Transcript Unit 2 The necklace——Based on a story by Guy De Maupassant

The necklace
—Based on a story by Guy
De Maupassant
Introduction
Part 1
The Author
Guy de Maupassant, the
well-known French short story
writer and novelist, was born on
August 5, 1850. When he was
young, he had a great interest in
literature. He practised writing
Guy De
Maupassant literary works under the help of
(1850-1893)
the famous novelist Flaubert.
And Balzac was another teacher of his. His best
short story is “The diamond Necklace”, from
which our present text is adopted. Almost a
hundred years after its first publication, the story
still touches the readers deeply to their hearts.
Maupassant suffered a great deal from illness in
his later life. Yet he struggled to continue writing.
He had a short life, and died at the age of 43 in
1893. Maupassant’s stories were built around the
everyday life of the simple humble(低下) people.
He had a fine use of irony. His style was direct
and simple, with attention to realistic details. He
saw clearly the toil, sufferings and the bitterly
ironic happenings in human lives. At his best , he
was able to put into a few pages a life story .
Part 2
The
characters
Madame Jeanne Forestier
Madame Forestier is a school
friend of Mathilde Loisel, and she
lends her the necklace that
Madame Loisel wears to the ball.
Madame Forestier’s wealth has
intimidated Madame Loisel,
preventing her from keeping in
touch with her old friend.
When Madame Loisel does visit, Madame
Forestier is as friendly as ever, generously
offering to lend her friend a piece of her jewelry
for the ball. When the diamond necklace is
returned more than a week late,
however, Madame Forestier is cold and
reproachful. She does not know that the
borrowed necklace was lost and that the Loisels
have pledged themselves to years of debt to buy a
costly replacement. Years later, the two meet
on the street. Madame Loisel has aged
prematurely by toil and hardship, while
Madame Forestier is “still young, still
beautiful, still attractive.” She does not
recognize her old friend when they meet and
is “deeply moved” when she learns that the
Loisels had spent the last decade in debt to
replace her necklace.
Madame Mathilde Loisel
It is Madame Loisel’s desire to be part of
the upper class which sets the story’s events
in motion. She is a beautiful woman who
feels herself “born for every delicacy and
luxury.”
Her belief that she is meant for better things
than middle-class drudgery forms the core of
her personality. She believes that superficial
things — a ball gown, better furniture, a large
house — will make her happy, and an
invitation to a ball makes her miserable
because it reminds her of her dowdy wardrobe
and lack of jewels.
After securing these trappings of luxury, she
has the time of her life at the ball, for one
evening living the lifestyle she believes herself
entitled to. After losing a borrowed necklace,
she is not able to admit the error to the friend
who lent it. While spending many years in
poverty, toiling to repay the debt of replacing
the necklace, Madame Loisel prematurely
loses her physical beauty.
Monsieur Loisel
Monsieur Loisel’s complacency
and contentment with his social
situation contrasts markedly with
his wife’s desire to experience life
among the social elite. Whereas
Madame Loisel dreams of
magnificent multi-course meals,
her husband is satisfied with simple fare:
“Scotch broth! What could be better?” He is
attentive to his wife’s desires, however,
procuring tickets to a ball so that she can
see “all the really big people.”
He gives his wife the four hundred francs
that he had set aside for a gun so that she
can buy a dress, and spends several early
morning hours searching the streets for
the lost necklace even though he must go
to work that day. Seeking to protect his
wife’s honor, he suggests that they tell
Madame Forestier that the necklace is
being fixed rather than that it has been
lost.
Comprehension
Read the story and answer the questions .
1. Whom did Matilda marry?
She married a clerk at the Department of
Education.
2. How did Matilda always feel when she
returned from her friend Jeanne’s house?
She always felt very poor when she
returned from it.
3.What did Matilda do with the invitation
her husband showed her?
She frowned and tossed the invitation
on the table.
4.What dress did Mr. Loisel think his
wife could wear to the party?
The green dress she sometimes wore.
5. How much did Matilda think a new gown
would cost?
Four hundred frances.
6. What did Mrs. Forester lend to Matilda?
A magnificent diamond necklace.
7. What time was it when they got ready to
go home after party?
It was after midnight.
8. What did Matilda realize when she took
off her coat in front of the mirror?
She realized the diamond necklace was
gone.
9. How long might it taken Mr. Loisel to look
for the necklace in the street?
About seven hours.
10. Where did Matilda probably lose the
necklace?
In the cab.
11. Why did they go from jeweler to jeweler?
They were searching for a necklace that
looked like the one they had lost.
12. How much did the jeweler want for the
necklace?
Forty thousand francs.
13. Why did the Loisels move to another
apartment?
Because it was cheaper ,they had to save
money to pay back that huge debt.
14. How did Mr. Loisel earn a few extra francs?
He checked orders for some local
merchants to earn a few francs.
15. What did Matilda remember when she
thought about the wonderful party
once in a while?
She remembered how beautiful she was
and how everyone admired her.
16. How did Jeanne look when Matilda
saw in the park?
She did not recognize Matilda and was
startled that a stranger knew her first
name.
