In the story "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant, the author tells the story of a woman who longs for a better life for herself. The woman in this story dreams of being rich and accomplished and having lots of belongings and treasures for herself. Her husband is a hard working man who tried to support his wife and her dreams, even if he may slightly disapprove of her wishes. Maupassant establishes the wandering mind of the wife early on, describing her dreams of riches and elegant belongings. Then, one day, the husband comes home with an invitation to a ball, which he believes will please his wife. She becomes irritated at him for bringing it home, even throwing the envelope onto the table "with disdain" (34) and speaking to him rudely for even bringing it to her. He says he thought it would make her happy, and she responds to him rudely by saying she will not go because she has nothing to wear. He obviously wants to do the right thing for his wife and offers to give her money to find a nice dress to wear, and she asks for four hundred francs, which he realizes is what he set aside for himself to buy a gun and go shooting with his friends. However, he clearly wants to keep his wife happy, so he gives her the money, and she gets a dress. The day of the ball, she borrows a beautiful necklace from one of her rich friends, and then promptly loses it after the ball. The couple searches for it and when they cannot find it, the wife writes to her friend, at the suggestion of her husband, and lies about the state of the necklace, saying that "[she had] broken the clasp of her necklace and that [she is] having it mended." (37). This is a lie because she lost the necklace and is covering for herself but the two of them find a necklace just like the one she borrowed and they buy it at a huge expense to their living, and give it to the wife's friend. The couple spend ten years paying off the debt they are in because of the purchase of the new necklace, and the wife sees her friend in the street after all that time, and decides to tell her the truth about the necklace. The wife tells her friend the truth and tells her that they have been paying off debts for ten years, and her friend is assumed by this and says that the original necklace was basically worth nothing. In this story, Maupassant uses symbolism, diction, and tone to show that some things we may wish for are not what they seem from the outside.

In "The Necklace", Guy de Maupassant uses symbolism to show that some things are not what they seem and may not be worth wishing for after all. The symbolism used in this story comes from the necklace itself. The main character of the story, the wife, longs for a more lavish life for herself. She dreams of "dainty dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestry which peopled the walls ... and she thought of delicious dishes served on marvelous plates ... " (33). This passage is describing how she dreams of a more opulent lifestyle at all times of day, even when she is sat down to dinner with her wonderful husband. The symbolism really comes into play when the ball and the actual necklace are introduced- she is finally getting her hands on pieces of the lifestyle she longs for. However, it is soon shown that such a lifestyle comes at a high price, quite literally, when she loses the necklace and must replace it. She and her husband scrape together thirty-six thousand francs to pay for the replacement necklace, which is twice the amount of money they had saved over their lifetime. The necklace represents the lifestyle she wishes for, and briefly obtains, but it slips away after a brief moment in time. The necklace also shows the divide between the rich and the poor, because Mathilde was unable to tell that Mme. Forestier's necklace was "paste" (39) and therefore wasted a great deal of time and money and her life in general to replace it. The use of symbolism through the necklace shows that sometimes what you wish for is not necessarily what you get.

The use of diction and Maupassant's writing style help to push the story along and prove the point because the style he uses is very simple and unadorned. The language is so plain and simple that it keeps the story moving quickly; this pushes it along and holds the reader's interest. The reader gets to know Mathilde almost like a close friend within the first few paragraphs of the story. The pace and style of the story help to make it move rapidly and this shows the progression of time without dragging. The short sentences make it seem as though we, as readers, are watching their life from the outside, just as Mathilde watches the life of the rich from the outside. Another way the diction proves the point is that the story almost feels like it is being told to us by a middle man or messenger who is relating it to the reader in short, cut off sentences. This also gives the sense of being an outsider and makes the reader long for the feeling of being on the inside, similar to how Mathilde feels about the world of the wealthy. The diction of the story makes us feel almost included, but not quite, which is most certainly how Mathilde feels in this story when she is very close to the lifestyle of the rich people.

The last technique that Maupassant uses to prove this point is the tone of his writing. A main point of this story is that Mathilde feels disconnected from the rich community and feels like an outsider to them. The tone of this piece is very disconnected and distant, and yet we as readers get a sense that Maupassant knows what he is talking about when he references the lavish lifestyle of the wealthy. A way to describe the tone of this story would be detached, but yet somehow still understanding. This is similar to Mathilde because her view of the rich lifestyle is detached and yet seems so familiar to her and she seems to have some sort of understanding of it. The tone really connects her to the story because her experience and outlook on life are so similar to the tone of the story. It is almost as if Mathilde were to write the story, the tone would not change from her perspective. This sets up the story to drive home the idea that if you are detached and an outsider from something so lavish as the lifestyle of the wealthy, perhaps you should just leave it alone and consider setting your sights on something more realistic or attainable.

All in all, this story seems to be a warning of sorts to not wish for something you cannot realistically have. Maupassant uses symbolism through the necklace to represent the unattainability of the lavish lifestyle Mathilde so desperately wishes for. The use of tone and diction also represent the detached feeling Mathilde has from this lifestyle, and yet at the same time we sense that the narrator has some sort of insight into this world. All 3 of these techniques together make the point that what one may wish for so eagerly is often not what one imagines it to be.
