Genre
Short Stories
Setting and Context
Written in the contest of realism and naturalism
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Ambitious, horrific and fascinating
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central characters are Madame Loisel in ‘The Necklace,’ French widow in 'Mother Savage' and the Madman in 'The Diary of a Madman.'
Major Conflict
The main conflict is in the story 'The Necklace', in which a woman borrows a luxurious diamond necklet to wear in her event. Mysteriously, the necklace goes missing, and she spends a whole decade repaying for the necklace.
Climax
The climax comes in the story 'Two Friends', in which the two men find themselves in a no-man'-land while fishing and are captured by the percussion soldiers who execute them. After the execution, the cruel officer sits and enjoys the fish the two men had captured.
Foreshadowing
The supernatural horror in the story ‘The Hand’ is foreshadowed by the man who mounted a human hand on his wall using a chain.
Understatement
The influence of parents in their children’s marriage is understated in the story ‘Boitelle.' When Antoine takes his French girlfriend to his parents to ask for their blessing before they get married, he is shocked when they disapprove of the woman. The marriage plans had to be cancelled.
Allusions
The story ‘Boitelle’ alludes to the influence of parents in their children’s marriage.
Imagery
The imagery of the necklet in 'The Necklace' shows the struggles a couple went through for ten years to pay for a fake chain but initially deemed as diamond and expensive.
Paradox
The main paradox is in the story 'The Necklace.' After the couple has struggled to replace the necklace they lost ten years ago, they discover it was fake.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
First Communion in the story ‘Madame Tellier’s' is used as a metonymy for salvation.
Personification
N/A
