Negative effects can extremely impact a society. With negative effects comes societal mishaps. Guy de Maupassant in, "The Necklace" proves how individualism can be the spark to a crisis.  In, "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society," Cornel West shows how democracy is in the hands of the individual.  What is individuality?  Individuality is one small, tiny characteristic that can distinguish one human from another, whether good or bad.  Individuality and community must find a balance or negative impact will result as a consequence.  "The Necklace" and "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society" illustrate egocentrism, status, and market culture fostering negative communal repercussions.   

What is egocentrism?  Egocentrism is referred to as the ability to only see the world from ones perspective and no one else's.  In, "The Necklace," by Guy de Maupassant, Maupassant's use of egocentrism helps shape the moral of the story. Maupassant writes, "She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries.  She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the wretched look of the walls, from the worn-out chairs, from the ugliness of the curtains.  All those things, of which another woman of her rank would never even have been conscious, tortured her and made her angry." (Maupassant 33)  Starting off Maupassant's story, he introduces the main character, Mathilde, as being a very egocentric character.  Maupassant wants us to ask ourselves, why is Mathilde Suffering?  He explains that all of the things that Mathilde has are what an everyday woman would be proud to own. Mathilde on the other hand, frowns upon what she has, and instead of embracing her status in society, she is being "tortured" and being made "angry" by her possessions.  Just the thought of Mathilde's possessions creates desire for more.  Mathilde compares her belongings only to the rich and people with greater worldly possessions.  This information about Mathilde, starting off the story, leads the reader to have a negative view on Mathilde.  Maupassant depicts a selfish wife dissatisfied by a lack of marriage to a non-artisan husband.  "The Necklace" brings up a situation where Mathilde's husband, given no name in the story, but referred to as "a little clerk in the Ministry of Public Instruction" (Maupassant 33) invites Mathilde to go to a ball with him.  Mathilde feels she cannot attend the ball without a greater attire.  Mathilde wishes to demonstrate beauty via financial means at the ball.  Maupassant writes, "He stopped, distracted, seeing that his wife was crying ...  "What's the matter?" ...  "Nothing. Only I have no dress ...  Give your card to some colleague whose wife is better equipped than I."" (Maupassant 34)  Here, in this quotation, Maupassant is revealing to us just how depressed Mathilde is for not being wealthy, she even complains about her husband, enlightening us that he does not cherish her needs.  The husband however does cherish Mathilde's needs.  Mathilde would take her spouse's funds to buy a gun to pay for the dress.  The husband would sacrifice in a selfless manner to compensate for Mathilde's egocentrism.  Readers can point out just how egocentric Mathilde is and how it affects her as an individual.  The egocentrism would lead to a grim realization of poverty.

In the piece written by Cornel West, "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society," West helps us to see just how greatly egocentrism can affect an individual and social level.  Written during the year 1953, West speaks of entitlement being an effect of the economy.  West illustrates the erosion of "market culture" with, "These are the signs of culturally decadent civilization. By decadent I mean the relative erosion of systems of nurturing and caring" (West, 458).  In other words, the goals people set become more of a priority which creates self-centered actions and eliminates compassion for others.  For example, many people prefer to buy and save for themselves rather than spend on the less fortunate.  In 1953, twenty-five percent of all American children lived in poverty (West 457).  Still to this day, one percent control the majority of the wealth.  Cornel west shows how selfishness can cause economic distribution.  The selfishness will even lead to consequences such as individual discontent and lack of care for the lesser.  Clearly "The Necklace" and "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society" show how egocentrism leads to negative outcomes on an individual and social level.  

Status is the relative perception other members of society displace upon an individual.    In "The Necklace," Mathilde is caught up in her appearance, a trait crucial to many forms of status.  Mathilde's husband is saving for a rifle however Mathilde desires to have a beautiful dress for the upcoming ball.  Selfishly, Mathilde asks her husband for money and acquires a beautiful dress with the rifle's funds.  Mathilde believed she needed a dress for the ball to improve her status.  Even after the dress was purchased, Mathilde illustrates her discontent by saying, "there's nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other women who are rich" (Maupassant 35).  Mathilde compares her status to that of women with greater financial means.  Consequently, Mathilde would borrow and lose a necklace which she believed was worth more than its real value.  Consumed by status, Mathilde and her husband would be forced to pay off a loan for the necklace.  Clearly Mathilde's concern with her status would lead to her downfall.  So if an individual can be consumed by desire for status, how does the same principle affect society as a whole?  Violent assault, cruel insult, mean spiritedness, and inability to experience deep levels of intimacy are fears of most Americans. (West 458)  Americans alter their statuses to cope with these fears becoming a reality.  Democracy, however, cannot exist without mutual respect, personal responsibility, and social accountability.  An individual's fear of detriment to their status can work against the foundation of democracy.  Mathilde's actions are a small element of a gross collective harm seen in many present day communities.  The desire for Mathilde's status lead to a lack of compassion for the lesser, such as her servant.  The servant would lose his job, and income, due to Mathilde's mistake.  This mistake made by Mathilde was based on the concern with status.  Obviously, status, in "The Necklace" and "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society," develops into a collective harm on an individual and social level.  

"Market Culture" is not a distinct system set up by the public, rather created by traits of society.  West believes, "The ultimate logic of market culture is the gangsterization of culture:  I want power now. I want pleasure now. I want property now. Your property. Give it to me" (West 459).  Newly developed traits of "Market Culture" destroy essential elements of society such as democracy and the nuclear family (West 459).  For example, the nuclear family is a key component to childhood.  Without the Nuclear family, children are more likely to become deviant or to lack common social rules.  The desire for more property, value, and pleasure result in strain on relationships.  The strain creates conflict and leads to the destruction of relationships.  The key example is marriage.  Several conflicts develop due to "Market Culture" in "The Necklace."  The fight about the gun, the financial uncertainty created by the dress, and the false perception of the necklace's value create tension between Mathilde and her husband.  Mathilde desired property and the pleasure of being accepted by the higher class.  However, being enthralled with the pleasure and property led to Mathilde and her husband stressed and looking to recover the necklace.  Later, in "The Necklace," a loan would have to be credited to a jeweler to afford a replacement for the lost necklace. After the loan was taken out, Mathilde and her husband would have to work for ten years to pay off the accrued debt.  Even after all these obstacles, a grim reality would surface.  The necklace, borrowed from Mme. Forestier, would be deemed a fake.  Initially, Mathilde's husband did not have to go through all the hard work to pay the loan back off.  Mathilde had to get a job to help make payments on the loan because it was mainly her fault.  During the conversation with Mme. Forestier, Mathilde had aged and her physical appearance had undergone extreme detriment from the hard work.  The aging and detriment to her physical appearance was clearly bestowed upon Mathilde and her husband.  The stress of the labor, debt, and financial regress to poverty would be a sacrifice for, at most, five-hundred Francs.   The two individuals succumbed to the negative consequences faced by Mathilde due to "Market Culture."   

Individually and socially, egocentrism, status, and market cultures create negative effects displayed by "The Necklace" and "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society."  "The Necklace" displays the negative effects on an individual scale whereas "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society" illustrates the collective harm on a social scale.  One negative effect on a social scale is the erosion of democracy mentioned by Cornel West.  To be moral in society, you have to find a balance between desire to benefit self and compassion for others, especially the lesser, within your community.  The balance between compassion for the lesser and self-interest will allow for democracy to remain.  Otherwise, society could face a false reality of democracy and fall into the extremes of oligarchy and communism.  Citizens of democracy need to make this an idealistic goal.    

