Unseen text assignment: 60 minutes
● One section of this plan will be marked.
○ How does the writer try to interest the reader in
“The Necklace?”
■ In your answer you should write about:
● What life was like for Madame and Monsieur
Loisel before the reception.
● The night of the reception.
● What happens after the loss of the necklace.
● Any other interesting use of language.
Goals for the week
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2.
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7.
Dictation
Phonetic awareness
Characterisation
Vocabulary
Analysis
Adjectives with -ed
Writing
Homework for ...
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2.
3.
Revise vocabulary in “The Necklace” for a quiz.
Complete the phonemic chart handout.
Answer the following question:
a. How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?”
i. In your answer you should write about:
1. What life was like for Madame and Monsieur Loisel before
the reception.
2. The night of the reception.
3. What happens after the loss of the necklace.
4. Any other interesting use of language.
Dictation
The words died in his throat.
He was totally disconcerted
and dismayed by the sight of
his wife who had begun to cry.
“The Necklace”
● Author
○ Guy de Maupassant: French: 1850-1893
● Setting
○ 19th century Paris, France
○ Society divided by classes
● Themes
○ Socioeconomic status, class, materialistic desires and pride
“The Necklace”
● Characters
○ Omniscient narrator
○ Mathilde Loisel
○ Monsier Loisel
○ Madam Forestier
● Genre
○ Fictional short story
Character development
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protagonists
antagonists
omniscient characters
chorus
flat characters
dynamic characters
characterisation: actions, words and traits
“The Necklace”: Lines 1-52 Vocabulary
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dowry (line 5)
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guile (line 20)
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Noun
UK ​ /ˈdaʊ.ri/
in some societies, an amount of money or property that a woman's parents give to the man
she marries
noun [ U ]
UK ​ /ɡaɪl/ US ​ /ɡaɪl/
clever but sometimes dishonest behaviour that you use to deceive someone:
Sly & devious
battered (line 25)
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Adjective
UK ​ /ˈbæt.əd/ US ​ /ˈbæt̬ .ɚd/
hurt by being repeatedly hit
damaged, especially by being used a lot:
“The Necklace”: Lines 1-52 Vocabulary
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antechamber (line 29)
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tapestry (line 30)
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noun [ C ]
UK ​ /ˈtæp.ɪ.stri/ US ​ /ˈtæp.ə.stri/
a piece of cloth with a pattern or picture that is created by sewing or weaving different
coloured threads onto a special type of strong cloth
candelabra (line 30)
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a small room, especially a waiting room, that leads into a larger, more important room:
noun [ C ]
UK ​ /ˌkæn.dəˈlɑː.brə/ US ​ /ˌkæn.dəˈlɑː.brə/
plural candelabra or candelabras
a decorative object that holds several candles or lights
livery (31)
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Noun
UK ​ /ˈlɪv.ər.i/ US ​ /ˈlɪv.ɚ.i/
a special uniform worn by servants or particular officials
“The Necklace”: Lines 1-52 Vocabulary
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breeches (line 31)
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drawing room (line 32)
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noun [ C ]
UK ​ /ˈdrɔː.ɪŋ ˌruːm/ US ​ /ˈdrɑː.ɪŋ ˌruːm/ formal
a comfortable room in a large house used for relaxing or for entertaining guests
tureen (line 39)
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noun [ plural ]
UK ​ /ˈbrɪtʃ.ɪz/ /ˈbriː.tʃɪz/ US ​ /ˈbrɪtʃ.ɪz/ /ˈbriː.tʃɪz/ us also britches
trousers that do not cover the whole of the leg:
noun [ C ]
UK ​ /tjuˈriːn/ US ​ /təˈriːn/
a large bowl, usually with a lid, from which soup or vegetables are served
Sphinx (line 45)
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noun [ C ]
UK ​ /sfɪŋks/ US ​ /sfɪŋks/ plural sphinx or sphinxes
an ancient imaginary creature with a lion's body and a woman's head
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 1-51
● What life was like for Madame Loisel before the
reception?
