Jordan Williams
A Lying Agenda

Most times we try to do anything to protect ourselves from disastrous consequences. We either lie to get out of it, or lie to evade the truth. Both may ease the burden of the problem for the time in between, but then again there are times when it does backfire as well. Parents, teachers, mentors, any kind of influential person, try to implement the basic nature of honesty to provide more positive actions on a daily basis. Some choose to lead a life filled with good morals and the best chosen decisions, however there are those who choose the antagonist role, and fight against unnecessary outcomes. In The Necklace, Mathilde protects herself by forgoing a lifetime of savings to invest into a necklace she lost in an attempt to enhance her image. Maupassant uses strong literary devices such as irony and symbolism to signify an important truth that we must be content with who we are and what we have as well as that honesty trumps fallacy even in difficult situations. Irony may be the biggest way Maupassant conveyed his message of honesty. It is difficult at times to relinquish the truth as thoughts and doubts swirl through your conscious. In the story, Mathilde sees herself as an average woman incapable of representing a higher class, as such, “Nothing. Only I have no dress and therefore I can’t go to this ball. Give your card to some colleague whose wife is better equipped than I” (Maupassant 565). She remained under the impression that her life was just dull and mediocre. However it was ironic, because she used money to end up resolving her issues. She is sharp to mention her lackluster state, as her attempt for a new dress proved to be successful however still desired more. She was directed to Mme. Forestier, to borrow some jewelry. She received a necklace, however lost it and put everything she had into replacing it. The irony arises when she finds out it wasn’t real, “Oh, my poor Mathilde! Why, my necklace was paste. It was worth at most five hundred francs!” (559). She created a situation out of lies she buried herself in. Honesty should always be the first option, but Mathilde automatically eliminated that and panicked, creating a bigger mess. She gathered all the money she could find, and ended up with even less money than she begun with. If she had told Mme. Forestier what had happened, she probably wouldn’t be left with nothing. Symbolism is yet another way Maupassant imposes a message of being happy of who you are and with what you have. Mathilde is a very personified by her desire to have a more upper-class lifestyle. She doesn’t feel satisfied just having what she owns, but instead wants to feel special and elegant, however sees herself as poor. Mathilde states, “No; there’s nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other women who are rich,” (556). She believes with that the dress she owns is not of high enough standards. Maupassant uses the dress to represent the lower class, and Mathilde’s way of expressing her anger and anxiousness about moving up in class. However, the biggest show of symbolism comes when Mathilde