Thomas's Writing Portfolio

Final Timed-writing

0519065

Thomas Feng

June 21, 2007
Final Timed Writing

From The Necklace, what might have been the quality of Mme. Loisel’s life if she had not lost the necklace? Is her life better or worse now?

This is really an interesting topic to discuss about. It seems that all the miseries Mme. Loisel has suffered are caused by the lost of a paste necklace. If she had not lost the necklace, she would be enjoying a glamorous life with ease by now. But from another angle, I still hold the belief that her poor life now is better for her.

Let me suppose what might happen after that night when Loisel Mathilde and her necklace safely reached home. She attracted so much attention at the ball, with a beautiful face and graceful etiquette, that soon after that night, she would receive more invitations to various balls. With closer contact with people from the higher hierarchy, Mathilde were gradually accepted by those so-called social elites. Then it became much easier for her to find her humble husband a new job with higher salary, and also some opportunities to make a fortune. The couples would become rich and Mathilde would become the actual mistress of the family. She would eventually realize her dream, enjoying a materialistic and luxurious life, savoring the sweet compliments for her charm and glamour from all the men she knew. In a word, from the materialistic angle, the quality of her life would be utterly different from what it is now.

But is this kind of rich, easy life necessarily better that her hard but earnest life now? I am afraid not. Because it is the hard work that makes our life a better one. And it’s also where the true meaning of life lies. While we admit that it’s a perfectly natural thing for human beings to long for power, wealth, social status, they are not the ultimate goal of our life. It is the process during which one learns about responsibility and effort that really matters. Usually, an easy, comfortable life leads to inner vacancy, as is the case of many rich people. If Mathilde does realize her dream, I doubt if she will find it really fantastic after the initial excitement and delight. On the contrary, hard as it is, her present life has taught her almost everything life contains: bitter, diligence, responsibility. These have sharpened her mind, shaped her strong personalities, and made her mentally tough. Compared with beauty and wealth, the benefits of being rich in terms of spiritual life far outweigh the skin-deep, instantaneous joy brought by praises and envies. Some materialistically rich people may never have a chance to experience this. Fortunately, Mathilde is favored by God. By making her accidentally lose the paste necklace, God has granted her this opportunity to savor the true taste of life.

30.5.07 10:00