Paper 2: The Necklace:

1) - This story shows the importance of humility and being happy with what you have
- This is shown by Mathilde feeling “that she was intended for life of refinement and
luxury” and being “unhappy all the time” because of this
- Due to her dishonesty and fear of losing her status, she feels determined to replace the
necklace
- Mathilde learns humility the hard way after she spends “ten years” of her life living
poorly
- She realises that dishonesty is not the best policy as she finds out that it was an imitation
necklace all along

How does the writer hold the reader’s interest in ‘The Necklace’? In your answer you should
comment on:

- the relationships between characters within the story

- the use of setting

- the moral and ethical issues raised by the narrative

The writer holds the reader’s interest in ‘The Necklace’ by implementing a sense of progression
throughout the story. This is clearly evident by Mathilde being a “pretty, delightful [girl]” who was
“born the [daughter] of [a] very minor civil [citizen]” soon turning into a woman with “victorious
beauty” and “glorious success”. This creates a sense of attachment to the character and makes the
turning point in the story a lot more engaging to the reader. A use of progression creates a sense of
attachment and is used by the writer to hold the reader’s interest in the book.

The reader’s interest is held in the book using the personality created for Mathilde, from the
relationships from the characters within the story. Mathilde is described as a selfish and greedy
individual by her constant pleas of a “piece of jewellery” and a “decent dress”. She is also shown to
have a foxy attitude by using crocodile tears and guilt to force her husband to buy expensive items
for her. This gives the reader a sense of hatred for Mathilde and is willing to see her suffer the
consequences of her selfishness. Status and class also affect the relationships between characters as
she treats her husband, poor and humble, worse than cabinet secretaries, under-secretaries, and the
Minister, who are rich and wealthy. The use of status and class and relationships are used to create a
sense of hatred for the main character, which hooks the reader as the readers are willing to see the
downfall of such selfish characters.

Morals are used to hook the reader to ‘The Necklace’, as this represents a story of how a person
went from riches to rags, a tremendous ego to a terrible downfall. This creates a sense of
satisfaction to the reader as she learns humility the hard way. Another moral that is less known is
the importance of honesty. If Mathilde had been honest, she wouldn’t have had to go through “ten
years” of living in an “attic room”. This hooks the reader as it creates emotions of satisfaction and
anticipation of how Mathilde was going to pay for her misdeeds. This creates a sense of attachment
to the story and also makes the story more memorable and enjoyable. The heavy use of morals
emphasizes the reader’s emotions and is used to create a sense of attachment and enjoyment to the
story, making the reader retaining their interest in “The Necklace”.