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The Necklace And Maupassant's The Gift Of The Magi

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Mathilde is the main character in the story “The Necklace” in which she lost a necklace and has to work to buy a new one. Della is the main character in the story “The Gift of the Magi” in which she sacrifices herself to buy a gift for her husband. Although Mathilde and Della are characters from different stories, they have many similar and different characteristics that are develop during the story. The first similarity between the two characters is that both are women, and both are beautiful. Another similarity is that Mathilde was poor “she had no money, no expectations, no means of becoming known, understood, loved, [or] married to a rich and distinguished man” (Maupassant). On the other hand Della has “one dollar and eighty-seven cents. …show more content…

“There is nothing more humiliating than to look poor among a lot of rich women” (Maupassant). Meanwhile, Della didn't care for what people would think of her. Instead, she saved money during a long time to buy a gift for her husband. “Pennies saved one and two at a time by negotiating with the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent accusation of being stingy” (Henry). On the other hand Mathilde was very jealous “she had a rich friend, a former schoolmate, whom she no longer wished to visit because she suffered so much when she came home” (Maupassant). Differently, Della was just worried if she would have money to buy a present for her husband, “Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas” (Henry). Another difference is that Mathilde was always complaining about things she didn’t have, for example she “had no jewels, not a single stone, nothing to put on” (Maupassant). Meanwhile Della sacrifices her hair to buy a gift for her husband. “I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present” (Henry). Although Mathilde and Della have many similarities they also presents many contrasts that make them opposite

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