Foreshadowing In Guy De Maupassant's The Necklace

Everyone in life wants to fit in because why would anyone want to be left out? However, the fact that we want to fit in ruins some people's lives because of the limits they go to to accomplish our common goal. On the contrary, some lives are ruined by trying to stand out and not staying with the crowd. This is very clearly stated in two very different ways by Guy de Maupassant in the story “The Necklace” and by Ray Bradbury in “The Pedestrian”. In both of these stories we are shown that you should not get caught up in what others are doing.

In both Guy de Maupassant's short story “The Necklace” and Nathaniel Hawthorne's “The Birthmark”, the theme of vanity as downfall is very prominent. Maupassant's use of the birthmark and Hawthorne's use of the necklace as symbols offer direct evidence to this theme. My goal in this paper is to compare and contrast the two main symbols of the short stories in question using evidence from the source material.

A boy from my second grade class boasted about owning the world’s highest jump and, once challenged by another student, proved it to us by leaping off the playground swing while it was at its maximum height. The results were a broken leg and the regrets of an act of arrogance. Guy de Maupassant's short story “The Necklace,” Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” and Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, illustrate a shared theme on excessive pride resulting in self-sabotage.

Pride is an admirable quality to have, when expressed moderately. However, an excessive amount can lead to a terrible downfall in works such as “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, and “The Odyssey” by Homer. In all of these works, pride leads to the downfall of the characters.

“To be happy in life you must learn the difference between what you want vs need” (unknown). Most people who can not decipher between want and need don not appreciate life and objects to the fullest. An imbalance of these things can cause unhappiness, bad relationships, and debt. Deciding between things people want and what is need can be hard. The pain of having an imbalance is shown in The Necklace, The Golden Touch, and Avarice.

Surprise is an emotion that leads to other feelings. Situational irony uses surprising twists to create other emotions. For example, “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry uses situational irony to instill humor in those who read the short story. Guy de Maupassant also uses situational irony in “The Necklace,” but the feeling he creates is one of justice. Both short stories, when analyzed, show the effect of situational irony on a reader’s emotions.

It is said, “Some people create their own storms, then get upset when it rains”. This statement implies that some people create their own problems and then are confused when it all comes back to cause them distress. It proves accurate in the notion that when others are selfish, their very own actions can, in some instances, cause increasingly worse situations than what they were complaining of. This belief is one of the most predominant themes in the three texts that are being referred to in this essay. In “The Necklace,” “The Scarlet Ibis,” and “The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind,” the consequence of the characters’ selfishness lead to their eventual demise.

Surprise in a story can create a whole new feeling. It can make the story funny such as in “The Ransom of Redchief” by O. Henry. It can also cause the tone to be sad and make the reader feel sympathy for specific characters like in “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. Authors use situational irony to cause these feelings. In these two short stories, both authors display situational irony to create emotions for the reader.

Authors often manipulate the emotions of their readers through their writing. Situational irony is a device frequently used that creates the feeling of surprise by providing the story with an unexpected twist that catches the reader off guard. Along with surprise, situational irony can also create other emotions. For example, O. Henry uses situational irony in his short story “Ransom of Red Chief” to create the feeling of humor. Likewise, Guy de Maupassant uses situational irony in his short story “The Necklace” to create a feeling of sympathy. By examining these two stories, it is clear that authors utilize situational irony to affect readers’ emotions.

Surprise is the feeling of shock that arises when something unexpected happens. Situational irony uses this feeling to its advantage and many writers use it in their stories to provide a plot twist; something that the audience would have never normally expected. When situational irony is used, it not only provides a feeling of shock but also another feeling to go along with it. For instance, in the short story “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry, the feeling of shock is accompanied by laughter because the plot twist is quite humorous. Another example would be in the story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, the twist involves a sense of pity for the main heroine. By examining these two short stories, it is evident that

The choices you make and the consequence you receive. While some may say the characters were affected more by their own actions, the characters in The Rights of the street of Memphis, All the years of her life, and The necklace were mostly affected by their actions because in the story All the Years of Her Life Alfred absorb the full impact of his sense of betrayal and disappointment, Richard was terrified to face his fears during a moment of life and death, and Madam. Loisel's greed and desire for wealth ironically caused to her to live poorly.

Human nature causes people to desire more than what one already has. However, after desiring material items, people realize the foolishness in their greed. In “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, Mathilde Loisel, who lives in France during the 1880s, attempts to transform her ordinary life into one of luxury. She attends a reception with her friend Madame Forestier's diamond necklace, but after losing it, she works to buy a new necklace, only to later discover the necklace she lost is fake. Through this experience, Mathilde learns to be content with what she has, and as a result, she realizes the flaws in her character.

“The Jewelry” is a short story written by Guy De Maupassant where M. Lantin marries a woman that loves jewelry and bought a new piece of jewelry everyday. He loved her dearly but could not stand the obsession she had for her fake jewelry collection. M. Lantins wife became really sick and died of pneumonia. He was then left by himself and became very poor. He had nothing left and needed to make money somehow. M. Lantin turned to his late wife’s jewelry collection; he knew that it was fake jewelry but he was desperate and was in need of money. He took the jewelry to a jewelry store expecting to receive only a few francs but then he was told he was receiving thousands of francs. M. Lantin was in shock and could not believe that the entire time it was real jewelry and not fake; he became a very wealthy man and resigned from his job, eventually marrying another woman who made his wife miserable. M. Lantin’s first wife had a big impact on his life; however, his selfish actions lead to what he deserved ending up with a wife that made him miserable.

Originating in France, ‘The Necklace’ is a short story written by French writer Guy de Maupassant in the late nineteenth century, the period where literary movements realism and naturalism dominated French fiction. Maupassant played an important role in both the realist movement and the naturalist movement through his depiction of the setting as well as the character’s decision. The short story reflects upon the rigid patriarchal society during the late nineteenth century, demonstrating how the wealth of a person can lead to their generosity and greed; thus affecting their lifestyles. Through ‘The Necklace’, Maupassant aims to depict the conflicts between the upper-class and the lower class, how their inner desires vary. This essay will analyze ‘The Necklace’ and how Maupassant uses the social context, characters and literary devices in the short story to illustrate his misogynistic viewpoints towards women.

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), is a French author of the naturalistic school who is regarded as the greatest short story writer. Though he didn 't originate the short story genre, he promoted it. Maupassant was a prolific writer, between 1880 and 1890 he wrote around three hundred short stories. He was a master of his works and many of his famous works were associated with caustic endings.