Preview

The Necklace Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
669 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Necklace Essay
We shouldn't care what others say about us!! But this wasn't the case for Madame Loisel in the short story “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant all Madame wanted was more of the things of value. She didn't mind the fact that she wasn't wealthy she just wanted to be born into riches. Till the day came that Miss Loisel finds out what can really happen when you don't value others possessions. So lesson being don't value the materialistic things in life because you can lose sight of what really matters. As the story begins Madame Loisel is a person with appreciation and love towards things with certain wealth or value. While her husband is a generous and mellow type of guy. For instance Guy De Maupassant, describes Madame Loisel ideally : “she had no proper wardrobe, no jewels, nothing.And Those were the only things that she loved”(334). In other words all she acted for was her …show more content…
So to add on as she has lost the necklace, she sends a letter to her dear friend as if here necklace was getting mended. The author states this “tell her you have broken the clasp of the necklace and that you're getting it mended”(339). So in basic explanation she is fibbing to her friend as she finds a solution to her mishap with the necklace. So as this lie progressed she found a necklace exactly the same for a retail price of 40,000 francs. As the two borrowed from several places they both agreed and returned it to Madame Forestier, “ Madame loisel went to return the necklace, Madame Forestier said in a faintly waspish voice you couldn't have brought it back a little sooner”(340). This all means that Madame forestier has no clue that the two have replaced her precious diamond necklace. In order for her to be the most beautiful for one day she had to work ten years of her life tell her debt was payed off. So her worries were over after her necklace was payed off or that's what she

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In “The Necklace,” a female character, Mathilde, is living in Paris during the 19th century. She is poor, yet undyingly wishes she was wealthy. One day the woman is invited to a prestigious ball within her city. She immediately she contacts a rich friend and borrows a fabulous necklace. Once the night is all said and done and she returns from the ball, she realizes that the borrowed necklace is lost. She reacts by lying about the necklace and buying her friend a new one. With her financial situation the way it is she goes spiraling into debt and never recovers. Later, once Mathilde admits to her friend that she lost and replaced the necklace, it is revealed that the borrowed necklace was a fake worth very little.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Seeing the things she doesn’t have hurts her intensely. In the French version of the text it is said that “[s]he had a well-to-do friend, a classmate of convent-school days whom she would no longer go to see, simply because she would feel so distressed on returning home. And she would weep for entire days from vexation, regret, despair and anguish” (Maupassant 1). Her thirst for more bring emotional grief onto herself. Furthermore, the climax of her life, the product of all of her wanting, is short lived by the loss of the necklace. Her self pride as a higher class woman stops her from telling the truth and decides to buy a replacement for her friend forcing her to lose all her money and material belongings and begin to live in true poverty. The narrator then describes her complete loss of beauty, “[s]he had become the woman of impoverished households — strong and hard and rough. With frowsy hair, skirts askew, and red hands” (Maupassant 5). In fact, she has changed so much that her friend could not recognized her shown because when she greats her, the narrator states “The other astonished to be familiarly addressed by this plain goodwife, did not recognize her at all, and…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The deceptiveness of appearances is highlighted by Madame Forestier’s necklace, which appears to be made of diamonds but is actually nothing more than costume jewelry. The fact that it comes from Madame Forestier’s jewelry box gives it the illusion of richness and value; had Monsieur Loisel suggested that Mathilde wear fake jewels, she surely would have scoffed at the idea, just as she scoffed at his suggestion to wear flowers. Furthermore, the fact that Madame Forestier—in Mathilde’s view, the epitome of class and wealth—has a necklace made of fake jewels suggests that even the wealthiest members of society pretend to have more wealth than they actually have. Both women are ultimately deceived by appearances: Madame Forestier does not tell Mathilde that the diamonds are fake, and Mathilde does not tell Madame Forestier that she has replaced the necklace. The fact that the necklace changes—unnoticed—from worthless to precious suggests that true value is ultimately dependent on perception and that appearances can easily deceive.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The moment when Mme. Loisel and M. Loisel “took the case to the jeweler whose name they found inside. He consulted his records.’I didn’t sell the necklace, madame,’ he said. ‘I only supplied the case.’”(32). Mme. Loisel and her husband are both convinced the necklace is real due to the looks of the costume jewel and the case. We, after all know the necklace does not belong to the case which implies the necklace is not that expensive. The most distinct foreshadowing the necklace is inexpensive is Mme. Forestier’s reaction. As Mme. Loisel lost Mme. Forestier’s necklace, her husband tells “her you have broken the catch and are having it repaired. That will give us a little time to turn around’”(32). Just as, Mme. Loisel returned the decoy necklace to Mme. Forestier, her reaction is, “‘You should have brought it back sooner; I might have needed it.’”(33). Mme. Forestier reaction to it all, foreshadows that if the necklace was valuable, she would have been more worried and paranoid. Regardless of their mistake, they were hinted multiple times, yet they failed to think it is not real because they were outplayed by the…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the party, Madame Loisel loses the necklace, resulting in tireless work, loans, and night jobs for her and her husband in order to pay back the equivalent of the price. The couple finally succeeds when all the money is paid ten years later, only for Mathilde to discover that the necklace was ironically a fake, and worth a very small percentage of what the couple paid. The theme of this story is that an overemphasis on material wealth can shrink the spirit and leave one open to the changeability of fortune. The situational irony highlights this moral because the Loisels would never have had to exhaust themselves if Madame Loisel wasn’t so obsessed with riches and wealth. From the very beginning of the story, she wastes her time dreaming of luxuries such as fine silks, beautiful furniture, and gourmet feasts. Even when she is at Madam Forestier’s house to try on necklaces to borrow, she is never satisfied until she has seen the very best. Madame Loisel’s preoccupation with appearance clouds her judgment as well. As soon as she realizes that she has lost the necklace, she should simply come clean to Madam Forestier. Instead, she is too concerned with how her reputation will be affected, so she keeps quiet. She later pays the price for this when she discovers that the necklace is “false [and]…worth five hundred francs at most.” The life that she gets instead as punishment during the ten years in debt is even more difficult and meager than her life to begin with, which stresses how fame and fortune is so fleeting and unimportant in the scheme of…

