Gordimer's "Once Upon a Time" develops characters secondary to the setting, which it's plot and characters revolve around, while Maupassant's "The Necklace" switches the position of these two elements. In "Once Upon a Time" characters are primarily developed and introduced to develop the setting. Gordimer places characters in positions to add detail on the time and location where the story takes place, as Gordimer introduces the story, "They had a car and a caravan trailer for the holidays, and a swimming pool which was fenced so that the little boy and his play mates would not fall in and drown," (Gordimer 12). Gordimer captures a moment with the little boy in the beginning to provide an image for where and what it's like to be in the …show more content…
Therefore, they are not introduced with significant detail or developed as characters, as the story is introduced, "In a house in a suburb, in a city, there was a man and his wife who loved each other very much were living happily ever after. They had a little boy, and they loved him very much," (Gordimer 12). One can clearly see that the characters have little to no development to them, for the main purpose for them being there is to place emphasis on the setting. Unlike Gordimer, Maupassant has more focus on characters rather than the setting, which is used mainly to progress the plot and character development. Being that the center of focus in "The Necklace" is it's characters, it starts off by giving detail on Mathilde, "She was one of those pretty, charming young creatures who sometimes are born, as if a slip of fate, into a petty official's family," (Maupassant 1). The story is started in this fashion to develop Mathilde's importance as a character from the beginning, while paying no attention to setting in the first
The first element that assist the plot development is the narrative style. The type of narration is third person limited omniscient. The narrator is not actually part of the story, which allows the reader to see the events of the story unfold. This also lets the reader see the thoughts and attitudes of all of the characters through a less bias lenses. If the narration would have been in first person, the readers would only see
The necklace serves as a symbol for greed. When Mathilda Loisel loses the necklace that she believed was worth forty thousand francs, she desperately retraces her steps and gets her husband to help her find it as well. It ends up taking ten years to pay off the debt. The ten years were hard on Mathilda Loisel and her husband, and Maupassant told the reader that she “looked old now… with hair half combed, with skirts award, and reddened hands” (6). However, even after the long ten years of manual labor all because she lost the necklace, she “sat down near the window and though of that evening at the ball so long ago, when she has been so beautiful and so admired” (6). The necklace symbolizes that when greed controls emotions and decisions, it never leads to good results.
in the story. It is good choice when dealing with a setting that has so many place and
In the story there are many dynamic characters. One example of a dynamic character is Sara Chickering. “I watched my father swallow his food whole and rush away, leaving my mother with us children to be readied for school, lunch prepared for noon, washing to be done, and the fitting out of a big evening meal”(30). Her father would then “come home late, tired out, falling asleep in the best chair after supper, while mother puts the house to rights, got me, my brother, and my sister and, finally, my father off to bed”(30). In the beginning of the story Sara does not want to be controlled by a man, and therefore chooses to live alone. As the story progresses her opinion on men changes. “it’s not hard putting up with mr. hirsh. he isn’t like my father.”(45). “best man i ever saw.”(45). After living with mr. Hirsh who helps around the house, is respectful, and is responsible for his daughter, Sara realizes that not all men are the
‘The Necklace’ is a morality tale written by Guy de Maupassant where he portrays the life of a beautiful but dissatisfied girl named Mathilde who desires to live a luxurious life despite being born into a clerk’s family and marrying a clerk too. Mathilde’s discontentment in life instigates her to pretend someone rich that she is not. Moreover, it leads her to severe trouble that caused ten years of hardship to Mathilde and her husband. So, this suffering is a punishment for Mathilde which taught her a lesson and changed her dramatically over the course of the story by making her a person of completely different personality for whom appearances
Unlike the book, the movie skims over most of the character’s personal relationships. For example, the audience does not get to truly understand the feelings amongst the Curtis brothers until the end of the movie. Therefore, the theme of family love was not as prevalent in the movie as it was in the book. Nevertheless, both the book and the movie shared the major themes. Class conflict was evident as the force behind the events. It showed how socioeconomics could divide communities and cause animosity. It also showed how money could predetermine one’s future and cause injustices amongst people. Honor and sacrifice was another major theme. Throughout the book and movie, sacrifices were made, time after time. Whether it was because of obligation or selflessness, the characters showed that sacrifices are necessary in life. The themes, in both versions, are central to understanding the character’s
Therefore, this allows for more time inside one character’s mind and to get a sense of what the character is experiencing. On the other hand, Gordimer’s writing in “A Chip of Glass Ruby” is straight forward with its words. This story is more engaged with the characters and their actions. There is more dialog in this narrative which is crucial to the flow of the story.
First, let’s review the characters in the main story, of which there are few in the literary story
But who her friend also loved. The Necklace's author is De maupassant. Focuses on the theme of deceptiveness of appearances. This is shown through the main character Mathilde who is deceived by herself by thinking that just because she is beautiful she deserves to have higher social status and she lives in a illusionary world in which she is Miss perfect and the world must revolve around her.
The reason the first person narrative’s effect on the content of the novel is important is because it shows a broad view of how the narrative shapes the protagonist identity.
telling the owner of its loss. "In a shop in the Palias-Royal, they found a
The authors told the story from the point of view of each character throughout the story, even if that character was only in the book for a chapter or
During this time period, women’s role in society was that of a submissive, powerless position. They often relied solely on their husband for direction, allowing the husband to make decisions and take lead no matter what. In the story of The Necklace, Maupassant illustrates these
In The Necklace, Guy De Maupassant creates a suffering tone. He uses diction to further describe words and give better meaning to his statements, irony to tie the story together and give dramatic surprises, and imagery to show you what Mathilde (the wife) is dreaming of our talking about. He uses all of these literary devices to support the tone that is created throughout the story.
Firstly, the necklace Mme. Loisel borrows and her perspective symbolizes the desire she has towards being wealthy and important in society. Maupassant describes effectively the aspiration Mme. Loisel had on being from the nobility all through the story by illustrating the greediness she portrays on the story. Mme. Loisel is greedy on this story due to the fact that she is never happy with what her husband can give to her and she always wants more and more. Moreover, Mme. Loisel thinks that the more money a person had the more valuable a person was. In “The Necklace”, Guy de Maupassant indirectly conveys Mme. Loisel’s real background at the beginning of the story when he points out, “She was one of those pretty and charming girls, born by a blunder of destiny in a family of