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CRITIQUE PAPER

The Necklace
by Guy de Maupassant

“The Necklace” (French: La Parure) is a well-known short story by the French author
Guy de Maupassant. The story was first published on February 17, 1884 in the French
newspaper Le Gaulois. The story takes place in Paris in the late 1800’s, the period that is
referred to as Belle Epoque, where high-class residents spent much time and attention
enjoying full and stimulating social engagements. This good fortune, however, did not extend
to all Parisians. And it is the main point of this story. The story explores the themes of
appearance, deception, and social class and the author portrays the protagonist, Mme.
Mathilde Loisel as a victim of her own pride, greed, and deception, who suffers a tragic fate
because of her obsession with appearance and social class. I believe that the author
successfully reflect his goal or purpose to the reader in creating the work which is to warn us
against the dangers of greed and criticizes those who ascribe too much value to wealth and
material possessions. I will use a formalist approach to examine how the protagonist’s
borrowed necklace are shaped and symbolized the protagonist downfall.

The short story’s plot begins about Mme. Mathilde Loisel, a young woman of limited
financial who is unhappy with her modest and ordinary life as a wife of a Ministry of
Education’s clerk, and how she longs for a more glamorous and luxurious lifestyle that is
only available to the upper-class women. She borrows a diamond necklace from her rich
friend Mme. Forestier to attend a ball after being unsatisfied with she had, but loses it on her
way back home. She and her husband spend the next ten years working hard to pay for a
replacement necklace, only to find out that the original one was fake and worthless. The
story basically talks about the consequences of pride and dishonesty and as well as a lesson
in discontent and unreasonable materialism. Mme. Mathilde who suffers from unsatisfactory
with her life and her desire for wealth and luxury such as her envy of her friend Mme.
Forestier, her dissatisfaction with her husband as a clerk of Ministry of Education and her
borrowing of the necklace resulted from her severe downfall and spend ten years working.
But what I have seen great is when she worked hard to pay what she did. Some people
would just went to other places to escape but, Mme. Loisel worked hard to pay what they
did, not escaping. This is one of the good side of this story, to fix the problem the individual
caused, not escaping and avoiding it. As an individual with different social status, we should
be contented with what we have because what we possess in this instant is the envy of
many.

One techniques/styles that is used is this masterpiece is symbolism . In this story, the
necklace is the main symbol, as it reflects Mme. Mathilde’s destiny. The necklace represents
her pride and materialism, which are the factors that make her unhappy with her life and lead
her to borrow and lose the necklace. The necklace also represents the deception that she
falls for, as she believes that the necklace is made of real diamonds and that it will make her
look rich and elegant, but it turns out to be a fake and a source of misery. The necklace also
symbolizes the social class and status that Mathilde desires and pretends to have, as she
tries to impress others with her appearance and to fit in with the upper class, but she

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CRITIQUE PAPER

ultimately loses everything that she has and becomes poor. The story is full of ironic
situations and outcomes, such as the fact that the necklace that Mathilde borrows and loses
is actually a fake, and that she wastes ten years of her life to pay for a worthless imitation.
Furthermore, the story is told by an third-person narrator, who refrains from judging the
characters but reveals their thoughts and feelings. The narrator focuses mostly on the main
protagonists, and shows how her discontent and greed lead to her downfall. And because of
the used techniques, the story’s enhance its impact and message and successfully deliver
its message completely.

The author of the story uses both direct and indirect evidence to support his
argument that Mme. Mathilde’s character flaw is pride and that it leads to her ruin. Direct
evidence includes Mathilde’s own words and actions, such as her dissatisfaction with her
life, her longing for wealth and luxury, and her refusal to admit her mistake. Indirect evidence
includes the narrator’s comments and the reactions of other characters, such as the
description of Mathilde’s physical and emotional deterioration, her hard work and poverty,
and her final revelation. The work adds to the understanding of the topic of social class and
morality in the 19th century French society. It shows the oppression and the influence of
social norms and expectations on their character and happiness, and the irony and injustice
of their fate. It also states the moral lesson of this short story which is to be contented on
what we have.

In conclusion, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant is a masterful short story that

explores themes of materialism, irony, and deception. Because of the several characteristics
of the short story that is used by the author (techniques, styles, evidences of the arguments
used), the author successfully delivered the main message and serves to enhance the
story’s momentum and impact. He also able to make me understand about what are the
norms during the Belle Epoque period. He also used the main symbol which is the necklace
that symbolizes the fate of the Mme. Mathilde’s life. The plot twist is also perfect in their
situation because it serves to reinforce the story’s themes and provides a shocking and
memorable ending to the end. The wordings and ideas used is also understandable that is
why this story is commonly seen in several textbooks (especially in high school textbooks).
This story is a testament to act as a voice to the readers today as its themes and lessons still
relevant in our generation. This critique has explored these aspects in depth, providing a
comprehensive analysis of this masterpiece.

School: Tampilisan National High School

Address: Poblacion, Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte
Contact No.: 09171152136
Email Address:tampilisannhsmain@gmail.com