Essay Prompts for "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant

"The Necklace:

Has Madame Loisel's character changed at the end of the story?  Why or why not? Support with evidence from the story.

Did Madame Loisel's character contribute to her own downfall?

Analyze the theme of deception - of oneself as well as of others - and the role deception played in Madame Loisel's downfall.

Explore the use of point of view to create the ironic impact of the story.

Possible themes for the story:

Life Doesn't Always Turn Out the Way One Expects.

Character is Destiny.   One's character will determine one's fate.

-->

How to Write an Essay

The essay must be a minimum of two pages

Please do not write front and back

If you type it, then please double space!

Please use a dark pen in blue or black

Font should be no less than 12.

Thy shalt not use Olde English font

The essay should have a title and should have a reference to “The Necklace”

The first paragraph should have a thesis statement:

Madame Loisel, the protagonist from Guy De Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”, is a vain, narcissistic woman whose character flaws lead to her downfall.

The thesis statement is a topic sentence but it should also include your position on the topic.

Please do not use the pronouns "I" or "you" or "my".

It should include the title of the short story and the author’s name.

Madame Loisel is a very vain woman. Other readers may maintain that Loisel is not vain; however, the evidence pointing to her vanity is overwhelming.

In the first paragraph quickly devote one sentence to each paragraph topic you will be discussing.

You need an attention grabber!!!! Something that is going to make me, the reader, want to read your paper. (The hook!)

How would you feel if?

What if?

Why?

Has Mathilde really changed at the end of the story? Why or why not?

You should briefly recount the story. Briefly detail the schematic or outline of the story.

DO NOT SUMMARIZE!!!!

You might want to discuss her behavior before she lost the necklace.

You might want to discuss her behavior after she lost the necklace.

You might want to discuss how she reacted when she saw Madame Forestier ten years after the necklace incident. What did she think to herself? What did she say to Madame Forestier?

There should be a concluding sentence at the end of each paragraph:

Body Paragraphs:

The first sentence should be the mini-topic sentence of your paragraph. (So the reader will know what the paragraph is about!!!!)

Develop the mini-topic sentence. (This should be  one to four sentences.)

Details: from the story! Either quotations or concrete details (you paraphrase this). This is the meat in your essay sandwich.

Paraphrase means to put into your own words!!

You must show how your evidence supports your thesis!!!! Comment on what you have quoted or the concrete detail you have supplied!!!! This is the bread.

You write a concluding sentence which is the bow on your little paragraph present or it is the icing on your little paragraph cake.

Use transitional words to link sentences or paragraphs together.

There should be a minimum of three body paragraphs.

Please do not write in your concluding paragraph: “In conclusion…..”

Briefly recap the main points of your essay which you first stated in the first paragraph.

COMPARE and CONTRAST ESSAY on THE NECKLACE and THE GIFT OF THE MAGI

You can either do a vin diagram or a “t-chart” showing how “Della”, the character in “The Gift of the Magi”, and “Madame Loisel” in “The Necklace” are alike and how are they different.

Both Della and Mathilde are:
Impoverished
Married
Young adults
Beautiful
“Their best qualities were given to them at birth.” (Beauty and grace.)
They both like to flaunt what they have
Della flaunts her hair. Mathilde flaunts her necklace

They dress plainly.
They both seek luxury.
They are living during the turn of the century.
They both have caring husbands.
They both grieved over some loss.

HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT?
DELLA
She loved her husband very much
Very giving to her husband
She cut off her hair to buy him a gift
Della was grateful for what she had.

Mathilde
She is a fake.
She wanted people at the party to believe she was rich.
She wanted to be envied and to be found fascinating.
She is very bitter about what she doesn't have
She is very selfish and probably doesn't love her husband very much.

Now, choose three specific ways in which the two women are similar and three specific ways in which the two women are different. Dive back into the text to find evidence to support your claim. You can either paraphrase (put into your own words) or use a direct quotation.

For tonight's homework: Try your hand at writing the opening paragraph of your compare and contrast essay. Be sure to include the thesis statement (a sentence which tells us what the essay is about and your position on this topic) and the titles of both short stories, and the names of the writers. The opening paragraph should also develop the thesis statement. In other words, don't just write the thesis statement but expand on it. The entire opening paragraph should be six to eleven lines long. Have fun!

Format for the body paragraph:
Mini-thesis statement
At least one to two sentences developing the mini-thesis statement
Evidence from the text to support your mini-thesis statement
Evidence can be either a direct quotation or paraphrased.
At least one to two sentences commenting on your evidence
Concluding or transitional sentence leading to the next body paragraph

There should be three body paragraphs.

Concluding paragraph:
Quickly go over your main points
Final concluding thought(s) on the theme of the stories.