Similarities Between The Scarlet Ibis And The Necklace

“The Scarlet Ibis” and “Necklace” Comparison

Pride is one of the downfalls that all of humanity struggles with. This can be proved by the fact that two stories, in completely different eras, have the same theme. Although Hurst wrote “The Scarlet Ibis” in 1960 and De Maupassant wrote “Necklace” in 1844, the two stories’ interior are very similar. Hurst and De Maupassant established the theme of “pride comes before a fall” enveloping the text in descriptive figurative language and imagery within the short stories.

When James Hurst wrote “The Scarlet Ibis”, the figurative language he provided points towards the theme, which is “pride comes before a fall”. When Doodle’s big brother remembers the tale of Doodle, he has a revelation; “pride is

“Necklace” deals with vanity. Madame Loisel, when described as having “no clothes, no jewels, nothing. And these were the only things she loved” (De Maupassant 1), gives the reader insight to a very vain woman, according to the definition of vanity; being “excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements”. In “Necklace”, Madame Loisel’s “fall” comes when she loses the diamond necklace loaned to her by her wealthy friend. The next decade of her life is spent solely on repaying the debt from losing that necklace. Consequently, at the end of those ten years, her appearance is painted as “Her hair was badly done, her skirts were awry, her hands were red” (De Maupassant 7), showing that her drive for vanity has proved unsuccessful, and she has “fallen” in social class. Madame Loisel, who already felt humiliated when she was not able to wear the most expensive clothing, becomes even more humiliated as she approaches her old friend, who doesn’t even recognize her. It is then she finds out the necklace she lost was an imitation, and the last 10 years of her life were wasted upon nothing. The aforesaid evidence proves the theme throughout “Necklace” as being “pride comes before the