The short story, “The Necklace”, by Guy du Maupassant, is about Madame Loisel, a young woman and her desire to lead a life of luxury, jewels, and dresses. On the other hand, the short story “The Journey to Galway” by Colm Toibin is about a mother and her struggle to accept the death of her soldier son. In the light of the texts, “The Necklace” is a better short story than the “The Journey to Galway”. This is because of the presence of strong characterization and the author’s effective use of conflict. After comparing both texts, “The Necklace” is a better short story than “The Journey to Galway” because of the strong characterization present in the story. Page 184 of the novel describes, Madame Loisel, the protagonist, as “One of those pretty, charming, young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny… no hopes…” This quote shows that Madame Loisel is beautiful and a charming lady. Her beauty is what makes her think so highly of herself. She believes that she deserves more than what she has in her middle-class life which she describes as hopeless. This quote is an example of strong characterization as it show how she is so distracted by what she does not have and forgets about what …show more content…
The main conflict in “The Necklace” is when Madame Loisel and her husband must find a way to pay for a diamond necklace that Madame Loisel borrows from her friend but discovers that she lost in on the way back form a lavish ball. On page 190, du Maupassant says, “It was necessary to pay this frightful debt. They sent away the maid…now they knew the horrible life of necessity.” This quote shows how Madame Loisel had to adjust to her lifestyle in order to pay for the necklace that they buy to replace the lost necklace. The author uses this conflict effectively to create irony as it is revealed that the lost necklace was a fake and not