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Caitlyn Hughes
Mrs. Thomas
English 9H
28 February 2011
Essay: The Necklace
Have you ever lost something that you borrowed from someone else and replaced
it with some thing a lot more expensive and you went through so much trouble to get it?
Well that is what happened in “The Necklace” a fiction short-story by Guy de
Maupassant that takes place in Europe during the 19th century. In “The Necklace” a
woman, by the name of Mathilde Loisel, desires more than she has. One night she
borrows a diamond necklace from a wealthy friend but loses it on her way home. Her
husband and her scurry to find a replacement so her friend never finds out she lost it.
They both go into debt but find a replacement, but in the end Mrs. Loisel finds out that
the necklace was a fake and wasn’t really worth much. She went through all of that
trouble for nothing. “The Necklace” shows that Mrs. Loisel is a dynamic character
throughout the story. Also is shows the conflict and how the characters change because of
it.
In this story “The Necklace” Mathilde goes through many big changes. She is
called a dynamic character in this story. A dynamic character is a character that learns
and goes through changes throughout the story, and that is what happens to Mathilde
Loisel. An example of her changing is on page 300 and it says, “She came to know all the
heavy household chores, the loathsome work of the kitchen.” It is an important example
because it shows how she went from living a pleasant life and knowing little work to
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knowing hard work that is hard on both body and mind. It shows how she is from
beginning to end. Another large literary element in “The Necklace” is the conflict,
Mathilde loses a face necklace and goes into debt to pay of the replacement. Going
though things she might of never of gone through if she didn’t borrow it. For example on
page 300 it says, “Madame Loisel looked old now. She had become the sort of strong
woman, hard and coarse, that one finds in poor families.” It is important to the story
because it shows how the conflict changes the character throughout the story and shows
how she became who she was at the end of the story.
Both literary elements, the character and the conflict, effect what type of character
the person is and how they got to be that way. They show all of the ups and downs and
the cause and effects. In the end the story “The Necklace” shows that Mrs. Loisel had a
pleasant life and she didn’t know what she had till she lost it. Instead of being a well of
middle class lady she became a poor, hardened, lady who looks older than her years. It
tells you to be grateful for what you have because you never know what you will end up
with tomorrow.