    • 1345 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “The Necklace” Madame Loisel lost a necklace of her friends and bought another that looked just like it and gave to her friend that she borrowed it from Madame Forestier. Because Madame Loisel lied she was afraid that Madame Forestier would see that the necklace was not the same. It took her ten years to pay off the debt that she created and right after she had finished paying the debt it is ironic that she ran into Madame Forestier. Later Madame Loisel finds out that the jewels on the necklace were false and didn’t cost more than a thousand francs. If she had told her the truth she would not have wasted ten years of her life living in fear that Madame Forestier would figure that it is not the same necklace.…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, Mathilde will lose her diligence after she pays her debt off because she obtains her goal and she will become less hardworking in the final setting of the Champs Elysees. After Mathilde pays off her ten years worth of debt, she becomes older, wiser, and more mature. Mathilde’s 10 year of work were an enlightening experience for her and helps her to accept who she is and to mature into a grown up woman. Mathilde’s maturity does not make her perfect, she still has her flaws, such as the fact that she can’t accept the fact that losing the necklace and going into debt was her fault. When she finds Madame Forestier on her stroll along the Champs Elysees, Mathilde blames her hardships on Madame Forestier saying, “ ‘Yes, I’ve been through some pretty hard times since I last saw you and I’ve had plenty of trouble-and all because of you,’ ” (de Maupassant 8). Mathilde blames her hardships on Madame Forestier because she thinks that because Madame Forestier let her borrow the necklace in the first place it is her fault. Because of this evidence, we know that Mathilde’s changes were due to a change in…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Destitute Is Wrong

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages

    After she went to the extravagant party, she lost Madame Forestier precious stone accessory. Thus, when they found a substitution, it took them ten years to pay back the greater part of their obligation. Likewise, she lost the great life she had some time recently. After the ten years of paying the obligation, she informed Madame Forestier regarding how she lost her precious stone jewelry and it took them ten years to pay the obligation. At the point when Madame Forestier realized what happened she advised her that the precious stone neckband was fake.…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Necklace Quotes

