Similarities Between The Scarlet Ibis And The Necklace

A great story is a story that keeps the reader glued to the pages. The elements of literature that make a great story are a deep plot, relatable characters, and a good ending. If the story has a connection with the reader, the reader will want to keep on reading. There are many similarities and differences between the selection from "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant and "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurt; however, "The Necklace" is the story that deserves to be called "great."

The way the two stories were written, it leads to them having similarities between them. Two such similarities are the main characters being are not satisfied with what they have, and they value their pride over anything. First, the first element is the characters

She grieved incessantly, feeling that she had been born for all the little niceties and luxuries of living. She grieved over the shabbiness of her apartment, the dinginess of the walls, the worn-out appearance of the chairs, the ugliness of the draperies" (Maupassant). In other words, the main character [Madame Loisel], is ashamed of her way of life, she believes that she was born for luxuries of the world. This illustrates the idea Mme. Loisel only values materials like jewelry, clothes, and luxuries. As a result, this impacts the story by showing the reader that Mme.Loisel has no morals and is materialistic. This also shows Mme. Loisel's true colors. This element makes the story good by making the reader want Mme.Loisel to have a bad future. In "The Scarlet Ibis it states, "When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn’t walk, so I set out to teach him. We were down in Old Woman Swamp and it was spring and the sick-sweet smell of bay flowers hung everywhere like a mournful song. 'I’m going to teach you to walk, Doodle,' I said" (Hurst). In other words, the narrator was embarrassed by Doddle's inability to walk to he

"The Necklace" should be considered the greater story out of the two since, it has a deeper connection with the reader and its ending is better overall. For the ending it states, "Mme. Forestier, quite overcome, clasped her by the hands. 'Oh, my poor Mathilde. But mine was only paste. Why, at most it was worth only five hundred francs!' " (Maupassant). In other words, Mme. Forestier told Mme. Loisel that her original necklace was a fake and valued at 500 francs. This illustrates that Mme. Loisel went through so much to find out that the original necklace was a paste and not the real deal. This impacts the story by helping "The Necklace" to be called great, a good ending makes a good story. Another element that makes "The Necklace" great is the connection between it and the reader. In the story it states, "Each month notes had to be paid, and others renewed to give more time. Her husband labored evenings to balance a tradesman's accounts, and at night, often, he copied documents at five sous a page. And this went on for ten years. Finally, all was paid back, everything including the exorbitant rates of the loan sharks and accumulated compound interest" (Maupassant). To put it differently, after ten years of hard work M. and Mme. Loisel were able to pay back all the money they owed, even with all the interest piled up. This depicts that people will go through great lengths to keep the truth a secret. This