In both Maupassant's "The Necklace" and Walker's "Everyday Use," objects come to stand for something larger to the characters. In "The Necklace," Mathilde believes that she must wear an expensive necklace to a party, and, when she borrows what she believes is a priceless necklace and loses it, she bankrupts herself and her husband buying a replacement. To Mathilde, the necklace stands for the elite status she wishes she has. In the end, however, the necklace is a fake, as the piece she borrowed turns out to have been mere paste.
In "Everyday Use," Dee, or Wangero, covets the quilts her mother plans to give Dee's sister, Maggie. To Dee, the quilts represent something hip, the celebration of African American culture. However, the quilts are truly an empty symbol to her, like Mathilde's necklace, as she wants to take these quilts away from her family. In addition, Dee...
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doesn't understand the truth worth of the quilts, which is their everyday use, and only sees them as objects of art. In both stories, characters have empty goals related to objects whose worth they don't truly understand.
Similarities:
1. Both stories feature women who are unhappy with their lot in life (socially and economically), and who are rather disappointed in some aspect of their family (Dee with Mama and Maggie--she sees them as inferior and too simple to understand her; Mathilde with her husband--she thinks that he is common and not sophisticated enough for her taste).
2. Both women place value on objects and how others view them. Dee has redefined herself from her name to her clothing to her view of her heritage. Likewise, Mathilde presents herself as being wealthier than she is by forcing her husband to buy her a new dress and borrowing necklace from a rich acquaintance.
Differences:
1. The ending for the stories is quite different. Dee, because she is young, has an opportunity to learn from Maggie and Mama's view of the heirlooms, and Alice Walker leaves you with a sense of satisfaction that Maggie gets the quilts because she truly appreciates the practicality and nostalgia of them. Unfortunately, in "The Necklace," Mathilde has worked herself and her husband into poor health, and the story's darkly ironic ending leaves the reader with a lesson, but it is too late for Mathilde to do anything with the truth.
2. While both stories present the idea that an obsession with material items hinders a person from enjoying and appreciating the intangible aspects of life such as family, the arts, etc., "Everyday Use" discusses more thoroughly the importance of appreciating one's heritage. "The Necklace" focuses more on class identity and class envy.