The Necklace PDF - Adapted Reader

BASED ON THE STORY BY Guy de Maupassant Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. THE NECKLACE 37  Mathilde 1 was a pretty, charming,...

BASED ON THE STORY BY Guy de Maupassant Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. THE NECKLACE 37  Mathilde 1 was a pretty, charming, middle-class girl. She had no dowry—no money from her family to take to her marriage—and no way to meet a rich man, so she married a clerk in the Ministry of Education. 5 She dressed plainly, but she was unhappy because she couldn’t afford fine clothes. She daydreamed about being rich. VOCABULARY At dinner her husband would say, “Ah! A good stew! There’s The word dowry in line 2 is new to me. I can tell what it means, nothing I like better....” She’d dream of fancy dinner parties. though, by reading the words She had no evening clothes or jewelry, but she wanted them and that follow it. 10 felt she should have them. She longed to be envied and desired. One evening her husband handed her an invitation. Excited, she opened it and found an invitation to a grand party at the Ministerial Mansion. POINT OF VIEW The first sentence tells me She tossed it aside, saying, “What good is that to me?” exactly who is the focus of this 15 “I thought you’d be thrilled since you never get to go out. I had story. In lines 5—6, I learn that Mathilde is unhappy. She dreams an awful time getting invited. Everybody wants to go, but few clerks about being rich. can. The most important people will be there.” She gave him a sour look and cried, “What do you think I would wear?” 20 He hadn’t thought about that. “Why, the dress you wear to the SUMMARIZING theater. That looks quite nice.” I’ll summarize lines 14—33: He was surprised when she burst into tears. He gasped, “Why, Somebody (Mathilde) wants to look beautiful at the party, but what’s the matter?” Using all her willpower, she stopped crying. “Oh, she doesn’t have the right nothing. I don’t have an evening gown, so I can’t go to that party.” clothes, so her husband gives her money for a new gown. 25 He was stunned. He said, “How much would the right outfit cost? Something simple?” She thought it over for several seconds. She thought of her allowance and about how much her husband might give her. Finally, she answered, “I’m not sure exactly. Maybe I could 30 manage with four hundred francs.”2 He turned pale because he’d saved that much for a rifle and planned to go hunting with friends. 1. Mathilde (mah TIHLD). 2. francs: French money. “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant adapted from Adventures in Reading, Laureate Edition. Copyright © 1963 by Harcourt, Inc., copyright renewed © 1991 by Deborah Jean Lodge, Alice Lodge, Jeanne M. Shutes, Jessica Sand, Lydia Winderman, Florence F. Potell, and Mary Rives Bowman. Retold by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Reproduced by permission of the publisher. 38 HOLT ADAPTED READER Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.  However, he said, “All right. I’ll give you four hundred francs.” As the party neared, Mme. Loisel3 seemed sad. She was moody 35 and upset although her outfit was ready. One evening her husband asked, “What’s the matter?” She answered, “I’m embarrassed not to have any jewelry.” Her husband said, “Borrow some from your rich friend Mme. Forestier.4 You’re good enough friends to do that.” POINT OF VIEW Re-read lines 34–36. Circle 40 She said, “Why didn’t I think of that!” Mathilde’s thoughts and The next day she went to her friend, who offered her a large feelings in these sentences. jewelry box. “Pick out something, my dear.” Mathilde found a diamond necklace. Her heart beat faster, and her hands shook when she picked it up. “Could I borrow this one?” she SUMMARIZING 45 asked. Somebody (Mathilde) wants “Why, of course.” jewelry to go with her new She hugged her friend, kissed her warmly, and fled with her prize. gown, but she can’t afford any, so _____________. Re-read Mme. Loisel was a hit at the party. The prettiest one there, she lines 41–47, and then describe how she overcomes this was stylish, warm, smiling, and wildly happy. All the men turned to difficulty. 50 look at her. They asked who she was and begged to meet her. The Cabinet members waltzed with her, and the minister noticed her. She danced madly, wildly, drunk with joy. Around four o’clock the Loisels took a shabby cab home. For her, it was all over, but he had to face the office at ten o’clock. 