Comparison The Necklace and The Gift of the Magi

A detailed Summary of Comparison The Necklace and The Gift of the Magi

Some stories deal with love, greed, and envy. That is the case in The Gift of the Magi and The Necklace. The Necklace by Guy de Maupusant shows that some things one wants may not be the things that one needs and The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry shows that some people will give up their most prized possessions for the one they love. Though they are about different people and different times, they do have things in common.

Both of these stories revolve around married couples. Each of these couples are poor. The short stories give clues about their financial struggles. Maupassant tells the story from the wife's point of view. We learn that Mme Loisel was born into a poor family and because she had no dowry, she married a not so wealthy man. The author tells us that she "grieved incessantly" for the finer things that she could not afford.

Each is a story of sacrifice. M. Loisel sacrifices his rifle money to try to make his wife happy. He ends up sacrificing 10 years of his life working three jobs to help pay their debt. We presume he does that because of his love for his wife. Even Mme. Loisel sacrifices her beauty and her lifestyle. They move to a very small apartment and she does all the housework herself. Maupassant describes her as having become an old woman, "heavy, rough, harsh, like one of the poor." We can only think that she did that because of a sense of duty. Della sacrifices her crowning glory. She sells her long, beautiful hair for money to buy her husband a present. Jim sacrifices his treasured pocket watch for money to buy his wife hair combs. There is no doubt that they each made their sacrifices because of love.

She was envious of others who had wealth. She was ashamed to visit a well to do school

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mme Loisel, Magi Henry, , Necklace Guy, Gift Magi, loisel sacrifices, mme loisel, money buy, beautiful hair, short stories, gift magi, buy husband,

Approximate Word count = 598
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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