the+necklace+summary (2)

8/3/2019 The+Necklace+Summary (2)

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³The Necklace´ Short Story

Summary



Short Story Summary

TITLE: ³The Necklace´

AUTHOR: Guy de Maupassant

SETTING (Time and Place): 1884Paris, France Loisel¶s apartment,

party at the Ministry of Education¶s

Mansion.



CHARACTERS (List and describe on

separate lines):

Madame Loisel - selfish (beautiful,charming, middle class, spoiled,

daydreamed)aged quickly, heavy

rough, harsh, shrill voice, poor

Monsieur Loisel- kind, generous,

loyal hard-working, clerk for Ministry

of Education, wants to please wife,

middle class



Madame Forestier - kind, generous,

wealthy, snobby



SUMMARY

Madame Loisel is in her apartmentdreaming of a better life. She is

unhappy and dissatisfied with her

social status and mediocresurroundings. Mme & Msr. L receive

an invitation to a party at the Ministry.



Plot Summary cont¶d

Mme. refuses to attend until she hassomething suitable to wear. She

borrows a diamond necklace from her

friend Mme. F. Mme. L loses the

necklace somewhere on the way

home.



Summary continued«

They borrow the money from loansharks and are forced to live a life of

poverty for 10 years until their debts

are paid off. Mme. L meets up withMme F and tells her about the lost

necklace, and Mme. F reveals the

necklace is fake.



POINT OF VIEW:

This short story is told from the

3rd person limited point of view.

The author focuses on Mme.Loisel¶s thoughts and feelings.



Conflicts:

Internal ±

Mme. Loisel vs. herself: her

excessive pride, materialism and

shallowness cause her emotionaltorture as she feels she¶s been

deprived of luxuries.



Conflict cont¶d

Ex ternal ±

Mme. Loisel vs. M. different

values (although he is tolerant of her behavior and wants to please

her)



SYMBOLS:

Necklace = greed/desire for what onecannot have, differences in social

classes, dishonesty, Mme. L¶s

µfakeness¶ or want of material thingsWrap = Mme¶s station in life ±

insecurity- embarrassment

Dress = M. Loisel sacrifice for his

wife



THEME:

1. People should be happy with whatthey have.

2. Honesty is the best policy.

3. You may pay a terrible price for greed and desire (Mme. L¶s fatal flaw,

her desire for material things, her

µfakeness¶ just like the necklace)



OTHER LITERARY ELEMENTS

Characterization ± the author shows what Mme. Loisel is like by

concentrating mainly on the way

she views her surroundings(daydreams about expensive

things/lifestyle.



Other Literary Elements cont¶d

Irony ± Mme. L borrows a

necklace to fit in with the rich

people she envies, but the loss of the necklace results in her being

poorer than she was.



Other Literary Elements cont¶d

Foreshadowing - Rue deMartyrs the name of the street

and the English word martyr-

martyr means a great or constantsufferer.

Her intense unhappiness cannot

be lifted with one party invitation.



PLOT DEVELOPMENT CHART

EXPOSITION: We meet Mme. Loisel

in her apartment as she is described

as extremely unhappy and

dissatisfied with her social status

NARRATIVE HOOK: Mme. Loisel

receives an invitation to the party.



Plot Development Chart cont¶d

RISING ACTION: Mme. Refusesto attend the party without a

suitable dress/borrows a

necklace/loses it/borrows moneyto buy a new one/lives life of

poverty to pay debt.



Plot Development Chart cont¶d

CLIMAX: 10 years later relieved

of the debt Mme. L. confesses all

to Mme. F. who reveals thenecklace is a fake.



Quote Interpretation:

Quote ± ³We do not succeed in changing things according to

our desire, but gradually our

desires change.´ ± Marcel Proust



Quote cont¶d«

In your own words, explain what this quote means to you ±

We cannot always get what we

want when we want it.

Eventually, our priorities

change and what we want

changes at the same time.



Quote Interpretation cont¶d

How does this quote relate to the story you just read?

Madame Loisel is very self-

centered at the beginning of the story. She is focused on material

possessions. By the end of the

story, her perspective changes.



Quote cont¶d

Foreshadowing- Madame and Monsieur Loisel live on ³Rue des

Martyrs´ street. A martyr is

someone that suffers a great deal

and never recovers after their loss.

The author foreshadows the

suffering that Madame and

Monsieur Loisel will have.



Quote cont¶d

Mood- The mood of this story changes as the characters and

their priorities change. In the

beginning, Madame L is disappointed, but then she has a

great time at the party and the

mood shifts to one of excitement

and en joyment.



Mood cont¶d«

After losing the necklace,

Madame L¶s priorities change

and the mood changes to one of tragedy and loss.

the+necklace+summary (2)

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