I got a B+. Word. Hah.. I feel pretty satisified.. In the post about my earlier essay I had mentioned I would symplify my writing and view… Well – it apparently paid off. Things are improving at least… Hopefully that trend continues… I’ll post that essay tomorrow.

For now, this is the essay that I turned in today. I’m not very proud of it, although, I wasn’t really proud of the last one either. Hah.. *shrugs* I hope to at least get a C on this one so I have a relatively solid / consistent grade. Anything better than that would be a bonus. I’ve set realistic goals for this class, for sure. PASS.

At least I’ve got a 99.5% going in my Algebra class. That’s cool. So, on to the essay…….

Lessons Learned

In stories where one “has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” the archetype of the hero is normally presented (Lehman 1). “The Lesson” was written by Toni Cade Bambara in 1972 and contains the hero archetype. The hero in this particular story is a young and tough girl who goes by the name of Sylvia. Sylvia undergoes a hero’s journey to discover her social status in the hope that she can rise above it.

Sylvia’s departure of her journey takes place when she is in front of the mailbox with Miss Moore and the other neighborhood children. Miss Moore fulfills the role of Sylvia’s mentor which is a theme present in many journeys that represent the hero archetype. As they all walk down the street Miss Moore is going on about how “money ain’t divided up right in this country” and how the children are all “poor and live in the slums” (Bambara 446). This sets the stage for the journey that Sylvia is about to undergo. Knowing that Sylvia is the leader, Miss Moore hands Sylva “a five-dollar bill” and tells her to “calculate 10 percent tip for the driver” (Bambara 446). Sylvia’s journey is well underway with the appearance of a mentor, a departure, and the context of social class presented by Miss Moore.

The next stage of Sylvia’s journey is when she encounters her first difficulty inside the cab. Without her mentor and put in the position of the leader, she is left to figure out how much money to give to the cab driver upon arriving at their destination. This inspires a dialog where Sugar expresses that they should “give him a dime” (Bambara 446). Sylvia’s thought about how “he don’t need it as bad as I do” is a part of the journey she is undertaking (Bambara 446). In Miss Moore’s absence, the money she had given Syliva helped keep the young hero’s mind on social status and her personal relation to it.

Miss Moore and the children now find themselves at their destination, F.A.O. Schwarz. As everyone gathers in front of the store they begin to examine the toys in the display case. During their examination Big Butt comes across a microscope that costs $300 and Miss Moore asks “how long’d take for Big Butt and Junebug to save up their allowances” for the microscope (Bambara 446). Sylvia and Sugar express that it would take “Too long” and that Big Butt would have “outgrown it by that time” (Bambara 446). The children pick out a few more items that they desire an continue the dialog in regards to the price and how each item is economically out of the children’s reach. Not only are the prices foreign but the items themselves are, too. For example, when they come across a paperweight Mercedes is the only one that knows its use. She’s aware of this due to her family being financially well off compared to the rest of the children. Experiencing foreign leisure items at extravagant prices further directs the hero’s thoughts towards her status in the world as she enters the store.

Once in the store the children are surrounded by amazing toys at extremely high prices. Q.T. Makes the observation that it “must be rich people shop here” (Bambara 448). When Sylvia asks “What you bring us here for, Miss Moore?” she is greeted with “one of them grins like she tellin a grown-up joke that never turns out to be funny” (Bambara 448). This is showing that Miss Moore knows that the seeds she had planted in regards to the disparity of the social classes had begun to germinate.
Upon departure Syliva has an inner dialog where she compares the prices of the toys with bills that her family encounters in their own life. She realizes that for the same price of a toy clown her family could “buy new bunk beds’, a visit to Grandaddy Nelson in the country, or even “pay for the rent and the piano bill” (Bambara 448). She also begins to wonder what kind of work people do who shop in a store like F.A.O. Schwarz. Sylvia also remembers other lessons her mentor, Miss Moore, has presented her over time. She remember’s Miss Moore saying that “poor people have to wake up and demand their share of the pie” (Bambara 449). These lessons of economic disparity go to further propel the hero towards gaining perspective on her social standing in the world.
In the end, Sylvia had not drawn any conclusions. However, she was filled with many new thoughts and ideas. The entire experience of taking a cab and dealing with the financial transaction, seeing the expensive toys, reflecting on the prices in relation to her own personal experience of money, and Miss Moore’s advice worked to put the hero in a state of reflection. Sylvia decides to go to “the Drive to think this day through”, and on her way she decides “ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin” (Bambara 449). Thus, Sylvia has finished her current journey of discovering her social class and will begin her next journey of rising above her situation.

That’s all folks. Merp.

