Any object has value, but that value is determined by the beholder. “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant, is a short story about a woman, Mathilde Loisel, who wants more than she has, and because of this she ends up in a state which was worse than beforehand. “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, is about a woman, Dee, who visits her family and tries to take a quilt that would look good hanging in her home, but the quilt has sentimental value to her younger sibling, Maggie, and her mother, Mama. Both short stories are similar, but also have different aspects. Each story is centered around objects that mean something to the women, these women also take what they have for granted and each story has a different outcome.
First of all, “The Necklace” …show more content…
In “The Necklace”, Mathilde does not appreciate what she has. She has a loving husband who gave her four hundred francs for a new dress, despite wanting to buy a gun for himself. “‘I will give you four hundred francs. And try to have a pretty dress’” (600). Mathilde also does not appreciate that she has a roof over her head and still wants more. “She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing… She would so have liked to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after” (599). Even though she had a home and a loving husband, she still wanted these things. Similarly, in “Everyday Use”, Dee did not appreciate what she had. However, unlike Mathilde, Dee did not appreciate the things that made her who she was. Dee was raised in a small home that had very little to it. This is because her ancestors were slaves and they could not afford more than what they had at the time. When Dee came back to visit Mama and her sister, Maggie, she tells Mama that her name is no longer Dee. “‘No, Mama,’ she says, ‘Not ‘Dee,’ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!’” (846). Dee has no appreciation for who she was named after, “...your aunt Dicie...” (846) says Mama. Dee also starts to take things from her mother’s home because they are antiques and can be used to decorate her own home. Dee has no appreciation for her past or the objects that symbolize her past. The only reason she wants then is to show …show more content…
In “The Necklace”, Mathilde lost the necklace she borrowed from her friend and had to buy a new one to replace it. “It was worth forty thousand francs. They could have it for thirty-six” (603). Mathilde and her husband took what they had and borrowed from friends to obtain enough money to spend, but it left them broke and in debt. “At the end of ten years, they had paid everything, everything, with the rates of usury, and the accumulations of the compound interest” (604). When they finally paid everything off, Mathilde decided to visit her friend and confess what she had done. Unfortunately, Mathilde should have confessed before she bought the necklace because when she confessed her friends said, “Why, my necklace was paste. It was worth at most five hundred francs!” (604). In “Everyday Use”, Dee ended up not getting what she wanted. She had previously asked Mama, “Can I have these old quilts?” (847). When Mama said no, Dee got angry and said Maggie would not appreciate them anyway. In the end Maggie ended up keeping the quilts. Mama “… snatched up the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” (849). Being respectful led Maggie to receive the quilts and Dee to end up with only the trinkets she
First of all, “The Necklace” …show more content…
In “The Necklace”, Mathilde does not appreciate what she has. She has a loving husband who gave her four hundred francs for a new dress, despite wanting to buy a gun for himself. “‘I will give you four hundred francs. And try to have a pretty dress’” (600). Mathilde also does not appreciate that she has a roof over her head and still wants more. “She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing… She would so have liked to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after” (599). Even though she had a home and a loving husband, she still wanted these things. Similarly, in “Everyday Use”, Dee did not appreciate what she had. However, unlike Mathilde, Dee did not appreciate the things that made her who she was. Dee was raised in a small home that had very little to it. This is because her ancestors were slaves and they could not afford more than what they had at the time. When Dee came back to visit Mama and her sister, Maggie, she tells Mama that her name is no longer Dee. “‘No, Mama,’ she says, ‘Not ‘Dee,’ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!’” (846). Dee has no appreciation for who she was named after, “...your aunt Dicie...” (846) says Mama. Dee also starts to take things from her mother’s home because they are antiques and can be used to decorate her own home. Dee has no appreciation for her past or the objects that symbolize her past. The only reason she wants then is to show …show more content…
In “The Necklace”, Mathilde lost the necklace she borrowed from her friend and had to buy a new one to replace it. “It was worth forty thousand francs. They could have it for thirty-six” (603). Mathilde and her husband took what they had and borrowed from friends to obtain enough money to spend, but it left them broke and in debt. “At the end of ten years, they had paid everything, everything, with the rates of usury, and the accumulations of the compound interest” (604). When they finally paid everything off, Mathilde decided to visit her friend and confess what she had done. Unfortunately, Mathilde should have confessed before she bought the necklace because when she confessed her friends said, “Why, my necklace was paste. It was worth at most five hundred francs!” (604). In “Everyday Use”, Dee ended up not getting what she wanted. She had previously asked Mama, “Can I have these old quilts?” (847). When Mama said no, Dee got angry and said Maggie would not appreciate them anyway. In the end Maggie ended up keeping the quilts. Mama “… snatched up the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap” (849). Being respectful led Maggie to receive the quilts and Dee to end up with only the trinkets she