The Necklace
Katherine Mansfield "Miss Brill," depicts a woman who sees society as a "play" rather than the painful reality of truth and mixed emotions that it actually is. Miss Brill is the only main character in this story. She is an older woman that thinks highly of herself and takes pride in her surroundings. Miss Brill has a Sunday ritual of going to the park, placing herself on a bench, and watching mankind in its flurry of activity. This routine offers her the opportunity to live vicariously. To start her day, Miss Brill took pride in choosing her fur to wear to the park. The fur was fluffed, and its eyes glossed to her desire. She thought to herself that its shinning eyes seemed to question why she had kept it in storage for so long. Miss Brill applied rouge to the area where the mouth and the tail of the fur met to emphasize the wonder around her neck. Miss Brill's excitement passed through her hands and arms. It was a mixed feeling--gentle, without a trace of sadness, which grew with each breath. Upon arrival in the park, she noticed the band playing better than usual. She knew that the season has begun because the band is playing for strangers, and not just playing for the regulars
Miss Brill usually treated herself to a slice of honeycake from the bakery after leaving the park, but not that day. The Bakery, quickly passed and Miss Brill went home to her dark, cupboard like room. She sat on her eiderdown for a long time. The fur box was on her bed (paragraph 18). She unclasped the necktie quickly and with out looking, laid it inside. Putting on the lid, she thought she heard a cry (paragraph 18). Her heart was crying. There was no longer a place for her in the animation of the group she had so long observed. The feeling of acceptance and being a part of it all was gone. She was just a "funny" regular after all, who wanted excitement in her odd, silent, nearly old life. Miss Brill wanted the play to continue. As she placed the fur back in the box, that part of her life, which had been the play, was also stored away. which made Miss Brill hope for better. Miss Brill never tried to converse with anyone else, but showed her interest was on others and their exciting lives. The regulars who came Sunday after Sunday all seemed funny to Miss Brill with their similarities. They were odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they had just come from dark little rooms or even cupboards (paragraph 5). Miss Brill obviously did not think of herself as one of those people. The laughter and voices
Some common words found in the essay are:
Miss Brill, Miss Brill's, miss brill, miss brill's, odd silent nearly, silent nearly, miss brill's eyes, paragraph 18, odd silent, band playing, fur box, brill's eyes,
Approximate Word count = 925
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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