Situational irony is a key factor for a dramatic, two sided story. To use situational irony tells the reader to expect the unexpected, to think beyond enemy lines. Just like in the thrilling short stories in O. Henry’s “The Necklace” and Guy De Maupassant’s “The Ransom of Redchief.” Situational irony shows that things do not always go the way you think they will. But why does the author make the reader almost feel sorry for the antagonists in the story. Most of all, the author has to show the character’s emotions in a way that almost feels real. The definition of situational irony is, irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what is intended. Therefore, authors need to have many situations involving
“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.
They both like to spend money, but Nora spends money on useless things, and Mathilde spends money to feel better about herself. The couples both have problems with money, but in “A Doll’s House,” her husband agrees to give her more money and lets her continue to spend it, and in “The Necklace,” Mathilde’s husband doesn’t let her continue to spend money once she buys the gown. The money issues cause Nora and her husband to have a small argument, but in “The Necklace,” the characters respect each other more and have serious conversations. Mathilde learns a lesson in the end, but Nora doesn’t learn
A mother is a person who loves and cares for their child unconditionally and will put her their needs before her own. When her child is sick, she will stay beside them no matter what. A mother is always there when someone is down and needs someone to talk to. However, in the stories, “The Rocking Horse Winner” and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,” both authors portray the mothers, Hester and Jane, somewhat similar when describing their relationship with their child. The stories’ definition of “Mother” are described in a negative manner that not many readers can relate to such neglectful behavior.
''Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction'' is a quote by Eric Fromm that can describe the character of Mathilde Loisel in ''The Necklace'' by Guy de Maupassant that focus on an unhappy woman who feels she is far above her simple lifestyle and wish for a more luxurious life, while the grandmother in ''A Good Man is Hard To Find'' by O'Connor Flannery, which focus on an old southern woman who look down upon everyone because of her past importance. Both story writing in a different place and time, however, both characters have the same struggle regarding greed and pride which lead to they downfall. The authors emphasis greatly on class, appearance and greed.
A person that has a trait of jealousy struggles with finding happiness in life. People that envy other humane traits and objects, never become grateful for what they have. The main character in Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”, is an example of the outcome from being jealous. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, he described Mathilde’s unhappiness, “She suffered constantly, feeling that all the attributes of a gracious life, every luxury, should rightly have been hers” (536). Mathilde envied people with happy lives and their possessions like the attributes of Madame Forestier. When Mathilde ran into Madame, she said, “Yes, I’ve been through some pretty hard times since I last saw you and I’ve had plenty of trouble
Hester Prynne is the beautiful protagonist; she is married to Roger Chillingworth, an elderly scholar. Hester sailed to the colonies while Chillingworth was stayed in England to continue studying. While living alone, Hester had an affair with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and as a result Pearl was born. The entire colony knows of the sin that Hester committed but do not know that Dimmesdale is involved. Hester is publicly humiliated alone on the scaffold as punishment and is treated very poorly. She is also forced to wear an embroidered “A” on her bosom which stands for adultery. The sin is disapproved and the whole colony shuns Hester and Pearl. To prevent drawing even more attention to themselves, they move to a cabin on the outskirts of the town. “It was only the darkened house that could contain her. When sunshine came again, she was not there,” (Hawthorne 145) the sun only shone while hester was not there, it was dark and gloomy in here presence. The contrasts between the sunlight and the shade depicts the importance of light vs. dark. Sunlight never shines on the house when Hester is there because of the sin she has committed. The sun is used as symbolism for purity in a character. Hester isn't pure because of her scarlet letter and her sin, therefore she is not seen in the sun. The home of the “Black man” depicts the dark, lawlessness of
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.
Mathilde in “The Necklace” is simply unhappy because she doesn't have money but has a rich husband. Della in “Gift of the Magi” is unhappy because she doesn't have money to buy her husband a gift for Christmas so she makes a decision.
Pride brings fulfilment to people's lives on the surface, but below the surface it only brings destruction. In the short story, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, the author present this idea through his excessively prideful character, Mathilde Loisel. Mathilde Loisel, an unsatisfied woman, takes all of her perfectly valid possessions to be proud of and throws them away resulting in years of hardship for her and her husband. Mathilde Loisel’s pride is disguised by lovely experiences and luxurious belongings only to be revealed as something of pure destruction. Pride will bring bliss only to later bring destruction.
In “The Great Gatsby”, the characters Myrtle Wilson and Jay Gatsby and in “The Necklace”, Mathilde Loisel, allow themselves to be selfish and greedy by believing that having a high social status is more important than the people around them. This can be seen through the affair of Myrtle Wilson and Tom Buchanan where her husband, George Wilson means nothing to her, instead having a rich and glamorous life is more concerning. This shows that Myrtle’s relationship with George is weak. To Myrtle, Tom’s wealth and reputation outshines Wilson’s low-class job. Myrtle admires Tom because she sees Tom as a way of achieving a high status and good reputation and dislikes her husband, who is completely devoted to her and would do anything to insure her
In the Market-Place, the Puritan women anticipate outside the prison pretentiously and viciously converse about Hester Prynne, forcing Hester to wear the “A” without fear as a cover for her refusal to accept her fate of adultery. Hester, a woman of pride and beauty, emerges from the prison. One woman mentions, “But she, ––the naughty baggage, ––little will she care what they put upon the bodice of her gown! Why, look you, she may cover it with a brooch, or such like heathenish
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.
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.