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Two Great Short Stories Read by Many are A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner and The Necklace by Guy De Maupassan

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Two of the greatest short stories written back in late 19th and early 20th centuries are still read by many people. The two stories are “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner and Guy De Maupassant’s “The Necklace”. Faulkner’s book is about a woman named Emily Grierson’s life and her horrible secret she hides. The other book is about a materialistic woman named Mathilde Loisel loses a fake necklace and find out to be a fake one after ten years later. Although these stories are written about fifty years apart and written from two different countries, these two stories have many similarities and differences. “A Rose for Emily” and “The Necklace” are juxtaposed with the main characters, usage of symbolism on the title, and the tone …show more content…

Also these items can reflect the strong symbolism in it. Faulkner used a rose, but De Maupassant used the necklace to represent the main character’s emotions in two items. The difference in those symbols is that a rose has only appeared on the title but the necklace is the whole flow of the story. Faulkner leaves the reader to interpret the rose’s symbolic meaning. The rose is usually a powerful symbol of love, it always has been, and portrays an everlasting beauty. Moreover, the rose has been used for centuries to illustrate an eternal type of love and faithfulness. Therefore, readers can infer the meaning that the rose present in the title, and portray it to Emily that she does not have love in her life. The necklace, however it is the important items that lead to the climax of the story. It is pretty but worthless, shows the awareness of appearance and real world. Also, the fake necklace shows Mathilde’s desire to be something she is not. The last comparison about these two narratives about tone. The tone of two narratives is very ironic. There are many ironies to be found in “A Rose for Emily.” One of the examples, when she is speaking with the Aldermen. They are trying to convince Emily to pay her taxes and she simply repeated a person’s name who has been dead for ten years. The other story “The Necklace” also have many ironical quotes. Mathilde Loisel really wants to be in the upper class society, but because she shows persistence borrowing the

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