Final Activities For English Language Proficiency

PART I. (20 Points)

DIRECTION: Read the story "The Necklace" and answer the following questions below.

ANSWERS MUST BE IN PRINTED FORM (LONG BONDPAPER)

"The Necklace"

-Guy De Maupassant

She was one of those pretty and charming girls, born by a blunder of destiny in a family of employees.
She had no dowry, no expectations, no way of being known, understood, loved, married by a rich and
distinguished man; so she let herself be married to a little clerk of the Ministry of Public Instruction.

She dressed plainly because she could not afford fine clothes, but she was as unhappy as though she had
married beneath her; for women have neither caste nor rank—their beauty, grace, and charm serving
them in place of birth and family. Natural delicacy, instinct for what is elegant, suppleness of wit, are
their sole hierarchy, and these qualities make the daughters of the people the equals of the greatest
ladies.

She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself destined for all delicacies and luxuries. She suffered from the
poverty of her dwelling, from the wretched look of the walls, from the worn-out chairs, from the
ugliness of the curtains. All those things, of which another woman of her rank would never even have
been conscious, tortured her and made her indignant. The sight of the little Breton peasant who did her
humble housework aroused in her despairing regrets and bewildering dreams. She thought of silent
antechambers hung with Oriental tapestries, lit by tall bronze candelabra, and of two great footmen in
knee breeches, who dozed in the large armchairs, made drowsy by the oppressive heat of the stove. She
thought of long reception halls hung with ancient silk, of the dainty cabinets containing priceless
curiosities, and of the little coquettish perfumed reception rooms made for chatting at five o'clock with
intimate friends, with men famous and sought after, whom all women envy and whose attention they all
desire.

When she sat down to dinner before the round table covered with a tablecloth three days old, opposite
her husband, who uncovered the soup tureen and declared with an enchanted air, "Ah, the good pot-
au-feu! I don't know anything better than that," she thought of dainty dinners, of shining silverware, of
tapestries peopling the walls with ancient personages and strange birds flying in the midst of a fairy
forest; and she thought of delicious dishes served on marvelous plates, and of the whispered gallantries
that you listen to with a sphinxlike smile while you are eating the pink flesh of a trout or the wings of a
quail.
She had no fine dresses, no jewelry, nothing. And she loved nothing else; she felt made for that. She
would have liked so much to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after.

She had a rich friend, a schoolmate at the convent, whom she did not want to visit anymore because she
suffered so much when she came back. And she wept for whole days from chagrin, from regret, from
despair, and disappointment.

One evening her husband came home with an air of triumph, holding a large envelope in his hand.

"There," said he, "there is something for you."

She tore the paper quickly and drew out a printed card which bore these words:

"The Minister of Public Instruction and Madame Georges Ramponneau request the honor of M. and
Mme. Loisel's company at the palace of the Ministry on Monday evening, January 18th."

Instead of being delighted, as her husband hoped, she threw the invitation on the table with disdain,
murmuring, "What do you want me to do with that?"

"But, my dear, I thought you would be pleased. You never go out, and this is such a fine opportunity. I
had great trouble to get it. Everybody wants to go; it is very select, and they are not giving many
invitations to clerks. The whole official world will be there."

She looked at him with an irritated eye and said impatiently, "And what do you want me to put on my
back?"

He had not thought of that. He stammered, "Why, the dress you go to the theater in. It looks very well
to me."

He stopped, distracted, seeing that his wife was crying. Two great tears ran slowly from the corners of
her eyes toward the corners of her mouth.

"What's the matter? What's the matter?" he stammered.

By a violent effort she had controlled her vexation and responded in a calm voice, wiping her wet
cheeks, "Nothing. Only I have no dress, and therefore I can't go to this ball. Give your invitation to some
colleague whose wife is better equipped than I am."

He was in despair. He resumed, "Come, let us see, Mathilde. How much would it cost, a suitable dress,
which you could use on other occasions, something very simple?"

She reflected several seconds, making her calculations and wondering also what sum she could ask
without bringing upon herself an immediate refusal and a frightened exclamation from the economical
clerk.
At last she replied hesitatingly, "I don't know exactly, but I think I could manage it with four hundred
francs."

He grew a little pale, because he was laying aside just that amount to buy a gun and treat himself to a
little shooting next summer on the plain of Nanterre, with some friends who went to shoot larks there
on Sundays.

But he said, "Very well. I will give you four hundred francs. And try to have a pretty dress."

The day of the ball drew near, and Madame Loisel seemed sad, uneasy, anxious. Her dress was ready,
however. Her husband said to her one evening, "What is the matter? Come, you have seemed very
queer these last three days."

And she answered, "It annoys me not to have a single piece of jewelry, not a single ornament, nothing to
put on. I shall look poverty-stricken. I would almost rather not go to this party."

