The story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant has it's similarities and differences when compared to “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. In both of these stories it is apparent that both couples see material things as values because their situation is related to poverty in some way. The endings in each story show what the true importance is in their lives.
“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant is about a middle class couple that is invited to a fancy ball. The wife sees them as poor compared to the highly rich people which makes her values materialistic things. Her husband’s values are simpler things, but change to the material things his wife wants to make her happy. “She dressed plainly because she could not afford fine clothes, but was …show more content…
Henry is about a poor couple that lives in a barely afforded apartment. Della, the woman of the house, had been saving her money up to get Jim a gift. She had been crying on the couch because she only saved up one dollar and eighty cents, and felt that wasn't good enough to buy her husband a gift. Della loved Jim more than anything, and could not be pleased with giving him something cheap. The two main possessions that the couple took pride in was Jim's watch that has been passed down and Della’s lovely hair. In order to make her present worth while to Jim, she sold and cut her hair for twenty dollars. She bought him a lovely platinum fob chain for his watch. Christmas was upon them and it was time to exchange gifts. Della told Jim that she had cut her hair off, and he gave no known expression to this news. He had sold his old watch in order to buy Della “The Combs- the set of combs, side and back, that Della worshipped for long in a broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jeweled rims- just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair.” He sold his most valuable item to give a material expensive item to Della to bring her happiness. Now Della gave him the chain she longingly sought for but found it was pointless now that he had sold it for her present. At that moment they were the richest and poorest people. Although they had these expensive nice material things, they had no use for them because they gave their most prized possessions to get each other an
“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant is about a middle class couple that is invited to a fancy ball. The wife sees them as poor compared to the highly rich people which makes her values materialistic things. Her husband’s values are simpler things, but change to the material things his wife wants to make her happy. “She dressed plainly because she could not afford fine clothes, but was …show more content…
Henry is about a poor couple that lives in a barely afforded apartment. Della, the woman of the house, had been saving her money up to get Jim a gift. She had been crying on the couch because she only saved up one dollar and eighty cents, and felt that wasn't good enough to buy her husband a gift. Della loved Jim more than anything, and could not be pleased with giving him something cheap. The two main possessions that the couple took pride in was Jim's watch that has been passed down and Della’s lovely hair. In order to make her present worth while to Jim, she sold and cut her hair for twenty dollars. She bought him a lovely platinum fob chain for his watch. Christmas was upon them and it was time to exchange gifts. Della told Jim that she had cut her hair off, and he gave no known expression to this news. He had sold his old watch in order to buy Della “The Combs- the set of combs, side and back, that Della worshipped for long in a broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jeweled rims- just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair.” He sold his most valuable item to give a material expensive item to Della to bring her happiness. Now Della gave him the chain she longingly sought for but found it was pointless now that he had sold it for her present. At that moment they were the richest and poorest people. Although they had these expensive nice material things, they had no use for them because they gave their most prized possessions to get each other an