The Necklace
Theme: The Necklace
Danielle Ochoa
ENG125: Introduction to Literature (ABI1113A)
Julie Pal-Agrawal
April 4, 2011
Theme: The Necklace I am a strong believer in being grateful for everything you have been blessed with because no matter how you might see it, life could always be worse. In the short story, The Necklace, the writer uses character, symbolism, and tone to display the theme that we should play the cards we are handed rather then lusting for something that is unreal because we could lose everything almost instantly. Characters are the people we encounter when reading a story and writers often use them to engage a reader and tell a good story. A t the beginning of this story the writer goes right into describing the main character, Mme. Loisel. She is described as being average but, “She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the worn walls, the abraded chairs, the ugliness of the stuffs.”(140) After reading this I came to the idea that she was unhappy with the life she had and she believed that she deserved better. The writer goes on throughout the story about this character and her feelings on her life and allows us to see how all this does is cause her stress and sour moods. It is revealed to us that this character is in a conflict because she is, “struggling against social conditions.”(96) Mme. Loisel refuses to confront and except her place in society. She is in a constant battle with her life. Symbolism comes into play, for me, at this point. The writer continues the story and talks about the woman getting invited to a ball, which is something that she longed for but she does not want to go without something nice to wear. So, naturally, her husband gives her the money that he has been saving so that she could go out and buy a dress. After all of this, she is still not satisfied because she does not have any jewelry to go with her new dress. She decides to go borrow some form a friend and she picked out, “a superb necklace of
Danielle Ochoa
ENG125: Introduction to Literature (ABI1113A)
Julie Pal-Agrawal
April 4, 2011
Theme: The Necklace I am a strong believer in being grateful for everything you have been blessed with because no matter how you might see it, life could always be worse. In the short story, The Necklace, the writer uses character, symbolism, and tone to display the theme that we should play the cards we are handed rather then lusting for something that is unreal because we could lose everything almost instantly. Characters are the people we encounter when reading a story and writers often use them to engage a reader and tell a good story. A t the beginning of this story the writer goes right into describing the main character, Mme. Loisel. She is described as being average but, “She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the worn walls, the abraded chairs, the ugliness of the stuffs.”(140) After reading this I came to the idea that she was unhappy with the life she had and she believed that she deserved better. The writer goes on throughout the story about this character and her feelings on her life and allows us to see how all this does is cause her stress and sour moods. It is revealed to us that this character is in a conflict because she is, “struggling against social conditions.”(96) Mme. Loisel refuses to confront and except her place in society. She is in a constant battle with her life. Symbolism comes into play, for me, at this point. The writer continues the story and talks about the woman getting invited to a ball, which is something that she longed for but she does not want to go without something nice to wear. So, naturally, her husband gives her the money that he has been saving so that she could go out and buy a dress. After all of this, she is still not satisfied because she does not have any jewelry to go with her new dress. She decides to go borrow some form a friend and she picked out, “a superb necklace of
References: Clugston, R., W., (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.