidle’s husband tries extremely hard to please Mathidle, Mathidle is always unsatisfied with her materialistic wealth in the beginning of her life. Likewise, Mathidle is an object-oriented idealist who momentarily escapes reality only to experience a tragic loss and eventually finds happiness through her journey.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how mathidle in guy de maupassant's "the necklace" is unhappy with her life and striving to be like her "rich" friends.
- Analyzes how mathidle's longing for a wealthy lifestyle is one of the first characteristics readers see of her.
- Analyzes how mathidle escapes reality and over comes an unfortunate defeat. she danced with intoxication, with passion, made drunk by pleasure, forgetting all, in the triumph of her beauty.
- Analyzes how mathidle finds happiness within her authentic life and not just her fantasy. she lets go of her dreams to be in a higher social class and accepts who she really is.
- Analyzes how mathidle, the protagonist in guy de maupassant's "the necklace," cannot find joy in the humble life she lives as a clerk’s wife.
1028 wordsRead More - Other details in the story also have a similar bearing on Mathilde’s character. For example, the story presents little detail about the party scene beyond the statement that Mathilde is a great “success” (7)—a judgment that shows her ability to shine if given the chance. After she and Loisel accept the fact that the necklace cannot be found, Maupassant includes details about the Parisian streets, about the visits to loan sharks, and about the jewelry shop in order to bring out Mathilde’s sense of honesty and pride as she “heroically” prepares to live her new life of poverty. Thus, in “The Necklace,” Maupassant uses setting to highlight Mathilde’s maladjustment, her needless misfortune, her loss of youth and beauty, and finally her growth as a responsible human being.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes guy de maupassant's use of setting in "the necklace" to reflect the character and development of the main character, mathilde loisel.
- Analyzes how details about the modest apartment of the loisels on the street of martyrs indicate mathilde's peevish lack of adjustment to life.
- Analyzes how maupassant's daydreams about owning a mansion strengthen her unhappiness and her avoidance of reality.
- Narrates how the woman imagined a gourmet-prepared main course with whispered gallantries and sphinx-like smiles.
- Analyzes how despair and inability to live with reality bring about her undoing. she agrees to borrow the necklace, which is just as unreal as her daydreams of wealth, and loses it drives her to give up her apartment and move into the attic.
- Analyzes how maupassant emphasizes mathilde's drudgery to maintain the flat, which reflects her coarsening and loss of sensibility. the work she performs, however, makes her heroic.
- Analyzes how mathilde's walk on the champs-elysées illustrates another combination of traits—self-indulgence and frankness.
- Analyzes how maupassant uses setting to highlight mathilde's maladjustment, needless misfortune, her loss of youth and beauty, and finally her growth as a responsible human being.
698 wordsRead More - Differences And Themes In The Necklace By Guy De Maupassantanalytical essayBetween misplacing priorities and self-absorption Mathilde Loisel is created in the story, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. Mathilde has just about everything a woman could want: remarkable beauty, a loving husband, and a comfortable lifestyle. Material riches are the only category in which she believes she is inadequate to other women. This one factor sets up the conflict present in the story. Throughout the turmoil she must endure, due to her egotistical ways, one would think she would have a change in heart and mindset. Mathilde has a dissatisfied disposition that does not evolve even as her situation does; she is disgruntled being in the middle class, as well as attending a first class event, and ultimately being in the working class.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how mathilde loisel is created by misplacing priorities and self-absorption in guy de maupassant's "the necklace". material riches are the only category in which she believes she is inadequate to other women.
- Analyzes how mathilde's dissatisfaction with her middle-class life is described as if she had gone through bankruptcy. she misses the love and care her husband gives her.
- Analyzes how mathilde's husband tries to please her with an invitation to a first-class event, but she is not satisfied with what she has and continues to acquire.
- Analyzes how maupassent's comparison of mathilde’s disposition to bankruptcy becomes an ironic twist, as her selfishness initiates ten years of hard work to just get by.
- Analyzes how mathilde's character is not able to grow because she stubbornly holds onto her dissatisfied disposition and resentment towards others. she grows only in bitterness, which does not count as character growth.
728 wordsRead More - Comparing the Female Characters in The Necklace and Recitatifanalytical essayIn Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" and Toni Morrison's "Recitatif," materialism and the desire to be envied are vital ingredients in the themes of the stories. Both authors enhance their themes through the manipulation of plot and the use of women as their central characters. Maupassant and Morrison prove the notion that women are effective characters in depicting themes that deal with the social issue of craving material wealth.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how guy de maupassant and toni morrison's "the necklace" and "recitatif" emphasize materialism and the desire to be envied. both authors prove that women are effective characters in depicting the social issue of craving material wealth.
- Analyzes how the narrator in "the necklace" reflects a disapproving opinion of mathilde and her concern for the way others view her.
- Analyzes how the narrator of "recitatif" doesn't expose his attitude toward roberta as obviously as he does in "the necklace."
- Analyzes how the narrators convey the themes of the stories through their attitudes and develop these themes through the manipulation of plot. the theme of "the necklace" deals with the universal desire to be envied.
- Analyzes how "recitatif" addresses a universal preoccupation with materialistic longings and is shown through roberta's tendencies to flaunt her possessions to her friend.
- Analyzes how maupassant and morrison depict these themes by choosing women as the main characters.
- Analyzes how maupassant and morrison convey their themes of social acceptance and materialistic longings through narrators' attitudes and develop these themes through the manipulation of plot.