○ Big ideas
■ lower-middle class lifestyle = depressed
■ feels victimized by society
■ Self-defeating = impractical dreamer
■ Difficult - vanity
■ jealousy = anti-social
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 1-51
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What life was like for Madame Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ lower-middle class lifestyle
● Born into
○ “daughters of very minor civil servants” lines 4-5
■ emphasis on “minor civil servants” with the adjective
“very” highlights her background from a family that is
not wealthy
■ Importance:
● never has known an upper-class lifestyle: envious
of the wealthy
● cannot marry a wealthy man: “no dowry”
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 1-51
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What life was like for Madame Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ feels victimized
● “women have neither rank nor class”
○ Use of negatives: “neither” and “nor”
■ emphasize her lack of agency
○ “rank” means a position in society, either higher or lower than
others
■ Suggests
● her rank and class depend on her father and husband
■ Importance
● empathy: limited by her sex
● depressed
● foreshadows marital conflicts
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 1-51
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What life was like for Madame Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ Self-defeating - impractical dreamer
● Her “run-down apartment”, “peeling walls” and “battered chairs” “was
torture” to her.
● dreams of “silent antechambers”, “two tall footmen” and “great
drawing-rooms”
● hyperbolic “torture” suggests
○ Frivolous
● Juxtaposition of “peeling walls” to “great drawing-room” suggests
○ unrealistic: does not dream about repairing the furniture
● Importance
○ Comparatively more empathy for the husband
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 1-51
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What life was like for Madame Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ difficult life caused by her vanity
● “... no fine dresses, no jewellery, nothing. And that was all she
cared about”
○ sense of irony
■ Compare her at the beginning to the end: does not
need to work, youth, beauty, a “maid”, no debts vs.
aged and hardened by work
■ Importance:
● sense of justice when she comes to understand
that “nothing” means poverty
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 1-51
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What life was like for Madame Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ jealousy = anti-social
● “never called now” on her rich friend because afterwards she would
“weep tears of sorrow, regret, despair and anguish”
● emotive language, especially “regret” suggests
○ Seeing her friend’s luxurious lifestyle angers her because she is
married to a civil servant and is unable to have an upper class
lifestyle
○ Importance
■ emotionally disturbed: materialistic desires ruins her
friendships
■ troubled marriage
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 1-51
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What life was like for Monsier Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ Uncomplaining and accepting of his social class
● “junior clerk”
● “‘Ah, Stew! Splendid!” and “a nice stew …”
● Juxtaposition of his low wage with his positive nature
○ adjective “junior”
■ Menial job with little money
○ direct speech: hyperbole because “always” suggests that
they eat stew often, yet he exclaims his delight
“The Necklace”: Lines 53-91 Vocabulary
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brandish (line 54)
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extract (line 56)
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verb [ T ]
UK ​ /ˈbræn.dɪʃ/ US ​ /ˈbræn.dɪʃ/
to wave something in the air in a threatening or excited way
verb [ T ]
UK ​ /ɪkˈstrækt/ US ​ /ɪkˈstrækt/
to remove or take out something
earthly (line 62)
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Adjective
UK ​ /ˈɜːθ.li/ US ​ /ˈɝːθ.li/
literary happening in or relating to this world and this physical life, not in heaven or relating to a
spiritual life:
used in questions or negatives to mean possible: What earthly reason can she have for being
so horrible to you?
“The Necklace”: Lines 53-91 Vocabulary
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dickens
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nobs
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noun [ plural ]
UK ​ /ˈdɪk.ɪnz/ US ​ /ˈdɪk.ɪnz/
old-fashioned informal
used in questions to express anger or surprise: What the dickens are you doing with that
paint?
noun [ C ]
UK ​ /nɒb/ US ​ /nɑːb/
uk: old-fashioned informal disapproving
a rich person whose family has been important for a long time
bluster
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verb [ I ]
UK ​ /ˈblʌs.tər/ US ​ /ˈblʌs.tɚ/
to speak in a loud, angry, or offended way, usually with little effect
“The Necklace”: Lines 53-91 Vocabulary
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disconcerted (line 71)
○ Adjective
○ UK ​ /ˌdɪs.kənˈsɜːt.ɪd/ US ​ /ˌdɪs.kənˈsɝː.t̬ ɪd/
○ worried by something and uncertain:
dismay (line 71)
○ noun [ U ]
○ UK ​ /dɪˈsmeɪ/ US ​ /dɪˈsmeɪ/
○ a feeling of unhappiness and disappointment:
devastated (line 79)
○ Adjective
○ UK ​ /ˈdev.ə.steɪ.tɪd/ US ​ /ˈdev.ə.steɪ.t̬ ɪd/
○ completely destroyed
“The Necklace”: Lines 53-91 Vocabulary
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daresay (85)
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Verb
UK ​ /ˌdeəˈseɪ/ /ˈdeə.seɪ/ US ​ /ˌderˈseɪ/ /ˈder.seɪ/
used to say that you agree or think that something is true: "She's got a lot of admirers." "I
daresay - she's very beautiful."
