THE NECKLACE - By Guy de Maupassant

 

A. Examine and analyze character motivation in the story/novel.

Mathilde Loisel, the main character in Guy de Maupassant's novel "The Necklace," is driven by a strong desire for social status and material wealth. She is dissatisfied with her modest lifestyle and longs for a glamorous, upper-class existence. Mathilde borrows a beautiful necklace to wear to a high-profile event, but her life takes a tragic turn when she loses it.

Mathilde's relentless pursuit of social standing ultimately leads to her downfall, illustrating the theme of the story: the dangers of vanity and the importance of appreciating one's own circumstances. The story is driven by the character's motivations, which deliver a powerful commentary on the consequences.

B. Identify the genre or sub-genre of the texts from different periods.

- Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace" is classified as literary realism. Realism is defined by how it portrays ordinary life, emphasizing the commonplace and unremarkable aspects of it. Maupassant's story tackles issues like materialism, social class, and the consequences of pride, reflecting the realistic portrayal of society and human behavior that was popular in the 19th-century literary movement of realism. 

C. Situate the literary and cultural texts in its period and the situation from the reader's point of view.

The protagonist of Guy De Maupassant's "The Necklace" is Mathilde Loisel a woman whose position in life appears to have been "fated." She feels betrayed and refuses to accept her place in life, saying, "She was one of those pretty and charming girls who are sometimes as if by mistake of destiny, born in a family of clerks." She is tormented and furious that she can't afford the jewelry and clothes she wants, and she is self-centered and selfish. "She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries," according to Maupassant.

The narrative could have been a Cinderella tale, in which the helpless heroine is found, saved, and allowed to take her proper place in society, if not for that fatal flaw. Rather, Mathilde was arrogant. She took a diamond necklace from Forestier, a wealthy friend, in an attempt to look wealthy to the other women at the ball.

She was prettier than them all, elegant, gracious, smiling, and crazy with joy," she wrote after her amazing time at the ball. "Pride comes before the fall," and we soon see her falling into poverty.

Ten years later, we see her again: "She had become the strong, tough, and rough woman of impoverished households." Even after going through so many hardships, in her heroic way, she can't help but wonder "What ifs." She had frowzy hair, an untidy skirt, and red hands as she talked loudly and washed the floor. "

Before "The Necklace's" point of view, let us examine our options. In literature, there are four distinct points of view. The first person is one. With this point of view, the narrative appears to you from the perspective of a specific character. The first-person perspective is evident due to the usage of "I" and "we."

3. Reflection

In the story "The necklace". I believe that Mathilde's main sources of unhappiness were her selfishness and avarice. A young married lady who was impoverished, Mathilde would daydream and fantasize about the wealthy and well-liked lives she saw around her.

She got into the problems she did because of her selfishness and avarice in life. She is still pessimistic about everything that happens to her, rather than having an optimistic outlook on life. She is the kind of person who never seems to be satisfied with anything; the more you provide her, the more she will aspire to. She could have happily accepted the invitation at the right time, but instead, she was prepared to spend all of her husband's savings to appear respectable in public.

She got into the problems she did because of her avarice and selfishness in life. She keeps thinking negatively about everything that happens to her, rather than having an optimistic outlook on life. She is the kind of person who never seems to be satisfied with anything; the more you give her, the more you can expect her to achieve. She could have graciously accepted the invitation at the right time, but instead she was prepared to spend all of her husband's savings to appear respectable in public.Her decision to purchase the necklace to conceal the one she misplaced further demonstrates her self-centeredness. After all, she discovers that the original necklace was a fake, and she will stop at nothing to hide her wrongdoings.

In summary, Mathilde lost track of her identity and possessions because she was too preoccupied with living a lavish lifestyle. She had everything she needed to survive, including a loving and supportive husband who made it apparent that he would stop at nothing to help her. Mathilde lost ten years of her life trying to pay for something that wasn't even real, which demonstrated how selfish and greedy people often lose more than they bargain for. She ultimately paid a price for her avarice and her fantasy of the life she had imagined.

Instead of taking their possessions for granted, people ought to be happier with the people in their lives than with the things they own. Although Guy de Maupassant conveys to the reader a sense of sorrow for all of Mathilde's problems, I did not share that sadness. Rather, I became enraged with people for not being able to prioritize the world's more pressing issues over their personal hygiene. Overall, make the most out of life and don't waste time on materialistic items because you never know when it will end or how content you can be spending it with the people in your immediate vicinity.