The Necklace Greed
Coveting, desiring what others posses, is a double-edged sword. Coveting someone else’s possessions can serve as a drive to better oneself and strive to achieve the things one currently does not poses but desires. On the other hand, it can create a sense of worthlessness and misery, a feeling of inferiority and constant envy of what others have. The character of the individual will determine how these feelings of desire translate. In the short story, “The Necklace”, Guy de Maupassant presents the reader with a story about how coveting and selfishness can cloud an individual’s judgment, prompting them to act irrationally, and ultimately leading them to their own downfall.
The story’s protagonist, Mathilde Loisel, is a young and beautiful woman …show more content…
And she loved nothing but …show more content…
We see displays of his character throughout – when he gives her the money he was saving to buy herself a dress, when he goes out to look for the lost necklace even though he has to work in a few hours, and ultimately, when he signs away his future and his inheritance in loans and notes so they can replace the lost item. Nonetheless, his character is static and does not change, even in the difficult circumstances. Nonetheless, even through these situations, Mathilde does not change but remains the same selfish and self-centered individual, never thinking about her husband and never offering a helping hand, and failing to “appreciate the love and loyalty of her husband.” (Miller 5) Rather, she takes his money happily, and stays inside the warm house when he goes out to look for the necklace she lost. The author uses the sharp contrast between the two personalities as a representation of society, composed of those who work tirelessly to help others and those who are shallow and take selflessly and without remorse, basing their happiness on material
The story’s protagonist, Mathilde Loisel, is a young and beautiful woman …show more content…
And she loved nothing but …show more content…
We see displays of his character throughout – when he gives her the money he was saving to buy herself a dress, when he goes out to look for the lost necklace even though he has to work in a few hours, and ultimately, when he signs away his future and his inheritance in loans and notes so they can replace the lost item. Nonetheless, his character is static and does not change, even in the difficult circumstances. Nonetheless, even through these situations, Mathilde does not change but remains the same selfish and self-centered individual, never thinking about her husband and never offering a helping hand, and failing to “appreciate the love and loyalty of her husband.” (Miller 5) Rather, she takes his money happily, and stays inside the warm house when he goes out to look for the necklace she lost. The author uses the sharp contrast between the two personalities as a representation of society, composed of those who work tirelessly to help others and those who are shallow and take selflessly and without remorse, basing their happiness on material