The Necklace Guy de Maupassant (France)

v  Plot

        A young woman named Mathilde Loisel is married to a little clerk of the Ministry of Public Instruction. They live a poor life, which Mathilde hates. One day, they are invited to a grand ball where the rich people will be. Mathilde buys a new gown from her husband’s savings intended to buy him a gun for shooting larks, for his hobby. To go with that very elegant gown, she borrows a diamond necklace from her friend Madame Forestier. At the ball, Mathilde is prettier than any woman there. When they arrive home after that ball, she discovers that the borrowed necklace is gone. She and her husband try to find it, but are not able to, so they buy another one exactly the same, for thirty-four thousand francs, from its original price of forty francs; such a very big amount of money for the couple. They use up Mathilde’s husband's inheritance, borrowed from usurers, and they work odd jobs for ten years just to make up for that amount. After a decade, Mathilde sees Madame Forestier by chance, and after those years, finally confesses that the necklace she returned was a replacement. Madame Forestier is shocked, and tells her that the necklace she lent her was fake, worth at most five hundred francs.

·         Conflict

ü  The complication starts when she and her husband are invited to a rich people’s ball. She buys a new gown, and to go with it, she borrows an elegant diamond necklace from her friend Madame Forestier.

·         Climax

ü  The climax of this short story is when Mathilde discovers that she lost the diamond necklace.

·         Denouement

ü  The problem resolves itself, although in a negative manner, when Mathilde and Madame Forestier meet again after ten years, and the latter tells the former that the diamond necklace she borrowed was fake.

v  Characters

·         Protagonist

ü  Mathilde Loisel- wife main character in the story.

ü  Husband- the little clerk of the Ministry of Public Instruction.

ü  Madame Forestier- the friend who lent Mathilde a diamond necklace.

·         Antagonist

ü  Mathilde Loisel- wife main character in the story.

v  Setting

·         Location- Ministry Hall, street, house of the couple, house of Madame Forestier

·         Surrounding Circumstance- Ball at the Ministry Hall

v  Theme

        The theme of the story is Good vs. Evil because the characters struggles against the dark force of poverty in their life.

v  Point of View

        The Point of View used in this short story is the Omniscient because we know only what the character knows and what the author allows him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author chooses to reveal them to us.

v  Conflict

        The conflict here are of Man vs. Himself, and Man vs. Society—Mathilde has been struggling as a poor woman because of her desire to “fit in” the society.

v  Symbol

        The symbol used is the borrowed necklace which symbolizes wealth, which Mathilde has been longing to be. While wearing it, she feels so superior.

v  Moral Lesson

        Things are not always as they appear to be and also Be contented on what you have.