The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant Essay -- Literary Review

â€Å"The Necklace† The late Irish poet Oscar Wilde once stated, "In the world, there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.† This quote accurately describes human nature to the extent that man is never fully satisfied with his current possessions. In fact, most people who rely on materialistic items for happiness are typically desolated and miserable. This story is based on an archaic view on women, where women have no caste or hierarchy. The people grade women based off their looks and beauty. Money â€Å"practically makes nobility† (Shmoop). It â€Å"enables the user to pay for the high life† (Shmoop) and confine the person with luxurious items known to man. Money controls the life of people, rather than vise versa, causing greed. Malthide, who is the wife of a minor clerk, has immense greed to live a sumptuous life. Malthide’s greed led to her destruction and turmoil, however her grief is what taught her an everlasting les son. The story opens with the description of how miserable Mathilde is. Maupassant describes her as â€Å"suffering constantly, feeling herself destined for all delicacies and luxuries† (Maupassant 4). Malthide is but â€Å"one of those pretty and charming woman, born, as if by an error of destiny, into a family of clerks and copyists† (Maupassant 4). â€Å"The reality of Malthide’s situation is that she is neither wealthy nor part of the social class of which she feels she is a deserving member of† (Sparknotes). Malthide feels like life cheated on her. She sits dreaming of silent rooms nicely decorated and her own private room, scented with perfume to have intimate â€Å"tete- a-tetes† with her closest friends. Then she is awakened, only to realize that she is in her own grim apartm... ... through life just the way it was before. She came from a simple life into a more miserable life. The greed and jealousy that she kept was a sin. One would not feel sympathy to her as she had it coming. Malthide’s greed brought a considerable amount of misery to them both, but in the end she learned a valuable lesson, where one should value themself, rather than what one possess. Works Cited Cummings, Michael J. â€Å"The Necklace.† Cummings Study Guide. Michael J. Cummings, 2010. Web. 24 February 2011. Maupassant, Guy De. â€Å"The Necklace.† Literature An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2008. 4-11. Print Shmoop. â€Å"The Necklace.† Shmoop. Shmoop University, n.d. Web. 24 February 2011. SparkNotes Editors. â€Å"SparkNote on The Necklace.† SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant Essay -- Literary Review â€Å"The Necklace† The late Irish poet Oscar Wilde once stated, "In the world, there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.† This quote accurately describes human nature to the extent that man is never fully satisfied with his current possessions. In fact, most people who rely on materialistic items for happiness are typically desolated and miserable. This story is based on an archaic view on women, where women have no caste or hierarchy. The people grade women based off their looks and beauty. Money â€Å"practically makes nobility† (Shmoop). It â€Å"enables the user to pay for the high life† (Shmoop) and confine the person with luxurious items known to man. Money controls the life of people, rather than vise versa, causing greed. Malthide, who is the wife of a minor clerk, has immense greed to live a sumptuous life. Malthide’s greed led to her destruction and turmoil, however her grief is what taught her an everlasting les son. The story opens with the description of how miserable Mathilde is. Maupassant describes her as â€Å"suffering constantly, feeling herself destined for all delicacies and luxuries† (Maupassant 4). Malthide is but â€Å"one of those pretty and charming woman, born, as if by an error of destiny, into a family of clerks and copyists† (Maupassant 4). â€Å"The reality of Malthide’s situation is that she is neither wealthy nor part of the social class of which she feels she is a deserving member of† (Sparknotes). Malthide feels like life cheated on her. She sits dreaming of silent rooms nicely decorated and her own private room, scented with perfume to have intimate â€Å"tete- a-tetes† with her closest friends. Then she is awakened, only to realize that she is in her own grim apartm... ... through life just the way it was before. She came from a simple life into a more miserable life. The greed and jealousy that she kept was a sin. One would not feel sympathy to her as she had it coming. Malthide’s greed brought a considerable amount of misery to them both, but in the end she learned a valuable lesson, where one should value themself, rather than what one possess. Works Cited Cummings, Michael J. â€Å"The Necklace.† Cummings Study Guide. Michael J. Cummings, 2010. Web. 24 February 2011. Maupassant, Guy De. â€Å"The Necklace.† Literature An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2008. 4-11. Print Shmoop. â€Å"The Necklace.† Shmoop. Shmoop University, n.d. Web. 24 February 2011. SparkNotes Editors. â€Å"SparkNote on The Necklace.† SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.