Comparing and Contrasting Desires of Mathilde in ‘the Necklace’ and the Unnamed Narrator in ‘Araby’.
ELT107 TMA
Title: Comparing and Contrasting Desires of Mathilde in ‘The Necklace’ and the unnamed narrator in ‘Araby’.
In both James Joyce’s “Araby” and Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace,” the reader is brought into the pursuits of desires of the protagonists. In “Araby”, the portrayal of desire reflects the need for spiritual stability and understanding in the confused religious society. In contrast, the desire in “The Necklace” reveals a person’s inner need of being loved and being seen as important in the social environment.
Both Mathilde and the unnamed narrator fantasize about their desires and they feel angry and restricted by their environment through the language used by the authors. In “Araby,” Joyce uses the words “dark” (Joyce 430) and “odors” (430) repeatedly to show how dark and stifling the narrator’s environment are. He also uses the words “clenching my fists” (433) and “I did not smile” (430) to show the narrator’s anger towards his uncle and his own environment. In “The Necklace,” Maupassant uses the words “nothing” (Maupassant 591) and “suffered” (591) repeatedly to show that Mathilde has nothing and there is not much to seek after in her environment and that she has suffered.
Through the description of the characters, the authors are able to show that the protagonists are not clear about their true desires in their hearts and they chose to place their desires on something physical. In “Araby,” the narrator places his desires on Mangan’s sister and finds himself feeling confused about his adoration for her. In “The Necklace,” Mathilde places all her thoughts on the dresses, the jewels and her fantasized rich man’s world. However the author reveals that she desires to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after. The difference between the narrator in “Araby” and Mathilde is the narrator is aware of this confusion that he has even though he has no answer for it but Mathilde is unaware of her confusion.
Title: Comparing and Contrasting Desires of Mathilde in ‘The Necklace’ and the unnamed narrator in ‘Araby’.
In both James Joyce’s “Araby” and Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace,” the reader is brought into the pursuits of desires of the protagonists. In “Araby”, the portrayal of desire reflects the need for spiritual stability and understanding in the confused religious society. In contrast, the desire in “The Necklace” reveals a person’s inner need of being loved and being seen as important in the social environment.
Both Mathilde and the unnamed narrator fantasize about their desires and they feel angry and restricted by their environment through the language used by the authors. In “Araby,” Joyce uses the words “dark” (Joyce 430) and “odors” (430) repeatedly to show how dark and stifling the narrator’s environment are. He also uses the words “clenching my fists” (433) and “I did not smile” (430) to show the narrator’s anger towards his uncle and his own environment. In “The Necklace,” Maupassant uses the words “nothing” (Maupassant 591) and “suffered” (591) repeatedly to show that Mathilde has nothing and there is not much to seek after in her environment and that she has suffered.
Through the description of the characters, the authors are able to show that the protagonists are not clear about their true desires in their hearts and they chose to place their desires on something physical. In “Araby,” the narrator places his desires on Mangan’s sister and finds himself feeling confused about his adoration for her. In “The Necklace,” Mathilde places all her thoughts on the dresses, the jewels and her fantasized rich man’s world. However the author reveals that she desires to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after. The difference between the narrator in “Araby” and Mathilde is the narrator is aware of this confusion that he has even though he has no answer for it but Mathilde is unaware of her confusion.
Cited: Barnet, Sylvan, and William E. Cain, eds. A Short Guide To Writing About Literature. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2009. Print. Gioia, Dana, and R. S. Gwynn, eds. The Art of the Short Story. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2006. Print. Joyce, James. “Araby.” Gioia and Gwynn 430-434. Print. Khoo, Sim Eng. “Lecture-Tutorial 3-5.” Arts and Social Sciences. UniSIM, Singapore. Feb. 2010. Lecture. Khoo, Sim Eng. “Study Unit 2 Chapter 1-2.” Arts and Social Sciences. UniSIM, Singapore. 2010. Study Units. Maupassant, Guy De. “The Necklace.” Gioia and Gwynn 591-596. Print