I was to read either Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” or Guy De Maupassant’s “The Necklace” and write an analysis of it. I chose “The Necklace.”

Click Here to Read “The Necklace”

Click Here to Listen to “The Necklace”

-START ESSAY-

The Choker

Written by Guy De Maupassant in 1884, “The Necklace” is a short story about a woman, her husband, a necklace, and the impact it has on their lives. The reader is presented with a scenario which many lessons can be derived from. However, I feel that one theme in particular stands out above the rest. I feel that Guy De Maupassant was trying to present the idea that one’s belief is the creator of one’s experience rather than the external reality itself.

At the outset of the story we’re presented with Mathilde Loisel who is clearly unhappy with the hand she’s been dealt in life. She wistfully dreams about being of a higher social class. Her fantasies are filled with beautiful dresses, elaborate balls, and opulent luxury. While she may feel “as if she had gone through bankruptcy” her life is far from it (Maupassant 4). She enjoys the stability and luxuries that come along with a woman of her status in that time. She has a modest home, a maid, a seemingly loving and supportive husband, food to eat, clothes on her back, and enjoys perks from time to time such as the invitation to the dinner at the Ministry of Education. It could be argued that her quality of life surpasses that of the average person of this time. As a result, the stress she experiences would be a manifestation of the mind rather than one of external circumstance.

As we go deeper into the story and life of Mathilde we find her at the home of an old friend who enjoys the experience of being of a higher social class. Mathilde is looking through her friend Jeanne’s collection of jewelry trying to find the perfect piece to wear with the new dress her husband graciously paid for. After going through much of her jewelry she stumbles upon what she perceives to be a beautiful necklace of diamonds. Mathilde’s perception was based solely upon her friend’s status rather than any sort of expertise in regards to the stones themselves. People of wealth enjoyed extravagant and expensive belongings so she naturally assumed the stones reflected this belief. To her surprise, Jeanne allowed her to borrow the necklace for the party. Now possessing the jewels herself, she went away in a state of joy which would carry on long after her departure.

The day of the party finally arrived and Mathilde felt as if she was finally prepared. The elation she felt upon receiving the necklace had yet to fade. In fact, as the evening progressed she grew more prideful in herself due to her perceived success. No longer did she appear to these people as a woman who had come from a modest home and married to a simple clerk. On the contrary, Mathilde was admired by all, man and woman alike. Even “the Chancellor himself eyed her” as the evening progressed (Maupassant 7). It no longer mattered what her true status was. She appeared as a woman of wealth and intrigue, so she was accepted as such. The fact that she was an average wife of an average social standing was overshadowed by the image she now projected and experienced. Only after a simple twist of fate did her mood and ideas in regards to the necklace and her current experience change.

Upon arriving home Mathilde noticed she had somehow lost Jeanne’s necklace, instantly transforming it into a symbol of stress and concern rather than one of wealthy status and joy. An unsuccessful search for the necklace left Mr. and Mrs. Loisel in a state of despair and financial ruin. Rather than telling Jeanne what happened and risking the potential judgments she may make about the Loisels due to their social status, Mr. Loisel decided to use his savings and take out loans to purchase a replacement. Mathilde’s own thoughts and feelings surrounding the necklace are a clear example of how someone’s different ideas in regards to the same physical possession can alter one’s mood and experience. In one moment the necklace is a symbol of class, respect, beauty, and joy. In the following moment it is a symbol of anger, disappointment, lost dreams, and the hard life to come. This hard life would last for 10 long years.

After the decade long struggle to pay off their debt a lot had changed for the Loisels. They no longer lived in a house, had a maid, or had even the modest clothes of the past. Instead these luxuries were replaced with hard work, cheap and practical clothing, an aging appearance, and a constant struggle to make ends meet. Even while being consumed with a life of housework she still found time to fantasize as she had in the past of a finer life. Her external situation had changed, yet her internal experience and discontent had continued on throughout. In the end Mathilde found out that the original necklace was nothing more than costume jewelry. The appearances that she herself hoped to acquire from possessing the necklace had in turn possessed her.

Regardless of whose perception is spoken of the concept is the same. The underlying belief one has is what truly will create and color the experience of an individual. The idea about a single thing, false or not, can be the sole creator and driving force in one’s experience. Constantly looking to other horizons for a better external reality will not change one’s experience if they cannot also change their mind. Mathilde helped prove this point by showing us that her perspective and feelings throughout the story, regardless of her ups and downs, remained consistent. Chances are that even in a life of higher status Mathilde would continue to look towards farther horizons for something better. However, something better may not be over the horizon. Or, as in the case of Mathilde, a beautiful necklace seen from afar may become a choker when viewed up close.

-END ESSAY-

Word.