Instructions
This worksheet is divided into three parts to strengthen your understanding and creation of narrative texts. Read each section carefully and complete the tasks to the best of your ability. Pay close attention to detail in the reading passage and be creative in your writing.
Part 1: Reading Comprehension
Read the following excerpt from "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant. Then, answer the questions that follow based on the text.
The day of the party arrived. Madame Loisel was a great success. She was prettier than any other woman present, elegant, gracious, smiling, and full of joy. All the men stared at her, asked her name, and wanted to be introduced. All the attachés of the Cabinet wanted to waltz with her. She was noticed by the minister himself.
She danced with intoxication, with passion, made drunk by pleasure, forgetting all in the triumph of her beauty, in the glory of her success, in a sort of cloud of happiness composed of all this homage, of all this admiration, of all these awakened desires, and of that sense of complete victory that is so sweet to a woman's heart.
She left the party around four o'clock in the morning. Her husband had been sleeping since midnight in a little deserted anteroom with three other gentlemen whose wives were having a good time. He threw over her shoulders the wraps he had brought, the modest wraps of their everyday life, whose poverty clashed with the elegance of the ball-gown. She felt this and wanted to escape so as not to be noticed by the other women who were wrapping themselves in rich furs.
Loisel held her back. "Wait a bit. You'll catch a cold outside. I'll call a cab."
But she wouldn't listen to him and went down the stairs quickly. When they were in the street, they couldn't find a carriage and they began to look for one, shouting after the cabmen who they saw passing in the distance.
They walked toward the Seine, desperate and shivering. Finally, they found on the quay one of those old, nocturnal coupes that one sees in Paris only after nightfall, as if they were ashamed of their misery in the daytime. It took them to their door in the Rue des Martyrs, and they went up to their apartment sadly. It was all over for her. And as for him, he remembered that he had to be at the office by ten o'clock.
She took off the wraps from her shoulders before the glass, for a final look at herself in her glory. Suddenly she uttered a cry. The necklace was no longer around her neck!
Her husband, already half-undressed, asked: "What's the matter?"
She turned toward him, distraught. "I have—I have—I no longer have Madame Forestier's necklace."
He stood up, bewildered. "What!—how!—That's impossible!"
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
- Describe Mathilde Loisel's emotional journey throughout this excerpt. Use at least three specific words or phrases from the text to support your answer.
- What is the central conflict introduced at the end of the passage? Is it primarily internal (a struggle within a character) or external (a struggle with an outside force)? Explain your reasoning.
- Analyze the contrast between Mathilde's ball-gown and the "modest wraps" her husband brings. What does this contrast symbolize about her life and her desires?
- How does the author create a sense of foreboding or impending doom before the necklace is discovered to be missing?
- From the dialogue and actions in this passage, what can you infer about the relationship between Mathilde and her husband?
Part 2: Vocabulary in Context
For each word below, first define it based on how it is used in the passage. Then, write your own original sentence correctly using the word.
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Homage: "...in a sort of cloud of happiness composed of all this homage, of all this admiration..."
Definition from context:
Your sentence:
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Nocturnal: "...one of those old, nocturnal coupes that one sees in Paris only after nightfall..."
Definition from context:
Your sentence:
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Distraught: "She turned toward him, distraught. 'I have—I have—I no longer have Madame Forestier's necklace.'"
Definition from context:
Your sentence:
Part 3: Narrative Writing
Writing Prompt:
The excerpt ends with the shocking realization that the necklace is gone. Continue the story for the next few paragraphs. Write a short narrative scene depicting the immediate aftermath of the discovery. What do Mathilde and her husband do and say in the next ten minutes? Focus on building tension and revealing their characters through their actions and dialogue.
Your writing should include:
- Dialogue that reveals panic, blame, or desperation.
- Actions that show their frantic search.
- Sensory details (what do they see, hear, and feel in their small apartment?).
- A clear focus on building suspense and conflict.
Answer Key
Part 1: Reading Comprehension
- Mathilde's emotional journey is a dramatic shift from triumph to despair. At the party, she is "full of joy," dancing with "intoxication" and experiencing the "glory of her success." However, this ecstasy quickly fades as she leaves, and the poverty of her wraps makes her want to "escape." Her journey ends in panic when she utters a cry and becomes "distraught" upon realizing the necklace is gone.
- The central conflict is external: the loss of the valuable necklace. This immediately creates a problem they must solve with the outside world (finding the necklace or dealing with its owner, Madame Forestier). However, it also creates an internal conflict within Mathilde, who must now face the consequences of her desire for a lifestyle she cannot afford.
- The contrast symbolizes the gap between Mathilde's aspirations and her reality. The elegant ball-gown represents the life of luxury, beauty, and admiration she craves. The "modest wraps," whose "poverty clashed" with the gown, represent her actual, everyday existence, which she views as shameful and inadequate.
- The author creates foreboding through the shift in mood after the party. The description of their journey home—walking, "desperate and shivering," to find a shabby "nocturnal coupe"—and the sad way they enter their apartment ("It was all over for her") suggests that the brief moment of happiness was temporary and something bad is about to happen.
- The relationship appears somewhat strained and unequal. M. Loisel seems practical and caring (he sleeps while she has fun, brings her wraps, suggests a cab for her health), but she seems to dismiss him ("she wouldn't listen to him"). He is grounded in their reality, while she is lost in her fantasy. His bewilderment at the end shows he is often reacting to her dramatic emotions.
Part 2: Vocabulary in Context
(Note: Student sentences will vary but should demonstrate a correct understanding of the word.)
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Homage:
Definition from context: Special honor, respect, or admiration shown publicly.
Example sentence: The documentary was a moving homage to the scientist's lifetime of achievements.
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Nocturnal:
Definition from context: Occurring or active at night.
Example sentence: Owls are nocturnal predators, using their keen hearing to hunt in the dark.
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Distraught:
Definition from context: Deeply upset, agitated, or panicked.
Example sentence: The family was distraught when they learned their dog was missing.
Part 3: Narrative Writing
(There is no single correct answer. Evaluate the student's response based on the following criteria.)
- Dialogue: Does the dialogue sound realistic for two people in a panic? Does it reveal their individual personalities (e.g., Mathilde's despair, her husband's more practical but panicked approach)?
- Action: Does the writing clearly show them searching? For example, do they retrace their steps, frantically check pockets, or overturn furniture?
- Sensory Details: Are there details that ground the scene? (e.g., the chill of the room, the sound of Mathilde's frantic breathing, the dim light of the lamp).
- Pacing and Tension: Does the scene feel urgent and tense? Does the author use short, sharp sentences or frantic descriptions to build this feeling?
- Characterization: Does the response deepen our understanding of Mathilde and M. Loisel and the dynamic between them?