"You might wear natural flowers," said her husband. "They're very stylish this year. For ten francs you
can get two or three magnificent roses."

She was not convinced.

"No; there's nothing more humiliating than to look poor among other women who are rich."

"How stupid you are!" her husband cried. "Go and see your friend Madame Forestier and ask her to lend
you some jewels. You know her well enough for that."

She uttered a cry of joy. "That's true. I had not thought of it."

The next day she went to her friend and told her of her distress.

Madame Forestier went to her mirrored wardrobe, took out a large jewel box, brought it, opened it, and
said, "Choose, my dear."

She saw first some bracelets, then a pearl necklace, then a Venetian cross of gold and jewels, of
admirable workmanship. She tried on the ornaments before the mirror, hesitated, could not make up
her mind to part with them, to give them back. She kept asking, "Haven't you any more?"

"Why, yes. Look further; I don't know what you like."

Suddenly she discovered, in a black satin box, a superb diamond necklace, and her heart began to beat
with an immoderate desire. Her hands trembled as she took it. She fastened it around her throat,
outside her high-necked dress, and remained lost in ecstasy at the sight of herself.

Then she asked anxiously, hesitating, "Would you lend me this, only this?"

"Why, yes, certainly."

She threw her arms around her friend's neck, kissed her passionately, then fled with her treasure.

The day of the ball arrived. Madame Loisel was a success. She was prettier than all the other women,
elegant, gracious, smiling, and mad with joy. All the men looked at her, asked her name, sought to be
introduced. All the attaches of the cabinet wished to waltz with her. She was remarked by the minister
himself.

She danced with enthusiasm, with passion, intoxicated with pleasure, thinking of nothing in the triumph
of her beauty, in the glory of her success, in a kind of cloud of happiness made up of all this homage,
admiration, these awakened desires, and this victory so complete and sweet to a woman's heart.

She went away about four o'clock in the morning. Her husband had been sleeping since midnight in a
little deserted antechamber with three other gentlemen whose wives were enjoying the ball.

He threw over her shoulders the wraps he had brought, the modest wraps of ordinary life, the poverty
of which contrasted with the elegance of the ball dress. She felt this and wanted to escape so as not to
be remarked by the other women, who were enveloping themselves in costly furs.

Loisel detained her. "Wait a bit. You will catch cold outside. I will call a cab."

But she would not listen to him and rapidly descended the stairs. When they reached the street, they
could not find a carriage and began to look for one, shouting after the cabmen passing at a distance.

They went toward the Seine in despair, shivering with cold. At last they found on the quay one of those
ancient nocturnal coupes which, as if they were ashamed to show their shabbiness during the day, are
never seen round Paris until after nightfall.

It brought them to their door in the Rue des Martyrs, and sadly they climbed up to their apartment. It
was all over, for her. As to him, he reflected that he must be at the Ministry at ten o'clock.

She removed the wraps which covered her shoulders before the glass, so as once more to see.

1. Who is Madame Loisel, and how does she feel about her social status?

-Explore her personality, desires, and dissatisfaction.

2. Why does Madame Loisel react negatively when her husband brings home the invitation to the ball?

-Discuss her feelings about appearances and her perceived inadequacies.

3. How does Monsieur Loisel demonstrate his love and support for his wife?
-Highlight his sacrifices and role in the story.

4. What does Madame Loisel borrow from her friend Madame Forestier for the ball? Why does she
choose this item?

-Examine the significance of the necklace and its symbolic value.

-Describe Madame Loisel's experience at the ball. How does it contrast with her everyday life?

-Discuss the fleeting nature of her joy and its impact on her character.

5. What happens to the necklace, and how does this event change the Loisels' lives?

-Focus on the turning point of the story and its consequences.

How do Madame Loisel and her husband manage to replace the lost necklace?

-Explore their sacrifices and the theme of hardship.

6. What is the twist at the end of the story? How does it affect the reader’s perception of Madame
Loisel’s struggles?

-Discuss the irony and its effect on the overall message.

7. What lessons does "The Necklace" teach about materialism and pride?

-Analyze the story’s moral and themes.

8. How might the story have been different if Madame Loisel had been honest with Madame Forestier
from the beginning?

-Consider the role of honesty and communication in the narrative.

9.What lessons does "The Necklace" teach about materialism and pride?

- Analyze the story’s moral and themes.

10. How might the story have been different if Madame Loisel had been honest with Madame Forestier
from the beginning?

PART II. (40 points)

DIRECTION: Create a Reflection paper about a short story entitled "NAPO" by Miralumo Films.

(PRINTED FORM IN A LONG BONDPAPER) (FONT STYLE: ARIAL) (FONT SIZE: 12)

Here's the link to the video: https://youtu.be/-p1P4fdhaF8?si=B1cZQADqqapB4CRT