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Vanity In Guy De Maupassant's Unpopular Gals

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What makes people obsess over vanity? What possesses people to be jealous? The analysis of two short stories; The Necklace written by Guy de Maupassant and Unpopular Gals by Margret Atwood can both compare and contrast one another. “Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams.” A quote from Neil Gaiman can perfectly depict the dreams that both main characters of these texts experience a dream or fantasy about vanity and other unexplainable feelings. With the use of analysing the protagonist’s relationships, identity, psyche and main themes, we can fully explore Gaiman’s quote of how we can understand the mind and dreams of these characters. Unpopular Gals demonstrates an unhealthy relationship between two …show more content…

The main character justifies their reasoning behind the vile actions she has made. The antagonist never gets what they want, “They get the king’s son and the palace, and no more dishpan hands. Whereas all I get is the blame.” This confirms that goodhearted people always have a way to slide in and disrupt the evil taking place. This can relate to The Necklace, as the main theme of this text is the deceptiveness of people and objects. Madame Loisel wanted everyone to believe that she was wealthy, even if it was only for one magical evening. She craved the attention and vanity that the diamond necklace carried within itself, however it was later declared that it was an imitation thus making her feel ashamed. She lives in a fantasy world where she believed she entitled to more wealth and jewels henceforth she believes she has been scammed out of the use of her beauty and charm. These two characters have had nothing good happen to them because of their antagonistic and futile ways; Madame was not responsible about her losing Madame Forestier’s necklace and not simply telling her it was a mistake whilst the vicious sister in Unpopular Gal had a clouded judgement about her priorities thus making egotism and revenge to her sister her ultimate priority. These themes showcase the dreams and minds of these characters, as Gaiman

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