The girl was one of those pretty and charming young creatures who sometimes are born, as if by a slip of fate, into a family of clerks. But when she arrives home afterward, she is horrified to learn that she has lost the diamond necklace. Mathilde discovers that she has lost a diamond necklace she has borrowed from her wealthy friend. She and her husband look everywhere but the necklace is not to be found. This story is unique in the way the writer has cleverly arranged a twist at the end of story that leaves the reader with a sense of surprised anguish and pity for the protagonist. Classic fiction, 2,841 words, level z grade 5, singlebook classics, lexile 910l. The necklace summary from litcharts the creators of. When they arrive home, mathilde realizes that the necklace is missing. Preparing for a party, mathilde borrows a necklace from a rich friend, only to lose the jewelry that night.
Mathilde goes to jeannes house and picks out a sparkling diamond necklace to borrow. The necklace the necklace summary and analysis gradesaver. Forestier is dismayed to inform her that all this suffering was for nothingmathilde bought a diamond necklace to replace hers, but the original was only costume jewelry worth, at most, 500 francs. Finally, they head home in the wee hours of the morning. They incur a lot of debts as they try to raise the amount required to purchase a genuine diamond necklace. Loisel was so anxious to borrow that diamond necklace from her friend mme. The necklace would show to its best advantage against her bare chest, and in turn her beautiful neck would show to its best advantage against the necklace. When she prepares to attend a fancy party, she borrows a diamond necklace from her friend madame forestier, then loses the necklace and must work for ten years to pay off a replacement. Madame loisel has aged prematurely by toil and hardship. Sometime later it became the pendant on a diamond necklace as we know it today. In the final sentence, the word paste means that the loaned necklace. She was one of those pretty and charming girls born, as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of artisans. The necklace literature essays are academic essays for citation.
The main themes in the necklace are class conflict, deception, and greed. Maupassant is known for writing about the travails of average people in french society and their efforts to get ahead, often with unhappy results. Write an alternate ending for the short story the diamond necklace. With no dowry, no prospects1, no way of any kind of being met, understood, loved, and married by a man both prosperous and famous, she was finally married to a minor clerk in the ministry of education. The necklace themes from litcharts the creators of. The husband sacrifices so much for the sake of his selfish wife who seems to care very little about his interests. Attempting to appear richer than she truly is, mathilde loisel borrows a diamond necklace from her friend jeanne forestier and then loses it at a ball. Loisel returned in the evening with his face drawn and pale.
Get the entire the necklace litchart as a printable pdf. She hugged her friend, kissed her warmly, and fled with her prize. Thirteen women and the experiment that transformed their lives by cheryl jarvis the true story of thirteen women who took a risk on an expensive diamond necklace and, in the process, changed not only themselves but a community. She also borrows a fabulous diamond necklace from a wealthy friend for the occasion. When mme loisel took back the jewels to mme forestier, the latter said to her in a frigid tone, you should have returned them to me sooner, for i might have needed them. Replacing the diamond necklace places an exorbitant economic strain on mme loisel and her husband, leading them to actually drop in socioeconomic status. Then they went from one jeweler to another hunting for a similar necklace, going over their recollections, both sick with despair and anxiety. Analysis of the short story the diamond necklace essay. You say you bought a diamond necklace to replace mine. As a middleclass woman aroused in her deep regrets and hopeless dreams, maupassant 172 madame loisel constantly lusts for luxury. With her expensive gown and jewelry, mathilde is the envy of all the ladies at the ball. The sale was made in 1911 with the diamond mounted as a headpiece on a threetiered circlet of large white diamonds.
All of a sudden she discovered, in a black satin box, a superb necklace of diamonds. She had no dowry, no expectations, no way of being known, understood, loved, married by any rich and. Assessments include regular checks for understanding during class and as exit tickets, weekly quizzes on terms and vocabulary. Mathilde has been blessed with physical beauty but not with the affluent lifestyle she yearns for, and she feels deeply discontented with her lot in life. Her heart beat faster, and her hands shook when she picked it up. When her husband manages to get the couple invited to a ball at the ministry where he works, mathilde demands a new dress. She does not know that the borrowed necklace was lost and that the loisels have pledged themselves to years of debt to buy a costly replacement. The diamond necklace the girl was one of those pretty and charming young creatures who sometimes are born, as if by a slip of fate, into a family of clerks. She had no marriage portion, no expectations, no means of getting known, understood, loved, and wedded. She had no dowry, no expectations, no way of being known, understood, loved, married by any rich and distinguished man. Four years ago, in ventura, california, jonell mclain saw a diamond necklace in. The picture of this proletariat couple struggling to atone for mme loisels mistake of impersonating the upper class therefore betraying the capitalist system is a grim and stressful one. Madame loisel, an unforgettable character whose pursuit of status costs her more than she could ever have imagined.
They take out loans and work ten years of hard labor to replace the necklace. She fastened it around her neck, over her highnecked dress, and stood lost in ecstasy as she looked at herself. It featured in our collection of short stories for middle school and our collection of morality tales. A marxist reading of maupassants story the diamond necklace. What you must do, he said, is write to your friend that you have broken the clasp of the necklace and are going to have it repaired. Mathilde confesses, and her friend reveals that it was a fake. Its often studied in english and world literature classes. Mathilde loisel has always been pretty, but she feels unhappy with her simple middleclass life. They find a similar diamond necklace in a jewelery shop and borrow and beg for money to buy the replacement necklace. Necklace, consider how madame loisels words and actions reflect her motivation. Suddenly she discovered, in a black satin box, a superb diamond necklace, and her heart began to beat with uncontrolled desire. All at once she found, in a black satin box, a superb diamond necklace. Cartier had the diamond reset and took it to the u. The prettiest one there, she was stylish, warm, smiling, and wildly happy.
Irony and deception in the diamond necklace a comparison of dee and mathilde. They found, in a shop in palais royal, a string of diamonds which. This lesson falls near the middle of a unit on short stories, where students will be able to identify elements of literature in various stories, analyze characters, find themes, and make comparisons. She was one of those pretty and charming girls who are sometimes, as if by a mistake of destiny, born in a family of clerks. She and her husband attend the gala and have a fabulous time. The new necklace costs 40,000 francs, but the jeweler agrees to sell it to them for 36,000 francs, and the couple spends 10 years paying back their debts by working hard and cleaning, ironing. Affair of the diamond necklace, also called affair of the necklace, scandal at the court of louis xvi in 1785 that discredited the french monarchy on the eve of the french revolution. She fastened it around her throat, outside her highnecked dress, and remained lost in ecstasy at the sight of herself. Readers may also enjoy another story with ironic twists, the gift of the magi. In addition to the answers to the multiple choice questions, the answer key also has explanations and possible responses to every openended question. Analysis of the diamond necklace, literary analysis rough draft essay chris ibe professor d.
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