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The Necklace Short Story Essay

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“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities,” Stephen Covey. Through literature, readers can learn more about the characters through their similarities and their differences. In the short stories “The Necklace,” written by Guy de Maupassant, and “The Gift of the Magi,” written by O’Henry, readers can find many differences and similarities between their main characters. Della is the protagonist of the short story, “The Gift of the Magi.” Madame Loisel, also known as Mathilde, is the protagonist of the short story “The Necklace.” Both of these stories take place in past times and occur to poverty-stricken families. Although both Della and Mathilde are beautiful, they have their differences; throughout the story, Della is seen as …show more content…

Another quote that proves that Mathilde is selfish comes from page 335, which states, “‘How much would an evening dress cost…’ ‘ I think I could manage with 400 frances.’ He went a little pale, ‘Well, all right, then. I’ll give you four hundred francs.’” This quote shows that Mathilde is self-centered because she took money her husband the he was saving, in order to buy herself an expensive dress just for her self-fulfillment. Mathilde did not even thank him. This quote proves that Mathilde is narcissistic. Mathilde is characterized as conceited and selfish throughout the story “The Necklace.”
Although Della and Mathilde have many differences, they both have one quality in common; they are both beautiful. Page 333 tells readers of Mathilde’s quality of beauty, “She was one of those pretty, charming young woman”. Furthermore, page 262 tells readers of Della’s beauty, “So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown water”. From these two quotes, readers can learn that both protagonists are beautiful characters. Although both

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