IRONY IN Guy de Maupassant’s The Necklace

Lecturer:

Anita Rahma Dewi, S.S.,M.Pd.

Compiled: Rossawati

BILLFATH UNIVERSITY

DEPARTEMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

2018
I. Abstract
The writing of this paper aims to describe the irony’s understanding an example
in The Necklace’s story. Irony function for writing is a multi-faceted literary device
that a writer uses to point out the discrepancy between reality and how things appear
or what was expected. When a writer uses irony in a work, there is incongruity in
regards to the behavior of characters, the words that they say, or the events that take
place. Consequently, a writer seeking irony uses indirect references instead of direct
statements to point out the problematic relationship between the perceived and the
truth, according to the “Encyclopedia of Rhetoric.”
As for the background of this writing because of our ignorance of irony which is
included in literary material, and we need to learn and know about irony in an essay.
II. Introduction
A. Guy de Maupassant’s Biography
Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), French author of the naturalistic school who
is generally considered the greatest French short story writer.
Guy de Maupassant was probably born at Chateau de Miromesniel, Dieppe on
August 5, 1850. In 1869 Maupassant started to study law in Paris, but soon, at the
age of 20, he volunteered to serve in the army during the Franco-Prussian War.
Between the years 1872 and 1880 Maupassant was a civil servant, first at the
ministry of maritime affairs, then at the ministry of education.
As a poet Maupassant made his debut with Des Vers (1880). In the same
year he published in the anthology Soirees de Medan (1880), edited by E. Zola,
his masterpiece, “Boule De Suif” (“Ball of Fat”., 1880). During the 1880s
Maupassant created some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one
volume of verse. In tone, his tales were marked by objectivity, higly controlled
style, and sometimes by sheer comedy. Usually they were built around simple
episodes from everyday life, which revealed the hidden sides of people. Among
Maupassant’s best-known books are Une Vie (A Woman’s Life, 1883), about the
frustrating existence of a Norman wife and Bel-Ami (1885), which depits an
unscrupulous journalist. Pierre Et Jean (1888) was a psychological study of two
brothers. Maupassant’s most upsetting horror story, Le Horla (1887), was about
madness and suicide.
Maupassant had suffered from his 20s from syphilis. The disease later caused
increasing mental disorder-also seen in his nightmarish stories, which have much
in common with Edgar Allan Poe’s supernatural visions. Critics have charted
Maupassant’s developing illness through his semi-autobiographical stories of
abnormal psychology, but theme of mental disorder is present even in his first
collection, La Maison Tellier (1881), published at the height of his health.
On January 2, in 1892, Maupassant tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat
and was committed to the celebrated private asylum of Dr. Esprit Blanche at
 Passy, in Paris, where he died on july 6, 1893. (Guy de Maupassant, the complete
Works of Guy de Maupassant [CW], Seyestred. ed. 1850-1893, p 1-14)
B. Kind of Irony
Irony has three types: verbal irony, situational irony, and dramatic irony.
Verbal Irony is the use of language to what is expected. The most recognizable
form of verbal irony is sarcasm, where the speaker says the opposite of what they
mean, often for comedic effect. Situational Irony is when the exact opposite of
what you expect to happens. Situational irony, like verbal irony, is powered by the
incongruity between the explanation and the actual outcome. Dramatic Irony is a
type of irony that exists when the audience knows something regarding the plot
that the characters do not know.
III. Discussion
Irony permeates this story.
A. Verbal irony
Verbal irony occurs when someone says the opposite of what he or she
means. In the short story, the last part is a verbal irony. The narrator states that
Madame Loisel went away with her “treasure”. She flung herself on her friend’s
breast, embraced her frenziedly, and went away with her treasure. Of course, the
“treasure” is not what Madame Loisel thinks it is. She believes she is borrowing a
real diamond necklace, when, in fact, she is borrowing a fake. This demonstrates
that her idea of a “treasure” is shallow and superficial: she has no idea of real
worth, either when it comes to a necklace or to what is most important in life. The
evidence “She sprang upon the neck of her friend, kissed her passionately, then
fled with her treasure.” (Maupassant, 1850-1893:6)
The first part of the above sentence illustrates verbal irony, which occurs
when a situation works out to be the opposite of what was expected. Here,
Madame Loisel shows she is thrilled over a necklace that is about to ruin her life.
Rather than make her happy, as she expects, the necklace will make her
miserable. The evidence "How stupid you are! Go look up your friend Mme.
Forestier, and ask her to lend you some jewels…" (Maupassant, 1850-1893:5)
B. Situational irony
Situational irony occurs again after the Loisel’s impoverish themselves to
replace the necklace. Rather than gateway into a better life, the beautiful objects
and fancy events Madame Loisel crave lead to a life of drudgery: she come to
know the heavy work of the house, the hateful duties of the kitchen. She washed
the plates, wearing out her pink nails on the coarse pottery and the bottoms of
pans. “She washed the dirty linen, the shirts and dishcloths, and hung them out to
dry on a string…” (Maupassant, 1850-1893:5)
The chief situational irony, however, occurs when Madame Loisel discovers that
the necklace she borrowed was a fake, worth only 500 francs. The evidence
"What's the matter? What's the matter?" (Maupassant, 1850-1893:13)
 C. Dramatic irony
As a dramatic irony, which is when the audience knows what the characters do
not, I would argue there is none. The entire story pivots on the reader being as
surprised as Madame Loisel to find out the necklace is made of paste. The
evidence “Then they went from jeweler to jeweler, searching for a necklace like
the other…” (Maupassant, 1850-1893:10)
IV. Conclusion
Irony is greeting with the words the meaning of which is precisely
opposite to the true meaning. That is, what is spoken is far different from reality.
There are three types of irony, are Verbal irony, Situational irony and Dramatic
irony. We can find the three irony from story The Necklace. In the opening line,
Maupassant writers, “She sprang upon the neck of her friend, kissed her
passionately, then fled with her treasure.” (Maupassant, 1850-1893:6). The story
The Necklace is we have to be satisfied with what we were decide.
V. References
Seattlepi,education. 2018. Irony use writing. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
https://education.seattlepi.com/irony-used-writing-6402.html
literature. 2018. Maupassants. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
http://www.online-literature.com/maupassant/