Main Idea
In 'The Necklace' Madame Mathilde Loisel is unhappy with her position in life, she dreams of a life of leisure and of being well-off - but the reality is that she has a modest life style. She has stopped visiting an old friend Madame Forestier who has become wealthy because she feels ashamed of her social standing....
Topic Sentence
Loisel is ungrateful and unhappy because she lost everything she had for losing a necklace that wasn’t even real.
Author’s purpose
The purpose of the short story "The Necklace" is to show the danger in the pursuit of material possessions. Mathilde longs for status in society and is so worried about impressing others that she does not appreciate or enjoy what she actually has. Because of her selfish desires, she and her husband are forced to spend many years working to play for a borrowed necklace that she lost. After working ten years to pay off the debt, Mathilde learns the necklace was not real and that all of the years of hard work were wasted.
Themes
There are a few themes that are relevant to the story, however the most obvious is that "it is better to tell the truth and face the consequences than try to protect your pride by telling a lie."
1) When Mathilde is upset that she does not have a new dress to go to the ball, her husband spends money they probably don't have to get her a dress. He is trying to appease her and instead of pleasing her, it makes her unhappy. His pride allows him to continue attempting to appear wealthy when he just should have said no. When she will not go to the ball without jewlery, they decide she should borrow from jewlery from Madame Forestier.
2. The moment Mathilde notices the necklace is missing, she should have confessed to Madame Forestier. Then she would have found out that the necklace was phony, and wouldn't have to work for years to pay for a necklace that wasn't hers. Because of her pride, she decided to pretend that nothing had happened. The irony is that because of her pride, she loses the best years of her life, and never has a chance to live the life of luxury she longed for.
This is the link for listen the voice recording. http://vocaroo.com/i/s0ZBOIYKdDUb
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