"The Necklace"
Question: How does the writer convey the moral message in the necklace?
By: Xeneb Shah Year 10 C
The proverb ' Money does not buy happiness', has been echoed countless of times and has been shown in hundreds of different ways but for many reasons mankind cannot simply embrace these words of truth. Human beings are intoxicated by the lust of wealth and an apprehension of a mediocre life. In other words real happiness can never be bought. This realisation is often agonizing, and this is illustrated in the short story "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant where he substantiates the protagonist to covey a clear moral message in the story.
Maupassant devised a character which has fallen a victim to herself; in Shakespearian language this would be called hamertia. Although Madame Loisel is not a Shakespearian character of nobility but like Shakespearian tragedies hamertia plays a pivotal role in the protagonists' downfall.
The character of Madame Loisel highlights the stereotype given to ordinary women. She is not content with what she has and feels she has been deprived of her value ''she was intended for a life of refinement and luxury.'' The fact that she has to live modestly instead of living with grandeur is a maltreatment to Madame Loisel who desires to be ''popular, envied, attractive, and in demand'' but her unfortunate financial situation will not allow this superficial appearance that she wants to uphold, "she had no dresses, no jewels, nothing and that was all she cared about."
Madame Loisel ends up creating her own enthralling land of fantasies and starts dwelling there. The writer uses juxtapositions to exhibit the disparate between both these worlds ''peeling walls, battered chairs and ugly curtains' 'and her own wonderland which is grand and elegant ''tapestries peopling the walls.''...