What are some literary elements in "A Pair of Silk Stockings"?

Clearly, in any work of literature there are any number of
literary elements for you to focus on and analyse. In this great short story, one clear
literary element that stands out is the description of the stockings when Mrs. Sommers
first feels them:

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But she went on feeling the soft, sheeny
luxurious things - with both hands now, holding them up to see them glisten, and to feel
them glide serpentlike through her
fingers.

Note the word
"serpentlike" in this description. The serpent can be said to act here as a symbol of
temptation, referring to the Biblical allusion of the Garden of Eden and the way that
the Serpent tempted Eve into eating the apple. In this story, this descriptive use of
"serpentlike" shows the temptation that Mrs. Sommers is just about to give into, even
though it is so completely out of character for her.

This
is one example of a literary element in this tale. You might want to also think about
how Mrs. Sommer's character is presented and the reasons behind her sudden change of
character in spending the money entirely on herself and in "frivolous"
ways.