In Greek Mythology, Midas, a powerful and wealthy king, believed that gold was the key to achieve happiness. He shared his extravagant life with his only daughter, whom he loved very dearly. He was granted one wish and he wished for his touch to turn things to gold. The next day, Midas touches a table and sure enough it turns into gold. His daughter rushes in and overjoyed, he hugs her turning her into a statue of gold.
Three examples of greed and its effects are shown in the stories of “The Necklace”, “Civil Peace”, and “The Golden Touch”. The short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant tells the story of a woman, named Mathilde, who borrows a very expensive necklace, ends up losing it, and spends 10 years of her life repaying the debt it took to buy a new one, only to find out the original was fake and not expensive at all. This alone states the extent at which we will go to replace materialistic items. The lady had been part of the middle class, living comfortably, and even had a maid and a cook.
Ralph Ellison’s novel, Invisible Man, is a story about a Negro college student who learns more than his major studies, it exposes the racial differences, struggle for racial equality and confused individual identity. Like a circus performer with his head in a lion’s mouth, The Invisible Man is an actor or entertainer in the game of life. He tries to please the crowd through his actions which are treated as if they occur outside of reality, like something in a movie or television program. Most human beings treat others as pawns to be manipulated in order to fulfill certain selfish means. This is noticed more than once during the events of the novel.
Sherlock Holmes returns again in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Trying to solve the mysterious case of Sir Charles death and the tale of the vicious hound, he is accompanied by Dr. Watson, Dr. Mortimer, and Sir Henry. Each character goes through a straining, hostile series of events in Dartmoor and Baskerville Hall, before revealing the truth of the dark hound. Throughout this bewildering adventure, the theme of greed is a powerful motivator is developed via the self-centered, craving mind of Stapleton and the intricate relationships formed between characters.
In “The Necklace” Madame Loisel and her husband work very hard to pay everyone they borrowed money from back, after doing so she runs into her friend and says, ‘“I brought you back another exactly like it. And it has taken us ten years to pay for it… Mine was and imitation! It was worth five hundred francs at most!”’ (Maupassant 14).
In the short story “The Necklace” Madame Loisel was a rich women who thought she was poor. She valued having a nice appearance and looking elegant. Madame Loisel borrowed a necklace that she thought was gorgeous, she then lost the necklace but didn’t want to tell the lady she lost it so she went to look for
Jealousy is a human characteristic were someone show envy of someone because of their achievements or advantages. In the song “Wait For It” from the Hamilton soundtrack, the singer who plays Aaron Burr, Leslie Odom Jr., describe Burr’s jealousy of Alexander Hamilton. He stresses that Hamilton seems to always achieve success and he wonders what life would be like if he were Hamilton. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story “The Necklace,” the main character, Madame Loisel, is a plain and simple woman who was born into a family of clerks. While being ordinary, she fantasizes of a life of being wealthy and adored.
The Necklace Character Essay The Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant, is a fictional account of a married couple in 18th century France. Madame Matilde Loisel and her husband, Monsieur Loisel, live a very common ordinary life. While Monsieur Loisel is satisfied with this life, Matilde longs for something more. As the story progresses, we see Matilde is an undisciplined character because she is selfish, stubborn, and childish.
Views about wealth can be different from every people. Some believes that wealth can solve every problem and provide happiness and others believe that wealth is not really the most important thing in the world. It just depends on what the person wants from being wealthy or how they want to use it in their lives. Two authors, Guy de Maupassant the author of “The Necklace”, and Chinua Achebe the author of “Civil Peace”, wrote short stories where views on materialism are portrayed by characters in similar and in different ways. Madame Loisel from “The Necklace” is a middle class woman who always dreams of becoming rich but ended being poor because of valuing the necklace more than anything to her that caused her happiness at first but years of suffering after .
A major theme Mathilde learns in this story is lusting after expensive and luxurious items does not bring long-term happiness.
Madame Loisel and her Husband spent the last ten years to pay for the lost borrowed necklace, only to be told that the necklace cost “five hundred francs.” To add to the irony to the situation Madame Loisel lost her prized possession, her beauty, “She came to know what heavy housework meant... She washed the dishes, using her dainty fingers... she carried the slops down to the street every morning and carried up the water, stopping for breath at every landing. And dressed like a woman of the people...
Loisel lives a decent life but constantly wants more, her greed and desire to be rich and wealthy is what ultimately brings the downfall of her character. On the night of the reception, Madame Loisel wears a magnificent diamond necklace from Madame Forestier. As Madame Loisel spends her time at the ball, she is able to live the life she believes she is entitled for. The happiest night of her life slowly becomes her worst nightmare. As she loses the necklace, and is unable to admit her mistake due to her excessive pride.
She was never happy and satisfied with what she had and always daydreamed of large ballrooms… decorated with oriental tapestries and lighted by high bronze floor lamps. She wanted to be the envy of all other women. When her husband gets an invite to the ball she wishes to appear wealthy to the other women at the ball. She borrows a diamond necklace from a wealthy friend, Mme Forestier. At the ball, she becomes pretty, elegant, gracious and smiling than all the other ladies, and she finds herself enjoying the party.
The protagonist of ‘The Necklace’, Madame Loisel, live a rather steady, ordinary middle-class life in the beginning of the story. However, she views that she is intended for a luxurious life, and, therefore, does not cherish what she has. She takes a step forward to her desires, as she was invited to a ball where all the upper-class woman would be, yet she was unhappy with the fact that she does not even have a stone to put on.
The Necklaceis perhaps his most famous work ,which has been also called Madame Bovary in miniature. The story depicts a middle class woman, Madame Mathilde Loisel, who was obsessed with luxuries of the noblemen.. Mathilde was invited for a ball, where she borrowed a diamond necklance from Mrs Forrester, Unfortunately, she lost the necklace and worked
