Comparing The Necklace 'Coarseness And Predatory Humor'

“The Necklace” is an 1884 short story by French writer Guy de Maupassant. It is known for its twist ending, a hallmark of de Maupassant’s style. In “Coarseness and Predatory Humor,” John Cowper Powys goes off the beaten path. Instead of discussing Maupassant’s detailed writing style with twist endings, he writes about the underlying twisted humor in “The Necklace” and human’s odd infatuation with it. “The raw bleeding pieces—each, as one almost feels, with its own peculiar cry—of the living body of the world, clawed as if by tiger claws, are strange morsels for the taste of some among us. But for others, there is an exultant pleasure in this great hunt, with the deep-mouthed hounds of veracity and sincerity, after the authentic truth” (Powys). Powys’ article touches on the brutality of Maupassant’s writing and the bizarre pleasure people get out of it.
Powys claim this “pleasure” is made up of several different elements. The first being deep and curious satisfaction which is derived for the exhibition in art of the grossness and unscrupulousness of life.
Powys claims the basic instinct to “personify the immense malignity of things, and fancy that we are striking back at the gods and causing the gods some degree of perturbation; at least letting them know that we are not deceived by the illusions they dole out to us” (Powys). This statement points the blame to something above humans. This is another easy way humans can take delight, or at least, acceptance, in other people’s misfortunes. When putting the blame on a deity, the problem is just cast off and thought of as “dealt