55 She looked at herself in the mirror one last time. The necklace was gone! She cried out. Her husband, already half undressed, said, “What’s wrong?” Upset, she turned toward him. “I... I... I don’t have my friend’s necklace.” SUMMARIZING 60 “That’s impossible.” They hunted everywhere in the apartment Somebody (Mathilde) wants to admire her outfit one last time, but found nothing. He retraced their steps, searching for hours. She but the necklace is missing, so slumped in a chair in the cold room. her husband spends hours searching for it. Her husband came in around seven o’clock. He’d had no luck finding the necklace. 65 By the end of the week, they had given up all hope. Loisel looked five years older. He said, “We must replace the necklace.” 3. Mme. Loisel (mah DAHM lwah ZEHL): Mme. is an abbreviation of “Madame,” the French equivalent of Mrs. 4. Forestier (faw ruhs TYAY). Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. THE NECKLACE 39  They found a necklace exactly like the first. It cost forty thousand francs, but they could get it for thirty-six. Loisel had eighteen thousand francs he had inherited from his 70 father. He borrowed the rest. He got a thousand francs from one, four hundred from another—a hundred here, sixty there. He signed notes, made deals with loan sharks, borrowed from moneylenders. SUMMARIZING When Mme. Loisel returned the necklace, her friend said coldly, Somebody (Mathilde’s husband) wants to replace “You should have returned it sooner. I might have needed it.” the lost necklace, but he doesn’t have enough money, 75 Mme. Forestier didn’t open the case. so _____________. What does Mme. Loisel bravely faced being poor. That debt had to be paid, he do in lines 67–72? and she would pay it. She let her maid go, and she and her husband moved to a cheap attic apartment. She cooked and did housework. She scrubbed the laundry, hung it 80 on a line to dry, took out the garbage, carried up water, and dressed like a peasant. She watched every coin she spent. She bargained for food with the fruit dealer, the grocer, and the butcher, and they insulted her. Her husband worked evenings as a bookkeeper, and at night he SUMMARIZING 85 copied documents for five sous5 a page. Somebody (Mathilde) wants to repay the debt, but she has no This lasted for ten years. money, so she fires her help, Finally, all the debts and interest were paid. works hard, and saves money. Mme. Loisel looked like an old woman now. Sometimes she’d remember when she had been so beautiful and admired. 90 What if she hadn’t lost the necklace? Who knows? How little there is between joy and misery! POINT OF VIEW What do lines 88–91 reveal Then one Sunday, she went for a walk. She saw a woman about Mathilde? Underline her strolling with a child. It was Mme. Forestier. She still looked young thoughts and feelings in those sentences. and beautiful. 95 Mme. Loisel went toward her friend saying, “Hello, Jeanne.” The other was surprised to be spoken to so familiarly. “But... madame... I don’t recognize... You must be mistaken.” “No, I’m Mathilde Loisel.” Her friend cried out, “Oh, my poor Mathilde! How you’re 100 changed!” 5. sous: plural of sou, an old French coin of little value. 40 HOLT ADAPTED READER Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.  “Yes, I’ve had a hard time. And plenty of problems—and all because of you!” “Of me... what do you mean?” Mme. Forestier asked. “Do you remember the diamond necklace I borrowed?” 105 “Yes. What about it?” “I lost it,” Mathilde said. POINT OF VIEW “But you returned it.” I know that Mathilde and her “I bought another just like it, and we have been paying for it for husband worked hard to pay for ten years. Well, it’s over now, and I am glad.” the necklace. I learn something new about Mathilde’s feelings in 110 Mme. Forestier was surprised. “You bought a diamond necklace to lines 112—113. I see that she is replace mine!” proud and even joyful that her friend never knew her original “Yes. You never noticed, then? They were quite alike.” Mathilde necklace was lost. smiled with proud and simple joy. Mme. Forestier, quite overcome, clasped her by the hands. “Oh, 115 my poor Mathilde. Mine was fake. Why, at most it was worth only five hundred francs!” POINT OF VIEW The plot comes to a sudden stop in lines 114–116. Underline the short sentence that changes the whole story. How might this new information change Mathilde’s feelings about her life and her sacrifices? Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. THE NECKLACE 41