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The Necklace Essay

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“How would it be if she had not lost that necklace? … How small a thing will ruin or save one!” (Maupassant 61). The short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, tells of Matilda, who feels as if she was born into the wrong class. She attends a fancy party, borrowing her friend’s diamond necklace, which she loses, and puts herself and her family into extreme poverty. She and her husband pay for the necklace over the next 10 years. The necklace ends up saving Matilda because the necklace makes her more joyful, and it teaches her determination. The necklace saves Matilda because it makes her more joyful. Towards the end of the story, Mrs. Loisel tells Madame Forestier about all the hard times they had paying for the diamond necklace and the changes they had to make: “But it is finished and I am decently content... and she smiled with a proud and simple joy” (Maupassant 62). In the quotation, Matilda feels …show more content…

In the story, Matilda returns the duplicate of the lost necklace to her friend and thinks about everything she will have to do to pay for the necklace. “Mrs. Loisel now knew the horrible life of necessity. She did her part, however, completely, heroically. It was necessary to pay this frightful debt. She would pay it” (Maupassant 60). Matilda has now turned into a “strong, hard woman, the crude woman of the poor household” (Maupassant 61). She has to work for everything. The quotation makes it evident that Matilda feels determined because when the story says “She would pay it” that indicates that she would do anything to get out of debt. “Completely, heroically,” also shows that she has resolved to pay for the necklace no matter what. To do something completely means to do something totally, and to be heroic means to be brave or courageous even in the face of hardship. Matilda learns determination indirectly from the necklace, so the necklace saves

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