Guy De Maupassant

1674 Words7 Pages
If Maupassant’s story “The Necklace” had been poorly written, it could easily have shown Mathilde quickly as only vain and superficial. But all writers must make us feel for their central characters if their stories are to be successful. Analyze Mathilde, her husband and any other secondary characters in the story and develop an argument that explains how Maupassant forces us to care about what happens to Mathilde. Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace" tells of a vain, narcissistic middle-class housewife who longed for the aristocratic lifestyle that she believed she deserved. In describing Mathilde's callous self-centeredness in preparing for the party to which she and her husband were invited, as well as her reaction to losing what she thought was an expensive necklace she borrowed, de Maupassant incorporates a tragic irony that makes this story a timeless classic. An author writes to convey an idea, to drive home a point, and the voice his or her beliefs. Like art and music, writing is a form of expression that can move the readers, persuade them, affect them, and change them. Guy de Maupassant uses "The Necklace" as a literary dagger. Its sharp message is cutting, caustic and tragic. His characters are memorable and the irony of the story is impossible to overlook. "She was one of those pretty and charming girls, born, as if by an accident of fate, into a family of clerks." From most aspects, Mathilde should have been content with her life. She had a loving husband, youth, beauty, and a comfortable lifestyle. However, in her mind, she had suffered from the moment she had been born into..... False Pride in The Necklace In Mauassant's essay, The Necklace Matilda Loisel borrowed a necklace from a rich friend, Mrs Forestier, so that she would not present a "shabby air in the midst of rich women." She loses the necklace but refuses to
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