878 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Guy De Maupassant's The Necklaceanalytical essayJanwillem Van De Wetering says, “Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough.” Guy De Maupassant’s “The Necklace” tells of Mrs. Mathilde Loisel’s longings for the finer things in life. Her desires are so intense she risks her husband’s affections, the friendship of an old chum, and even her mediocre lifestyle to pursue these cravings. One small decision based on an ill-placed desire causes a slow drawn out death of the spirit, body and relationships.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how guy de maupassant's "the necklace" tells of mrs. mathilde loisel’s longings for the finer things in life.
- Describes maupassant as a naturalist/realism writer who was kicked out of seminary, contracted syphilis in his twenties and started writing poetry. he died at 43 after struggling with health problems and mental health complications.
- Analyzes how the necklace is a slow-paced story that starts drearily and seems to be on an ever-rolling downhill motion into the black abyss. it is indicative of today's world where everyone is constantly reaching for the next new thing.
- Analyzes how maupassant introduces mathilde as a pretty and charming young girl, but as the story progresses the chains of greed choke out her beauty and she transforms into an old looking woman with messy hair and roughened hands.
- Analyzes how mathilde was prone to live in a fantasy world that grew out of her imagination. she would lie to her husband about things as small as the pot roast, while secretly despising it.
- Analyzes how maupussant uses the setting as a dim reflection of mathilde's personality and character throughout the story.
- Analyzes maupassant's ability to share a story with such little detail, but great depth of meaning, is testament to his writing skills. his characters, although somewhat detestable, are relatable and you find yourself hoping the best will emerge in them.
1009 wordsRead More - The Necklaceanalytical essayAround the world, values are expressed differently. Some people think that life is about the little things that make them happy. Others feel the opposite way and that expenses are the way to live. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”, he develops a character, Madame Loisel, who illustrates her different style of assessments. Madame Loisel, a beautiful woman, lives in a wonderful home with all the necessary supplies needed to live. However, she is very unhappy with her life. She feels she deserves a much more expensive and materialistic life than what she has. After pitying herself for not being the richest of her friends, she goes out and borrows a beautiful necklace from an ally. But as she misplaces the closest thing she has to the life she dreams of and not telling her friend about the mishap, she could have set herself aside from ten years of work. Through many literary devices, de Maupassant sends a message to value less substance articles so life can be spent wisely.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how guy de maupassant's "the necklace" portrays madame loisel as a beautiful woman who is unhappy with her life.
- Analyzes how "the necklace" explains how valuing the more important things in life can be very effective towards a person's happiness.
- Analyzes how guy uses juxtaposition to compare madame to her husband, mr. loisel, and the dress mme wants to wear to the party.
- Analyzes how madame is so centered with herself and how much fun she is having, that she doesn't even notice to mr. loisel.
- Analyzes how de maupassant manages to show a special moment realization for madame. the golden age archetype or the party the loisel's attend, show one of the few times madame is enjoying herself but is still focusing on unimportant things.
- Analyzes how guy de maupassant's "the necklace" illustrates the message to value more important things in order to have a wisely spent life.
1345 wordsRead More - Realism In Guy De Maupassant's 'The Necklace'analytical essayGuy de Maupassant is a realist whose claim to fame is the style in which he conveys political and socioeconomic themes in his literary publications. He achieves his writing style by putting small unfortunate life events under a spotlight. His literary performance is described in his biography from Cambridge, the writer says “He exposes with piercing clarity the small tragedies and pathetic incidents of everyday life, taking a clear-sighted though pessimistic view of humanity” (Halsey, par. 1). Guy de Maupassant’s story The Necklace is a great representation of the style he uses. In The Necklace the main character Mathilde Loisel a beautiful but impoverished woman married to a clerk is in conflict with her lack of wealth and desire to acquire
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how guy de maupassant uses visual imagery to support the overall theme of the story.
- Analyzes how the imagery used in the necklace foreshadows and constructs the plot and suspense required to convey the theme of the story.
- Analyzes how the theme of the necklace is directly comparable to une vie, and the use of socioeconomic influences is essential to the plot.
- Analyzes how guy de maupassant uses imagery, a suspenseful buildup of irony, and realism to successfully convey the overall theme of the necklace.
- Describes guy de maupassant as a realist who conveys political and socioeconomic themes in his literary publications. he incorporates realism to provide context and sense of reality to stabilize the ironic and suspenseful plot.
- Analyzes how guy de maupassant's realistic approach is common in many of his writings. the theme of une vie is described in his biography.
1364 wordsRead More - The Conflict in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”analytical essayIt took ten years for Mathilde and her husband to pay off the debt of buying a new necklace. Those ten years were not spent with the luxuries she experienced so many years ago at the party, nor were they filled with the simple things she once owned and despised. She came to know “the horrible existence of the needy. She bore her part, however, with sudden heroism.” When passing her rich friend again in the street, she was barely recognizable. Who she was the day she ran into her friend was not who she was the night she wore that necklace.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the conflict is the most essential element of a story. it connects all pieces of the plot, defines the characters, and drives the story forward.
- Analyzes how mathilde's internal struggle in "the necklace" is with herself. she mentally battled with physical and financial limitations, but more with her soul.
- Narrates how mathilde's necklace, borrowed from a rich friend, was found lost by the end of the night. she and her husband paid for it heavily for many years to come.
- Analyzes how mathilde and her husband paid off the debt of buying a new necklace in ten years. she bore her part, however, with sudden heroism. when passing her rich friend again, she was barely recognizable.
- Opines that mathidle's character would never have developed without the conflict of losing the necklace. she had to come to terms with her life and with herself.
424 wordsRead More