Final Project

1. I. Describe the role literary theory plays in understanding literature.
Literature has many potential meanings and literary theory gives readers and
viewers different paths to uncover those meanings. According to Bertens (2014)
literary theory plays a role in understanding literature by helping us answer
important questions about literary works such as:
A.What does this work say about the human condition?
B. How does it convey its message?
C. Does it portray its subject fairly?
D. What political or social ideas does it advance?
II. Discuss the use of literary theory in interpretation.
Literary theory enables a broad appreciation of global literature. Reading a text
through the lens of literary theory provides a new perspective to better understand
literature. Literary theories develop the significance of race, class, and gender for literary
study, and the relevance of linguistic and unconscious elements of the text. The
advantage of interpreting literature by applying literary theories as opposed to traditional
criticism is that researching, reading, and writing works of literary criticism will help the
reader make better sense of the work, form judgements about literature, study ideas from
different points of view, and determine whether a literary work is worth reading.
(Guerin,1999).
III. Briefly overview the historical context of my chosen text.
The setting of “The Necklace,” is the city of Paris in the mid-1880s to the mid –1890s
and was part of the Belle Epoque Era, a period of peace and prosperity connected to the

2. burgeoning Industrial Revolution. There were important developments in technology and
science and cultural, literal, and artistic innovations.
There were restraints on women as they struggled to identify themselves in a
male-dominated society. It was also a time of wide disparity in the quality of life between
the upper classes and the poor and lower classes. (Danowitz,2015).
IV. Select a text and two theories and a rationale for choosing each.
I have chosen to analyze the short story “The Necklace,” by Guy de Maupassant
(2015). I am interested in this text because it explores the relationship between
appearance and reality. This means there are a lot of metaphors, irony, paradox, tension,
and ambiguity present. I want to learn more about how to create “special effects” that
elicit certain responses from readers, like tears and cheers, by using the above literary
devices, as well as others. I believe this will also aid in developing my style and tone in
writing.
I have selected to analyze this work using Feminist Criticism and New Criticism.
I chose New Criticism because this is a short story, and a New Critic would analyze the
development of the character of Mathilde to find a deeper meaning in the story.
(Willingham,1989).
And I chose Feminist Criticism because I can answer the following questions:
1.How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?
2. What are the power relationships between the men and women characters?
3. How are male and female roles defined?
4.What constitutes masculinity and femininity?
5. How do characters embody the above traits?

3. 6. What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically,
socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy? (Eagleton,1996).
V. Explain how each theory emerged and the problems that each addressed.
New Criticism emerged in the middle of the 20th
Century as a reaction to
traditional “extrinsic” approaches that saw a text as making a moral or philosophical
statement or as an outcome of social, political, economic, historical, or biological
phenomena. New Critics believed that this confused a text with the emotional response of
its readers or conflated the textual impact and objectives of the author.
New Critics’ core concept is that a text is an isolated entity that can be understood
through the tools and techniques of close reading. Additionally, they state that a text must
be evaluated apart from its context. (Ransom, 1941).
Feminist Theory first emerged in the 18th
Century in works by Mary
Wollstonecraft. The purpose was to understand the nature of gender inequality. Feminist
Criticism mirrored the feminist movement in the 20th
Century, and it focused on women’s
suffrage and political rights. In a patriarchy women suffer oppression and Feminist
Theory seeks to understand the ways in which women are suppressed socially,
economically, politically, and psychologically and to reduce their oppression. (Butler,
1999.)

4. Works Cited
Bertens, Hans.(2017). Literary Theory: The Basics. MBS Direct. 3rd
Edition.
Taylor& Francis, 2017.
Geurin, Wilford. (1999). A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. 4th
Ed. Oxford University Press.
Danowitz, Erica: (2015). “The Necklace and Other Stories: Maupassant for
Modern Times.” Library Journal, 2015, Vol. 140 Issue 9.
Willingham, John.(1989). The New Criticism, Then and Now. University of
Massachusetts Press.
Eagleton, Mary. (1996). “Working with Feminist Criticism.” Oxford: Blackwell,
1996.
Ransom, John.(1941). The New Criticism. New Direction.

5. Butler, Judith. (1999). Gender Trouble; Feminism and the Subversion of Identity.
2nd
Ed. London: Routledge.