Comparative Essay Sample: The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant and The Death of Ivan Illyich by Leo Tolstoy

Many people in today’s modern society, believe that the only way to lead an amazing life is to be someone that has the best job, the best house, and the best clothes, etc. However, that’s not entirely true because that does not bring true happiness as observed in the lives of Matilda Loisel and Ivan Illyich. In fact, when we pursue materialistic things we end up overworking ourselves and not to mention forgetting about those around us, additionally we also become discontent with the things we have. Needless to say, both “ The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant and “ The Death Of Ivan Illyich” by Leo Tolstoy deals with two characters who hunger for status. In Leo Tolstoy, the author shows how Ivan Illyich (the main character) is unsatisfied with the wealth he possesses in turn this led him to want more than what he already yields. While in Guy de Maupassant, the author displays how Matilda the main character longs to elevate in the social ladder so that she could leave her social class in an effort to impress others and in her worldview live a greater life than what she already has. Ivan Illyich grew up in an affluent household, which provided him with access to privileged people, of whom he was drawn to.“ Neither as a boy nor as a man was he a toady, but from early youth was by nature attracted to people of high station as a fly is drawn to the light, assimilating their ways and views of life and establishing friendly relations with them.” (121) This demonstrates how Ivan Illyich was attracted to people of higher status. However, these certain types of people influenced him throughout his life. On the contrary,  Ilyich had a moderate life with nothing to complain about. Illyich lived a “simple life” (120). He worked as a judge for the court of justice a fairly decent job. Illyich believed that his job gave him power. Indeed it did, but still, Illyich was not satisfied. “Ivan Ilych felt that everyone without exception, even the most important and self-satisfied, was in his power and that he need only write a few words on a sheet of paper with a certain heading, and this or that important.” (125) Illyich’s professional career as a judge got the very best of him, his job led him to become conceited in that he wanted a higher position that was higher than his original position. During this time as a judge, Ivan Illyich’s job allowed him to be surrounded by people of high esteem.``Assistant Public Prosecutor. His new duties, their importance, the possibility of indicting and imprisoning anyone he chose, the publicity his speeches received, and the success he had in all these things, made his work still more attractive.” (148) All of the attention that Illyich receives led him to be more devoted to his job and less devoted to his family. “ Ivan Ilych transferred the centre of gravity of his life more and more to his official work, so did he grow to like his work better and became more ambitious than before.” (130) Ivan’s pursuit for more success led him to deviate from his family. Family always comes first unfortunately, Ivan Illyich as mentioned prior wanted to have a higher positioning than what he already had. Later, after leaving his position as a judge Ivan became a prosecutor and Illyich became overprotective of his job. He believed that someone would steal his position. For Instance, “when obliged to be at home he tried to safeguard his position by the presence of outsiders.” pg 132 Ivan Illyich had the notion that people were out to get him but that truly wasn’t the case. This highlights how success can get into a person’s mind that it would influence them to think things that are simply not true. Afterward, Illyich leaves his position again and then gets a job working for his friend. The position was far better than his previous job.“Thanks to this change of personnel, Ivan Ilych had unexpectedly obtained an appointment in his former ministry which placed him two states above his former colleagues besides giving him five thousand rubles salary and three thousand five hundred rubles for expenses connected with his removal. ” 154  Illyich’s position granted him a leg up in terms of his salary to that of his previous colleague which he took joy in. For example, 

“ Ivan Ilych told of how he had been fêted by everybody in Petersburg, how all those who had been his enemies were put to shame and now fawned ”(154)  In summary, Ivan Illyich is a person who chooses to pursue success for prestige and the limelight it brought. In “The Necklace” by  Guy De Maupassant the main character Matilda Loisel is married to Monsieur Loisel a clerk in the office of the Board of Education. Even though Matilda’s husband labored vigorously as a clerk and supplied an income to the household so that they could have a roof over their heads, Matilda was burdened by her apartment because it did not level up to her high luxurious standards. “She suffered incessantly, feeling herself born for all delicacies and luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her apartment, the shabby walls, the worn chairs, and the faded stuffs. All these things, which another woman of her station would not have noticed, tortured and angered her”  (106)  Instead of being grateful for the apartment she had with her husband, Matilda chose to focus on things that were out of her control specifically her apartment this shows that she was wasting her time focusing on her apartment instead of improving herself to get out of her circumstance. Conversely, Matilda Loisel wanted to be the center of attention; it was her dream for everyone to look at her. “She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” (107) It is clear, that Matilda desired to be noticed and the only way to do so was to move up the social ladder. One time, Matilda and her husband were invited to a night ball, among the guests were high officials. Worried about what people would say, Matilda rejected the invitation but afterward she bought an elegant dress and borrowed a diamond necklace from her friend Madame Forestier. During the event, all eyes were locked on Matilda Loisel, something she had longed for. “All the men noticed her, asked her name, and wanted to be presented. All the members of the Cabinet wished to waltz with her. The Minister of Education paid her some attention.” (113-114) This demonstrates that Matilda Loisel admires the attention she got since it was something she had desired. In the end though, after that night Matilda would have to spend 10 years paying back lenders so that she could pay off a fake diamond necklace due to the fact that she lost. In other words, the end does not justify the means because, in her quest for attention and a rise in the social class, Matilda would have to pay much more than what the diamond necklace was originally worth. While both “ The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant and “ The death of Ivan Illyich” by Leo Tolstoy deals with moving up the status and longing for attention both characters suffer in the end but also face different outcomes. On the one hand, Ivan Illyich ends up regretting the fact that he chased a job instead of building a relationship with his family members. “And in imagination, he began to recall the best moments of his pleasant life. But strange to say none of those best moments of his pleasant life now seemed at all what they had then seemed—none of them except the first recollections of childhood.” (234) The best moment of Ivan’s life was not when he was working really hard but rather when he was a child. This reveals how his ambitious lifestyle did not have meaning it was vanity. Although Matilda wasted 10 years paying back loaners so that she would be able to purchase a diamond necklace to replace her friend’s lost one. Matilda was able to get her life back on course even though she made the mistake of losing her friend’s fake diamond necklace, and replacing it with a real one. On the other hand, Ivan couldn’t because he was on his dying death bed which meant that he couldn’t make a turn in his life. Conclusively, it’s important to be grateful in the little and to enjoy life and not focus on the things that don’t matter instead focusing on the things that do matter for instance family, intellectual, and spiritual growth.