Reading questions1. Guy De Maupassant's tone in The Necklace, although objective, is a critical tone towards the character Mathidle. Maupassant describes Mathidle's feelings and gives the reader the impression that he is annoyed by Mathidle's attitude. “She grieved incessantly, feeling that she was born for all the little niceties and luxuries of life. He grieved over the squalor of his apartment, the shabbiness of the walls, the shabby appearance of the chairs, the ugliness of the curtains. All these things, which another woman of her class would not have even noticed, gnawed at her and made her furious. “It's embarrassing not to have a piece of jewelry or a gem, something to wear on my dress. I will look like a pauper…” Maupassant’s tone reflects the French realism movement by focusing on the bourgeois life of Mathidle and her husband. It also reflects realism as it is written objectively. He writes almost as if he were telling the story and feelings of his characters.2. Mathidle's attitude towards her life and how she longs for something more extravagant gives the reader the emotion of sadness. “She had no evening clothes, no jewellery, nothing. But those were the things he wanted; she felt that this was the type of life suited to her, she wanted so much to be liked, to be envied, to be fascinating and sought after." For a brief moment, the mood changes to excitement and happiness for Mathidle. He finally gets to experience upper class life. "She danced like a madwoman, wildly, drunk with pleasure, thinking of nothing in the triumph of her beauty, in the pride of her success..." The story ends with pity, tragedy and loss for Mathidle. He wasted 10 years of his life to return something that in the end was really worth nothing....... middle of paper ......assant introduces some literary elements, such as foreshadowing: “I didn't sell that necklace, ma'am," he said, "I only provided the case." and flashback: “But, sometimes, while her husband was at work, she would sit by the window and think of that evening long ago when, at the ball, she was been so beautiful and admired breathless until the end, when the tale takes an unexpected turn when Mathidle discovers that the borrowed necklace was fake. The story carried a horrible irony; Loisel spent 10 years paying for the replacement of something that had no value from the beginning. This ironic ending makes the quality of this story exceptional. Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Joy. 7th ed. New York: Longmann, 1999. 160-66.