The Necklace

Qeven Todd

10/13/2011

English

The Comparison of the Necklace and the Chrysanthemums.

Although stories may be written by different authors , have different settings, plots and characters, there are many things that are similar or have similar parts that you could compare, such as the Motif, tone , and theme. Two stories that I will compare for you is “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant and “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck. Some things that you could compare in these stories are the Themes and symbols. For instance the theme for both and how they relate could be their appearance, and how the society views them. The symbols of each would be the Chrysanthemums, and the necklace.

First I will start with the symbols of the stories what I thought about them and how they relate to each other. In the story “the Chrysanthemums” the Chrysanthemums were symbols. They were symbols of Elisa and how her life was. Just like Elisa you could say that the Chrysanthemums are strong, thriving and lovely. Just like the flowerbed her house is tidy and, flawlessly in order. Elisa is almost one with the Chrysanthemums you could say, for instance when the drifter notices how beautiful the chrysanthemums are you notice that Elisa’s mood noticeably changes, as if the drifter had noticed her instead. You can notice that when she all of a sudden try to find something for him to fix. Also when she offers him the chrysanthemums it is as if she is offering herself. His rejection of the flowers also mimics the way the society at the time would reject women as nothing more than a maid and mom. Just like her the flowers are unimportant and merely decorative. The Necklace in “The Necklace” is a symbol because it’s beautiful but at the same time worthless, in Mathilde case it represents the power of perception and the importance of appearance and reality .she wants people to think that she is rich and high in society but she’s not really. For some reason Madame Forestier does not...