This document provides background information on Guy de Maupassant, the author of the short story "The Necklace." It discusses that Maupassant was inspired to write by Gustave Flaubert and produced many short stories and novels between 1880 and 1890. It then summarizes the plot of "The Necklace," including that Madame Loisel loses her friend's diamond necklace and goes into debt to replace it. Finally, it analyzes some literary elements of the story like point of view and character types.

1. “The Necklace”
Guy de Maupassant

2. Guy de Maupassant
Maupassant grew up with
wealthy parents in North-
West France. He spent almost
every Sunday with the great
French novelist, Gustave
Flaubert, who inspired him to
begin writing. In his teenage
years, he served in the
Franco-Prussian War. He got
promoted to become a
government clerk and he
spent most of his free time
writing.

3. • Between 1880 and
1890, Maupassant
had successfully
written 300 short
stories, 6 novels, 3
travel books, and his
only volume of
verse. A lot of his
stories were about
“inexplicable,
illogical, and
contradictory
catastrophes”.
Guy de Maupassant

4. • Also, many of his
stories were
humorous and warm-
hearted. Guy de
Maupassant is one of
the most
indispensible authors
of French Literature,
thanks to his many
great short stories
like this one, “The
Necklace”.
Guy de Maupassant

5. “The Necklace”
• “The Necklace” takes place in
Paris in the late 1880s. At that
time and in that place, social
classes were all important; people
were born into a certain class, and
that was usually where they
remained for the rest of their
lives.

6. Vocabulary
- Phil incessantly
played his guitar while
Jeremy was trying to
sleep.
Incessantly - endlessly; constantly
Disconsolate - so unhappy that nothing can comfort;
hopeless and depressed
-The team was disconsolate
because they lost the
championship game.

7. Aghast - filled with fear, horror, or amazement
-The chimpanzee was
aghast when he
discovered that there
were no more bananas
left.
Gamut - the entire range or series of something
-There is a gamut
of colors in the
rainbow.
Privation - the lack of the comforts or basic
necessities of life
-The privation the people have in Haiti
is upsetting to the people who have
everything.

8. Theme
• The theme of the Necklace is about
honesty. The author is trying to stress
the importance of telling the truth. For
example, in the story when Mme. Loisel
loses her friend’s necklace. If she would
have been honest with her friend in the
first place, instead of trying to cover it
up by buying a new necklace it would
have saved her and her husband a lot of
time, money, and effort.

9. • If we lie, the truth will eventually
come out and the author is saying
it is always easier to tell the truth
the first time, and you will save
yourself a lot of trouble.
Theme

10. Elements of
the Story’s
Plot
• Characters : Madame
Mathilde Loisel, Madame
Jeanne Forestier, Cabinet
Officials, Madame Loisel’s
Husband, and the Jeweler.
• Setting : Set in Paris,
France, in the late 1800’s.

11. • Basic Situation: Madame Loisel loses the
diamond necklace that her friend, Madame
Forestier, lent her when she was invited to a
ball.
• Internal Conflict: Madame Loisel has to decide
whether or not to tell Mme. Forestier the truth.
• Complications: The couple doesn’t have enough
money to buy a replacement necklace.
• Climax: When Mme. Loisel loses the necklace.
• Resolution: Mme. Loisel and her husband
borrow money to buy a new necklace.

12. • Protagonist: Mathilde Loisel
• Dynamic Character: Mathilde Loisel.
• Static Character: Mme. Forestier, Mme.
Loisel’s Husband.

13. Literary Element
• Point of view- refers the relationship of the
narrator to the story.
• In a story with third- person omniscient, the
narrator is not a character in the story but
someone who stands outside the story and
comments on the action. A third- person
omniscient narrator knows about everything that
is going on in the story that the characters
themselves could not reveal. The point of view
helps shape the story.

14. Dig Deeper
• Guy de Maupassant wrote about middle-class
strivers, peasants, soldiers, and ordinary people
caught in disastrous situations. He was a warm-
hearted man and many of his stories reflected
that. Maupassant grew up among peasants and
sailors which helped his understanding in writing
about Mathilde. Also, he lived during the 1800’s
in France which was the setting of this story. The
reader can relate with the betrayal and
secretiveness of Madame Forestier. There is also
a sense of humor at the end when Mathilde finds
out that the necklace was fake all along.