Ambition is an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, such as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment. The controlling idea of this essay is to establish what ambition does to a person. This essay is about the nature of ambition. The two pieces in this essay are The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant and an excerpt from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.
The literary device used in the short story The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant is characterization. Characterization is the way in which a character is described, behaves, or is perceived by other characters. The woman in the story could not deal with the fact that she didnt have any money. She thought that money would make everything better. She wanted the finest and most expensive things in life. She did not care about the price; she just wanted it. She could not be content with her lifestyle. Jealousy played a huge factor in her lifestyle. She was always jealous of what other people had and not herself. She would never obtain these things, but her desire and ambition made her unhappy and upset. She could never appreciate the things that she already had. The author characterized her as a very materialistic woman. The quote used in this story is, She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. Another literary device used is conflict. The conflict was man vs. self. Conflict is the struggle in which the characters are involved. She had to struggle with herself and the fact that she was not rich. She had to fight with her ambition and desire to have things that she would never be able to obtain.
The literary device used in the excerpt from Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, is simile. Simile is the comparative language using like or as. Shakespeare compared Caesar to a serpents egg. Shakespeare said that Caesars ambition to become king and have an heir would lead to mischief. It would cause many problems in Rome and the empire. He said that the only way to stop this would be by killing him. Another literary device used in this excerpt is foreshadowing. Shakespeare used foreshadowing to predict what would happen if Caesar became king. He said there would be mischief and that he would do danger with his crown. It also says that Caesar would be killed one day because that would be the only way to stop him.
If you desire something more than what you can obtain, you will just be disappointed in the end. Like the woman in The Necklace, if all you think about and wish for are things you cannot have, you will be miserable and never enjoy the life you do have. Like Julius Caesar, if all you want is power, you may be corrupted by that power when you get it and forget about those you left behind.
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