The Necklace
In any literay work, it is absolutely essential to have characters,
whether major or minor. It is also necessary to develop these characters
through out the story. Character development gives the reader insight to the
more important meanings or lessons of the story. These lessons are usually
brought out by the events that take place within the story. Looking at Guy De
Maupassant's piece “The Necklace”, we see a very clear development of the main
character Mathidle. In the story, we see a change in her attitude about life.
This change come about when she has to learn one of life's little lessons the
hard way. She and her husband are forced to live a life of hard work and
struggle because of her own selfish desires. Mathilde changes from a woman who
spends her time dreaming of all the riches and glory she doesn't have, to
realizing that she over looked all the riches she did have.
The story opens with the description of how miserable Mathilde is.
Maupassant describes her as “suffering constantly, feeling herself destined for
all delicacies and luxeries.” (Pg 4) She sits dreaming of silent rooms nicely
decorated and her own private room, scented with perfume to have intimate “tete-
a-tetes” with her closest friends. Then she is awakened, only to realize that
she is in her own grim apartment. In her eyes, she lives a tortured and unfair
life. Mathidle has a husband named Losiel. He is much the opposite of his wife.
He is completely content with his lifestyle. He seems to be a very passive
person, who doesn't let status or riches effect him. Of course, if he had the
chance to be rich he would, but he doesn't dwell on the fact that he is part of
the middle class. He seems ot be a hard worker and does his best to provide for
his wife. He demonstrates is simplicity the one night at dinner Losiel and
Mathilde sit down to eat. Mathidle is dreaming of fancy four course meals,
while he is ecstatic because they are eating boiled beef.
Losiel is aware that his wife has not yet adjusted to her status. One
night, he had come home from work very excited. He had worked extra hard to
get he and his wife invited to one of the biggest parties ever. Losiel thought
this would be please his wife, when in fact it only made her upset. Here was
Losiel trying to please his wife and she just started to cry. This just goes to
show how ungreatful she really is.
Although, for her, she has nothing more to focus on she trusts her imagination to pass the time. Over time she becomes more and more obsessed with the yellow wallpaper, which leaves her in shock. “The wallpaper becomes a projection screen of the narrator growing fright.” (Berman, p.47) This means that the narrator goes to herself on the wall. The isolated woman in the yellow paper is her own reflection. Something that the narrator still does not realize, she only feels the need to release the woman trapped in the wall. She refers to her room as a prison continuously. As she begins to feel isolated she projects her feelings on the yellow wallpaper, but the idea that the room is her prison goes from figurative to reality as insulation deepens her need to escape in some way. “Every time the narrator speaks, she is interrupted and contradicted until she begins to interrupt and contradict herself.” (Berman, p.55) She has her own plan for recovery. But unfortunately, her husband does not listen. For him, the only
This environment serves not as an inspiration for mental health but as an element of repression. The locked door and barred windows serve to physically restrain her: “the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls.” The narrator is affected not only by the physical restraints but also by being exposed to the room’s yellow wallpaper is dreadful and fosters only negative creativity. “It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide – plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.”
The setting of this story is described as an old nursery that is located on the top floor of an old isolated mansion that is several miles off of the main road. The narrator’s treatment is “prescribed” by her husband, John, who orders her to stay in bed and separate herself from the outside world in a bedroom that previously had several different identities. “It was a nursery first, and then a playroom and gymnasium, I should judge, for all the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the wall”(730). The feeling the room creates around her slowly begins to alter her mindset. The barred windows create the sense of being trapped within the walls around her which slowly starts to transform the room into the identity of not just any prison, but the narrator’s prison.
...la. These are characters that while overly dramatic at times, are relatable because they are not perfect and they don’t struggle with being the perfect wife or machismo husband. Instead they are in constant struggle with their inner demons and desire just to be loved in a way which they deserve without prescribing to society’s norm.
... seemingly trapped inside the yellow wallpaper, when she sees that constant face of the woman trapped inside, again she sees or is just seeing herself because her, herself is trapped and falling into insanity.
What comes into my mind when thinking on how to categorize those people that belong in the middle class, I look at such things as education, race, family, income, gender and how many people are in your household. I look at it as those people who are making between $40,000 and about $85,000 to be in the middle class while the next step would be the upper middle class and then to the upper class. Maybe I am wrong here, but like I said before, everyone wants to have that “I am middle class” attitude. The most recent Census Bureau survey data shows that the share of households with incomes of $75,000 or more has doubled in the past 24 years. Other studies, however, discover that more people who depart the middle class move down than up, at least temporarily.
Telling the truth will always prevent future conflicts. Author Guy De Maupassant who lived from 1850 to 1893 proves in the story of “The Necklace,” that no matter how bad a situation is, speaking with the truth is always best. Now, this author does not prove this theme directly. Instead, throughout various situations in the story the main characters are faced with a long-term conflict because decisions were not made with honesty. Mathilde and Loisel who is her husband, who works as a clerk at the Ministry of Public Instructions, were both faced with a conflict that could have been prevented. For instance, Mathilde asked her friend Mme. Forestier if she could borrow a beautiful piece of jewelry for a ball event her husband Loisel had been invited to. Unfortunately, Mathilde loses the borrowed necklace and suggest that since it belongs to her rich friend it was worth more than what they could ever afford. Mathilde and Loisel decide to not tell Mme. Forestier about the lost necklace and instead they buy her a similar one. However, the one they buy is worth a lot more than what the lost necklace was worth. They both end up working multiple jobs for 10 years in order to pay off the necklace. The moral of this story is that everyone should always speak with the truth, because Mathilde and Loisel could have avoided this conflict if only they had told Mme. Forestier about the lost necklace. Many factors such as lying, desiring other’s valuables, and being so attentive to what people might think, is a good way that a situation like Mathilde’s could have been avoided.
He has an idea to be rich, and he wants it fast. Being nine year old, he starts out looking for jobs in his neighborhood. After doing two jobs, he earns a nickel, a quarter and two peaches. He has money, and he can do whatever he wants. So with a friend and his sister, they go swimming. Money, to him at this age, affects him greatly already. From his own family, he learns that without money, they'll always be poor and working class. He has the need to be higher in social class and he wants to be like rich people.
someone who deserves to be known as a good role model. Here are some reasons to
Having the setting take place in a house where the narrator herself feels uncomfortable, it does not help to give her restrictions in an area in which she is already unhappy. “I am afraid, but I don’t care ---- there is something strange about the house ---- I can feel it” (...
Once she overcomes the initial shock and sadness, she takes refuge alone in an upstairs room. At first she sits in silence, waiting fearfully for something she can’t quite accept. The “open window” and “the open square” which she overlooks symbolize freedom and trigger a
Around 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 world the stereotypical thought is that the more money one has the better off they are, although they might look good from
Mrs. Linde shows her loyalty to her family when she did not think that she “had the right” to refuse her husband’s marriage proposal. After taking into consideration her sick mother, her brothers, and Krogstad having money. She married for the welfare of her family.