lark (89)
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noun [ C ]
UK ​ /lɑːk/ US ​ /lɑːrk/
a small, brown bird that is known for its beautiful singing
informal an activity done for a joke that is is not intended to cause serious harm or damage:
a way of referring to an activity or a situation that you do not take seriously
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 53-91
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What life was like for Madame Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ Ungrateful
■ deceitful to her husband and manipulative
■ lives with a frugal husband = justifies her criticism of the apartment
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 51-92
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What life was like for Madame Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ Ungrateful
● husband secures an invitation despite the “dickens of a job
getting hold of an invite”
● “tossed the invitation peevishly”
● “Dickens”: great effort
● paradox: dreams of luxury yet dismisses the invitation
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 1-51
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What life was like for Madame Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ Deceitful and manipulative to her husband
● Quick recovery of her emotions: “sorrow” to acting “calmly”
○ Suggests deception
○ Importance: untrustworthy
● She “said shortly: ‘And what am I supposed to wear?’”
○ Adverb “shortly” suggests she acts brusquely or impatiently
○ dialogue about appearances highlights her vanity
○ Importance: uses anger and sorrow to manipulate her husband:
childish
● money for a dress: “decently ask for without drawing an immediate
refusal”
○ Suggests she is calculating - aggressive
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 51-92
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What life was like for Madame Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ Lives with a frugal husband = justifies her criticism of the aging apartment
● She wants to avoid “painful protests” when asking for money
○ Suggests she has asked for money in the past and has been
denied
○ Importance: highlights her status as a woman: unable to control her
own finances: dependent upon her husband
● He is “careful with his money”
○ Suggest he has savings
○ Importance: could fix up the apartment but chooses not to
○ Importance: she has little financial authority in the household
○ Importance: little understanding of his wife’s desires
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 51-92
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What life was like for Monsieur Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ frugal yet willing to spend money to foster friendships and entertainment for
himself
● “finance hunting trips” with a “few friends” for “larks”
● Suggests he could repair the apartment
● Importance: sense of injustice: she cannot save money to finance her
own interests
● Dual meaning “larks”: bird or not taking something serious
● Suggests his hunting trip is an act of sport hunting or entertainment as
opposed to securing meat
● Importance: while humble, he also spends money on luxury items, or
non-essential goods
“The Necklace”: Lines 92-122 Vocabulary
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vex (95)
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posy (98)
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noun [ C ]
UK ​ /ˈpəʊ.zi/ US ​ /ˈpoʊ.zi/
a small bunch of cut flowers
immoderate (116)
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verb [ T ]
UK ​ /veks/ US ​ /veks/
to cause difficulty to someone, or to cause someone to feel angry, annoyed, or upset
Adjective
UK ​ /ɪˈmɒd.ər.ət/ US ​ /ɪˈmɑː.dɚ.ət/ formal
too much or many
rapture (118)
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Noun
UK ​ /ˈræp.tʃər/ US ​ /ˈræp.tʃɚ/
extreme pleasure and happiness or excitement
“The Necklace”: Lines 92-122 Vocabulary
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diffidently
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Adjective
UK ​ /ˈdɪf.ɪ.dənt/ US ​ /ˈdɪf.ɪ.dənt/
shy and not confident of your abilities
apprehensive
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Adjective
UK ​ /ˌæp.rɪˈhen.sɪv/ US ​ /ˌæp.rəˈhen.sɪv/
feeling worried about something that you are going to do or that is going to happen
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?” Lines 92-122
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What life was like for Madame Loisel before the reception?
○ Big ideas
■ frivolous and vain - problematic
● feels “rapture” and “immoderate desire” when wearing the diamond
necklace
● adjective “immoderate” foreshadows a developing conflict because of
her unreasonable “rapture” for the diamond
● Importance: suspect she will ruin her relationship with Madame Forestier
● Importance: values materialism more than friendship
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?”
● The night of the reception.
○ Big ideas
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?”
● What happens after the loss of the necklace.
○ Big ideas
How does the writer try to interest the reader in “The
Necklace?”
● Language use
○ Big ideas