项链-莫泊桑_英文赏析

Reflection Paper of “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant

项链 by 莫泊桑 Thesis statement: By the representations made in the story “The Necklace”, we can realize that No matter what kind of surroundings we have, we should always follow our basic truth, give up vanity and pride. In the start of the story, we know about Mathilde was dissatisfied with her life. She wanted to become upper-class lady, join the life of noble, elegant. This was obviously not reliable. She was vanity, but avoided life of suffering is human nature, who doesn’t want a good life? Who is willing to endure poverty and ugly? Mathilde was pretty and charming; it is because she is such a beautiful girl, so that her heart is full of grievances and resentment. That’s the reason why she is unhappy all the day.

Mathilde didn’t want to face the reality but she put her vanity and ideal all in the dream, at this time, poor Mathilde had completely been captured by vanity, but she never wanted to hide her desire and pain, so she was not hypocrisy. The vanity of true feelings expression may make us feel uncomfortable, and we can't help to criticized a few words.

For Mathilda, she didn't use her false side to get lavish lifestyle what she really wanted to get. She followed her own basic truth, maintained their dignity. In life there is a lot of helplessness, especially for her - little women that had no money, especially after the lost necklace, owed a huge debt. In this kind of strike, she finally abandoned her daydreams, faced reality, with her honest earning.

Why did she choose to pay this way? Actually she can run away, bilk or she can tell her friend "the truth". But she didn't do this; we can see that she had her own self-esteem. There still a way that she can dress up in the street at night use her beauty to attract men's attention, that would be easily pay off her debt.

She didn’t have any hesitate to choose a way full of thistles and thorns. Mathilde fetch and carry for the money, suffered gird from other people, save coins to pay her debt. A beautiful woman becomes old and ugly, she changed, not only her appearance, but also her essence. These things pulled her unrealistic from the cloud back to the ground, now there is a new Mathilde.

Mathilde learned that there is a beauty called give up. After lost the necklace, she needs to make a choice of youth, beauty and personal dignity she decided to give up the youth, choose dignity. At first Mathilde was captured by a strong terrifying vanity, later, she made a surprising decision. Finally, when she met her still beautiful young friend again, and knew the truth, there is a brilliant smile on her face; the smile is a sign of her confidence and pride.

The thought-provoking place in this novel is from the dirty, false and money-oriented society, we witnessed a heart of gold, a lotus of the silt but not imbrued. Mathilde is unfortunate because she can’t get things that she deserves. She is fortunate at the same time, the cruel reality let her awake, life is not only the illusion of fog, is more down-to-earth walk step by step.