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How Does Maupassant Present Greed In The Necklace

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Greed in the Necklace: Mathilde's Rebirth The Necklace, a short story written by Guy de Maupassant, is about a greedy woman in poverty, who learns that being selfish can hurt her and others around her. Her greedy behavior indicates that she has been struggling during her years in poverty. When she scrambled to find out her purpose in life, she portrayed anger and malevolence towards others. Acting selfish and rude to one another can trigger one's own feeling of hate and rage. Mathilde asked Madame for jewels in a very hostile way, "Haven't you any more?" (3). As she asks for more jewels from the Madame, it reflects her greed for wanting more items, which shows her deprivation. The more items one possesses, the more they feel entitled to obtain more items. She feels …show more content…

This is clearly portrayed in the story. When leaving the ball, she screams at cabmen driving by, "..shouting after the cabmen whom they say passing at a distance" (3). When Mathilde is leaving the grand ball, she screams at the cabmen, which shows her absolute inconsideration towards others. She portrays her anger and hostility towards others, which shows that her rage can cause her to look inferior. During the ball, her tempers would flare at a distance, "But she did not listen to him, and rapidly descended the stairs" (3). Mathilde's tempers can become thrown off at an instant because of her greed and mixed emotions, which are what caused her to throw a tantrum in front of others. As Mathilde worked hard to recover the money she owed to the Madame, she finally sees and reflects on the mistakes she made in her previous life. In the process, she internally becomes wiser and truly understands what went on during her former life. After her self-centered and thoughtless behavior vanished over time, she became the woman she always had dreamed of

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