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages

    It was after the ball when she realized she had lost the necklace, panicked, she comes up to her husband and says, “"I . . . I . . . I've no longer got Madame Forestier's necklace. . . ." (6) The fact that she cannot keep up with other people’s belongings, tells you that she isn’t responsible enough to keep up with her own things. She further verifies that she can’t take responsibility when she continually lies to her friend about it. Mr. Loisel suggests her to “tell her that you've broken the clasp of her necklace and are getting it mended.” (7) So that they can have more time to look for it. Lastly, when she bumps into her friend on the street after ten years of being in debt she says, “Yes, I’ve had some hard times since I saw you last; and many sorrows…and all on your account.” (9) Nonetheless, it was Mathilda’s fault that she lost the necklace and that she couldn’t own up and tell the truth. She does not want to accept the fact that she is responsible for her own…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sequel: The Necklace

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages

    And she smiled with proud and simple joy. Madame Forestier, quite overcome, clasped her by the hand. “Oh, my poor Mathilde. But mine was only paste. Why, at most it was worth only five hundred francs!” “Only five hundred francs!” Madame Loisel gasped. Lost in thought, she began to feel sick. Thinking that she has just wasted ten years; doing heavy housework, hateful duties of cooking, bargaining with the butcher and many others, along with living the life of a pauper. “Oh darling, are you all right?” Madame Forestier questioned. “You look terribly ill” “I….I’ve got to do!” Madame Loisel mumbled as she ran towards the court yard. By the time she got home, she was out of breath. Madame Loisel yelled for her husband, but he didn’t respond, guessing that he still hasn’t gotten home yet. Thinking whiled she waited for her husband to return from work, about how he is going to react. When Monsieur Loisel came home, Madame Loisel greeted him pleasantly and began to tell him what has just happened. As she explained the situation, she could see her husband slowly become furious. Madame Loisel finished what she needed to say. Monsieur Loisel calmly stood up and told Madame Loisel to get back the necklace. Madame Loisel was confused with her husband’s reaction but went to go see Madame Forestier. Madame Loisel got to Madame Forestier house and asked “May I please have the necklace back. I will buy you the exact one that I’ve misplaced.” “Of course not, you’ve given it to me so now it’s mine!” Madame Forestier fought back. They continued to fight until Madame Forestier became violent. She revealed a dagger that was hidden under a cloth and persisted on stabbing Madame Loisel. Madame Loisel was stocked and blankly stared at the dagger coming towards her. As she stared, every second became slower and quieter. When the dragger touches her flesh, she awakes and notices it was all a dream……

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    She had given up on a marriage with love, but only marrying someone that can get her into a higher class. Therefore losing Madame Forestier’s necklace ruined her future as they will have to pay a huge amount of money, which they can’t afford. Madame Loisel gave up her family and future just to maintain her reputation in front of the others. Her pride stopped her from telling the truth, ending up with ten years of hard work for an imitation…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the necklace was lost. The narrative describes, “She stayed there, in her ball dress, without…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One Sunday, while she is out for a walk, Mathilde spots Madame Forestier. Feeling emotional, she approaches her and offers greetings. Madame Forestier does not recognize her, and when Mathilde identifies herself, Madame Forestier cannot help but shout that she looks different. Mathilde says that the change was on her account and explains to her the long long, detailed story of losing the necklace, replacing it, and working for ten years to pay back the money owed . At the end of her story, Madame Forestier holds together her hands and tells Mathilde the original necklace was just costume jewelry and not worth…

    • 2052 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mathilde vs. Dee

    • 622 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In “The Necklace”, Mathilde is seen as a poor woman who had low self-esteem and was married to a clerk. In this story, she was invited to a ball and borrowed a friend’s necklace. After the ball, Mathilde discovers that the necklace was lost. As a result, she had to search for a similar necklace and had to take out loans to make a purchase. She was forced to work for ten years to pay off the debt until one day when she saw her friend. Little did Mathilde know that the necklace she lost was worth much less than the new necklace she paid for.…

    • 622 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Necklace

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages

    She gets a new dress and isn’t satisfied with the jewellery she has, so she borrows a diamond necklace and loses it. She and her husband spends 36,000 francs to get a new necklace to replace the one that she lost. After this, she finds out that it was a fake. “ ‘Oh my poor Mathilde! But mine was an imitation.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics