The Necklace

The Necklace

Guy de Maupassant

He was a French novelist who was born on August 5, 1850, at the Château de Miromesnil in Normandy. He received religious education in spite of his family being freethinkers aristocrats. For the reason of this education, he entered a seminary when he was thirteen years old, which apparently did not suit him and provoked his own expulsion.

He entered the Ministry of Public Education and also studied law, but he did not feel comfortable with that type of education and studies; Thanks to the advice of a great teacher and friend, his name was Gustave Flaubert, he devoted himself to literature in 1879.

His first work and success was "Tallow Ball", was published a month before the death of his friend Flaubert. Then he continued publishing and writing verses and poems.

According to his biography, he was affected during his lifetime of severe nervous disorders, in 1892, after an attempted suicide in Cannes, he was admitted to the Madhouse in Paris, where he died, after eighteen months of agony, of a general paralysis.

He suffered symptoms of dementia and as a result of syphilis on January 1, 1892, he tried to open his throat three times with a penknife, was interned in a clinic where one year later he died, on July 6, 1893.



Historical background
Maupassant´s historical background is that he published novels of cut mostly naturalist: a Life (1883), Bel-Ami (1885) or strong like Death (1889), among others. Less known is his facet as a chronicler of topicality in the newspapers of the time as Le Gaulois, Gil Blas or Le Figaro, where he wrote numerous chronicles about multiple topics: literature, politics, society, among others.

That's why his first play (Boule de Suif) being the first play was highly acclaimed in addition to other plays and three hundred stories, three travel Books, an anthology of poetry and numerous journalistic chronicles.



Expectations/Predictions about the text
I think this reading selection will be a short story or tale about a specific accessory in this case as the title is called the necklace, that means it should has a special value and worth. My expectation is to know what is the focus of this writing or the message of the author wanted to transmit in this story, I want to know what should be the influence or inspiration of this author to express the thinking in this reading selection.

Basically I expect that will be a kind of enjoy and fun. Also I expect to notice and learn new vocabulary because according with the historical background of the author, he is descriptive so he gives more details in his writin about an specific topic, in this one will be the necklace.

Analysis or Connection between literary work and historical background

Maupassant is connecting the realism and naturalism in this reading selection because he is giving a real example of the situation that everyone could be in our life. He used an extended vocabulary that describes everything that he wants to transmit to the reader. He is being specific with the actions and feelings of the characters.

Also we can realize how the author express this literary work and connect it with his own life, the history said that he studied religion and laws but he did not feel comfortable with this studies so he followed an advice of his friend to start with literature and could express everything that he thought and felt through the writings, novels, books and plays so because of that he got the success to be an known writer.

Literary movement (that the author belongs or represents and what that movement is)

This literary movement was the logical growth of literary realism, it was known by the point of view and beginning of realism. This movement found the expression almost exclusively within the novel. Naturalism sought to go beyond and be more explanatory and descriptive than Realism with respect by identifying the hidden causes of a person's actions or beliefs.

In this case we select this movement for Maupassant because is cosindered one of the most important writers of the Naturalism school. His prose has the virtue of being simple but straightforward, without artifice. His stories, varied, convey with absolute fidelity the Society of his time. But what characterizes him most is impersonal of his narrative.

Not in vain, he is considered one of the greatest storytellers in the history of literature. He never gets involved in history and manifests himself as an omniscient person who merely describes his remarks in detail.


Country: France

Genre / Type: Short story

Did you confirm your predictions? Were they correct? Were they wrong? How? Why?

Yes I did. Some of my expectations were to learn new vocabulary and I did it. The author was really descriptive in the writing, I saw several and new adjectives. So I got new words for my vocabulary.

Also I wanted to know what is the message of the story, I got an example of the lowliness in the life, all people can associate this reading selection with a little part of their life, because all we want to get all the things that we desire, most of the times is really difficult to get them. However is the same problem, we need to live a hard or difficult situation to accept and be grateful with the things that we already have.

Another expectation that was correct is the accessory that is the story about, the necklace was the specific accessory that develop all this reading selection. I that is why I learnt adjectives with the description of this accessory.


References

LOOKING -Biography. (Since 1999). Guy de Maupassant - biography. 1999, de Editors of Buscabiografias.com Sitio web: https://www.buscabiografias.com/biografia/verDetalle/1582/Guy%20de%20Maupassant

The Literature Network. (2000). Naturalism. 2017, de Jalic Inc. Sitio web: http://www.online-literature.com/periods/naturalism.php

The Washwoman

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The Washwoman

Author’s biography
Isaac Bashevis Singer

Author(1904–1991)

Singer gave from Young on July 14, 1904 as his date of birth, possibly to avoid military service that was on Novemeber 21 of 1902. And his death was on Julio 24 of 1991.

He was son and grandson of rabbins. He grew up in the Jewish quarter of Warsaw. Singer also spent several years in Biłgoraj, a town full of Jewish tradition, where his maternal grandfather was a rabbi. He received an education of the Jewish tradition and the study of the texts in Hebrew and Aramaic.

He began to write stories when everyone of his family told stories as the same as the young man. Although he was being groomed to become a Hasidic rabbi like his father, Singer followed in his older brother's footsteps instead expressing a preference to become a writer rather than a religious leader as his family´s fluence wanted.

Also in most of his works is the environment in the theme and the life of the Jews of Poland that Singer discribes and judges alternating tenderness and criticism, sometimes biting. His prose is very elaborate, often includes strange or comical details and it is appreciated in his a costant of sentimentality and sensuality.

Historical background

According with the history, when he received the Nobel Prize, 1978; he was recognized as the only author who would be awarded for the creation of a remarkable literary work in Yiddish language. Therefore, the language that had sustained that activity and through which they communicated in Europe was now added to the group of "Endangered Languages" the Yiddish.
 
Although his success in journalism was Singer's passion for literature would not be suppressed. He started writing short stories on the side. In 1925 his family always talk about spirits that took possession of life humans or demons. That is the reason of Singer's first novel is Satan in Goray, was published. His characters, like his creator, are discussed between the sacred and the profane. Demons, associated with passions and sensuality, insistently populate their world of fiction, reflecting their perception of the surrounding reality and their own, torn, inner life.

Perhaps the charm of his work  at least in part, is the happy combination between his ancestral Jewish roots and a modernist style, a consequence of contemporary European influences as the background of them, which gave him universal significance for his life and his work.


Expectations/Predictions about the text


I expect of this story the description of someone that is doing something new or different in this case of a woman. I think there is something special or unusual that the author express about someone who is original. And the word wash in the title could be about it is clean or she is making an action for that.

Analysis or Connection between literary work and historical background

I think the connection that is between the author and the movement will be the realism, because Issac describes a old woman that is making an natural and usual action that is wash, and in this clothes with laundry. The importance of this connection is that sometimes we live this situation with our neighbors, families and friends. We know people that they does not care what happens with their parents, even if they are old.

As Singer´s background, he could be inspired in someone that he met or knew in order to write this short story. And the Washwoman is one of the inspirations of this author.



Literary movement

The literature in Yiddish is the written in Yiddish, the language of the Askenazíes Jews, related to the medieval German. It is often considered that literature in Yiddish has had three stages: ancient Yídica literature; Hasidic and Haskalah Literature; and modern Yídica Literature.

I selected this literary movement of this short story beaucse this literature can be combine with naturalism and realis because he started to write in his maternal language and that is why the readers thouhgt that is a different and unusal way to express literature with his orignal language.

Realism- modernism
I think the author represent the social life and the reality with the human life. He described and provided with a natural vocabulary that is understandable for whoever. However he wrote about spirits and souls in sorrow and that is a modern thinking about the reincarnation but he knew that God would not send souls to the world for once, and also it connects the realism as a movement.

We can say that these movements describe Issac Singer´s life with the literature, because everything that he has written is influenced because of his own life.
 

Country: Poland, Yiddish (Judeo-German)

Genre / Type: Short story


Did you confirm your predictions? Were they correct? Were they wrong? How? Why?


Yes I confirmed some of my predictions about the story, the washwoman is an original woman, she was doing something different with the bundles, the story teach us a strong woman who always done the task that she had undertaken until she passed away. I did not have the prediction about her faithful that she had with a family, they really matter the old woman.

