“The Necklace” PAGE 608 By Guy de Maupassant Active Reading Guide DIRECTIONS: Answer each of the following using complete sentences. BEFORE READING: QUESTION: QUESTION: QHILE YOU READ: QUESTION: Bases on the description of Madame Loisel in the beginning, what can we conclude regarding the lifestyle of the narrator and her family? EVALUATE: What does the narrator mean when she says, “…charming young women who are born, as if by an error of Fate…?” LITERARY TERM: Theme: Literary work is the insight about life that it communicates. QUESTION: Explain why an author would want to include theme in his/her writing. EVALUATE: What does the narrator’s statement—“Unable to afford jewelry, she dressed simply: but she was as wretched as a declassee…”—reveal about Madame Loisel’s character? QUESTION: What are your feelings towards Madame Loisel? Why do you feel that way? QUESTION: Why doesn’t Mister Loisel tell her to wear and old dress, and deal with humiliation. QUESTION: What exactly, makes Madame Loisel feel the way she does about other people? EVALUATE: Why do you think Madame Forestier let Madame Loisel borrow the very expensive looking necklace? REVIEW: Explain why you do not think Mister and Madame Loisel did not tell Madame Forestier the truth, that they had lost the necklace? QUESTION: All the descriptions of the way Madame Loisel wants her life to be like suggests a theme for the story. What do you think the theme is? QUESTION: Why do you think Madame Loisel finally told Madame Forestier the truth. What was Madame Forestier’s reaction? EVALUATE: Why do you think the author chose to right the story the way he did? What do you think about this? VocabularyDECLASSEE- lowered in social status PG. 609 RUEFUL- feeling sorrow or regret PG. 609 RESPLENDENT- shining brightly PG. 611 DISHEVLED- disarranged and untidy PG. 614 PROFOUNDLY- deeply and intensely PG. 615 HARROWED- broken up by a harrow, a frame with spikes drawn by a horse or tractor PG. 619 ASTUTELY- cleverly or cunningly PG. 619 | 