17. How much was Jeanne’s necklace worth?
It was not worth more than five hundred
francs.
Putting events in order.
A
③ a. Mr. Loisel agreed to give Matilda
money to buy a new gown.
⑦ b. The Loisel found a cab and went
home.
② c. Matilda threw the invitation
onto the table.
④ d. Matilda was upset because she
did not have any jewelry.
⑤ e. Mrs. Forester let Matilda borrow
a diamond necklace.
① f. Mr. Loisel gave Matilda an envelope .
⑧ g. Matilda said that the necklace was gone.
⑥ h. Many men danced with Matilda at the
party.
B
④ a. Mr. Loisel borrowed money to pay for
the necklace.
⑦ b. Matilda met Mrs. Forester in the park.
⑤ c. Matilda took the necklace to
Mrs. Forester.
① d. The Loisels looked in the pockets of the
coat for the necklace.
⑥ e. The Loisels moved to a cheaper
apartment.
② f. Mr. Loisel went to the police and the cab
companies.
⑧ g. Mrs. Forester said that the necklace was
fake.
③ h. They found a necklace that looked like the
one they had lost.
Language study
Part 1
words
distinguished
形容词，卓越的，著名的
He is a distinguished writer.
afford
动词，出得起，花得起，负担得起
They walked because they could not
afford a taxi.
thrifty
形容词，节俭的，节约的
Ann is leading s thrifty a life.
rifle
名词，步枪
Peter wanted to buy a rifle to hunt.
convince
动词，使相信，使信服
This convinced me of his honesty.
wearily
副词，疲倦地，厌倦地
After a day’s hard work, he walked
home wearily.
horrified
形容词，令人震惊的,惊骇的
This is a horrified event.
exhausted
形容词，筋疲力尽的，疲惫不堪的
I am very exhausted after a long run.
raise
动词，筹集资金
They tried their best to raise money in
order to a new house.
relieved
形容词，放松的，如释重负的
She was very relieved after a test.
shabby
形容词，破旧不堪的
There was an old lady with shabby
clothes in the street.
approach
动词，接近，靠近
It was getting dark when we approached
the foot of the hill.
startled
形容词，吃惊的，震惊的
I am startled when he shouted suddenly.
fake
形容词，假的
This is a fake picture.
Part 2
Idioms
long for
渴望，向往。
The child longed for a bike for a long time.
head for
朝……走去，向着……前进
They headed for the office on a early morning.
once in a while
偶尔，有时
Once in a while, she met him in the park.
Summary
Part 1
Plots
Plot Summary
"The Necklace" tells the story of Madame
Mathilde Loisel and her husband’s life for a
necklace. When Mathilde was little, she
always imagined herself in a high social
position with wonderful jewels. However,
when she grows up, she has nothing and
marries a lowly clerk who is obsessed with
making her happy.
Through lots of begging at work, he is
able to get two invitations to the Ministry of
Education's party. Mathilde is upset, for
she has nothing to wear. Using money that
he was saving to buy a rifle, he lets
Mathilde buy a fancy dress. Mathilde also
wants jewels to wear with it.
Since they have no money left, her husband
suggests that she borrow something from her
friend, Madame Jeanne Forestier. Mathilde
picks out the fanciest jewel necklace that she
can find. After attending the Ministry of
Education's party, Mathilde finds out that she
has lost the necklace.
Mathilde and her husband then have to
work for ten years to come up with the
36,000 francs to buy a replacement
necklace. After losing everything, having to
work, and forcing her husband to work
two jobs,
Ten years later, Mathilde sees Madame
Forestier walking down the street and tells
her that the necklace she returned to her
was actually a replacement. Madame
Forestier is surprised and tells Mathilde
that the original necklace was actually a
copy, worth only 500 francs.
Part 2
Character
Feature
Mathilde Loisel’s trait
Mathilde Loisel's beginning traits are
her dreamy ways, her half-ambition, her
greed, and her weakness for wealth and
beauty. She is known as a beautiful
woman.
After the party she changes into a hard,
coarse, and loud woman. Inside she is
bitter and regretful. Her moral weakness
brought this change upon her.
Mr. Loisel’s trait
Mr. Loisel is the "little clerk in the
Department of Education" to whom
Mathilde's family marries Mathilde off.
Unlike her wife Mathilde, he enjoys his life
as it is and seems quite happy with their
situation.
He also seems devoted to his wife. So
Mr. Loisel seems like the simple,
happy, good guy in the story, a foil for
his perpetually dissatisfied wife. They
make the classic unhappy bourgeois
couple.
Mrs. Forestier’s trait
Mrs. Forestier is the rich woman whose
money enables her to casually lend expensive
(or fake) jewels to friends, and to stay away
from work , so she can keep herself young
and pretty. Apparently Mathilde feels too
jealous to see her much.
Writing
A critic has commented that Maupassant’
stories are “the perfected expression of an
age which had itself amid things.” Discuss
the meaning of this statement with your
classmates. Do you think the Loisels are or
are not representatives of a materialistic
age? Write down your reasons.