Another prediction that was wrong is the age of the woman, I did not think that was going to be a old woman with more than seventy years old. I imagined that was a woman of thirty or forty yeats old

References
Biography.com E.. (April, 2014). Isaac Bashevis Singer Biography.com. 2014, de A&E Television Networks Sitio web: https://www.biography.com/people/isaac-bashevis-singer-9484987

Gale Casajús, E.. (2013). Relatos de I.B. Singer. 2013, de I.E.S. "RÍO ARBA" Sitio web: http://www.literaturaeuropea.es/obras/cuentos-de-singer/

For Educational Purposes Only. (June 27, 2008 ). The Washwoman by Isaac Bashevis Singer. 2006, Sitio web: http://shortstorymasterpieces.altervista.org/singerwashwoman.html

Wikipedia. (26 August 2017). Yiddish Literature. 2017, de The free encyclopedia (Wikipedia Project) Sitio web: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiddish_literature

The Day I Got Lost

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The Day I Got Lost

Author’s biography
Isaac Bashevis Singer

Author(1904–1991)

Singer gave from Young on July 14, 1904 as his date of birth, possibly to avoid military service. For this reason, in 2004 the centenary of its birth was celebrated

He was son and grandson of rabbins. He grew up in the Jewish quarter of Warsaw. Singer also spent several years in Biłgoraj, a town full of Jewish tradition, where his maternal grandfather was a rabbi. He received an education of the Jewish tradition and the study of the texts in Hebrew and Aramaic.

He began to write stories when his everyone of his family told stories as the same as the young man.Although he was being groomed to become a Hasidic rabbi like his father, Singer followed in his older brother's footsteps instead expressing a preference to become a writer rather than a religious leader as his family´s fluence wanted.

Historical background

According with the history, when he received the Nobel Prize, 1978; he was recognized as the only author who would be awarded for the creation of a remarkable literary work in Yiddish language. Therefore, the language that had sustained that activity and through which they communicated in Europe about 11 million people – Yiddish – was now added to the group of "Endangered Languages
 
Although his success in journalism, Singer's passion for literature would not be suppressed. He started writing short stories on the side. In 1925, The history said that his family always talk about spirits that took possession of life humans. Singer's first novel, Satan in Goray, was published. His characters, like his creator, are discussed between the sacred and the profane. Demons, associated with passions and sensuality, insistently populate their world of fiction, reflecting their perception of the surrounding reality and their own, torn, inner life.

Perhaps the charm of his work  at least in part, to the happy combination between his ancestral Jewish roots and a modernist style, a consequence of contemporary European influences as the background of them, which gave him universal significance for his life and his work.


Expectations/Predictions about the text

Conscience is one of my expectations about the text. I think the author is trying to find himself, about his life, feelings and thinking. Another expectation is to see if the author explain the reasons why he got lost, or when he notice that got lost and about what. Also I would like to know the author´s main feeling about the text.

Analysis or Connection between literary work and historical background

There is a connection with the attitude and with the way they both acts, the main character does not have problems with people; as the same with the author, can be problems with himself that he recognized and he might is accepting it. They are based on the memories to remember things that they normally do and have.


Literary movement

The literature in Yiddish is the written in Yiddish, the language of the Askenazíes Jews, related to the medieval German. It is often considered that literature in Yiddish has had three stages: ancient Yídica literature (1300-1780); Hasidic and Haskalah Literature (1780-H. 1890); and modern Yídica Literature (1864-Currently). This literature can be combine with his literary movement because he started to write in this language and that is why the readers thouhgt that is a different and unusal way to express literature with his orignal language

Realism- modernism
The author represent the social life and the reality with the human life. He describes and provided with a natural vocabulary that is understandable for whoever. However he wrote about spirits and souls in sorrow and that is a modern thinking about the reincarnation but he knew that God would not send souls to the world for once, and also that connect the realism as a movement.

Country: Poland, Yiddish (Judeo-German)

Genre / Type: Short story


Did you confirm your predictions? Were they correct? Were they wrong? How? Why?

My predictions are wrong because I thought that the author was doing something bad or incorrect and because of that the title is that he got lost. Otherwise is something that is happening to his mind, he loses memories, he forgets things and he misplaces things. However I noticed that the feeling of him is about his memory but he was not really frustrated for that, he accepted it and try a different way to remember.

References
Biography.com E.. (April, 2014). Isaac Bashevis Singer Biography.com. 2014, de A&E Television Networks Sitio web: https://www.biography.com/people/isaac-bashevis-singer-9484987

Gale Casajús, E.. (2013). Relatos de I.B. Singer. 2013, de I.E.S. "RÍO ARBA" Sitio web: http://www.literaturaeuropea.es/obras/cuentos-de-singer/