“The Necklace”
Reading Guide
1. What do you believe the
central conflict of this plot is?
2. – 3. Why do you think Mme.
Loisel is so unhappy? Are her
reasons for being unhappy
valid?
4. Why do you think Mme.
Loisel gets so upset when her
husband tells her about the
party?
5. Why do you think she picks
only the diamond necklace to
borrow?
6. Describe the party from
Mme. Loisel’s point of view.
7. What happens after the
party?
8. Why do you think the case
comes from the jewelry store,
but not the actual necklace?
9. How do you think the story
will end?
10. How do the Loisels suffer as
a result to losing the necklace?
11. How does Mme. Loisel
change as a result of losing the
necklace? Address her attitude
and her physical appearance?
Name _________________________
12. What does Mme. Forestier
reveal about the necklace?
13. What is the moral of the
story? (your opinion)
14. Do you think the Loisels’
future would have been different
if she had not lost the necklace?
Why or why not?
15. How is there poetic justice in
what happens to Mme. Loisel at
the end of the story?
The events that make up the plot of a story can be divided into rising action and falling action.
The rising action consists of the conflict and complications that the main character faces leading up to
the climax, or turning point, of the story. The falling action, sometimes called the resolution,
occurs at the end of the story and shows how the conflicts faced by the main character are resolved.
With a partner, outline the events in “The Necklace” that form the rising action, the climax and the
falling action.