Literary Essay on A Story of an Hour - 753 Words

â€Å"The Story of An Hour† focuses on sixty minutes in the life of a young nineteenth-century woman, Mrs. Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard experiences an epiphany about her future without a husband. Her life, due to heart problems, suddenly ends after she unexpectedly finds out her husband is actually alive. Mrs. Mallard’s actions cause the reader to cogitate a hidden meaning weaved into Kate‘s short story. Chopin had an idea that women felt confined in their marriages, and the idea is brought out through the protagonist’s initial reaction, excessive joy, and new perspective of the world following the upsetting news. The first example of the theme arises when the protagonist â€Å"wept at once, with sudden, wild†¦show more content†¦Mallard’s unexpected bout of joy also supports the theme; if she was not feeling confined, her feelings of grief would not have been replaced by excessive joy. Time moves alon g, and she continues to whisper â€Å"free! Body and soul free!† (Chopin 2). It is further understood that the character was released from a constricted marriage because the words willingly slip roll off her tongue. The last example occurs during and after Mrs. Mallard watches the â€Å"tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life† (Chopin 1). This shows that the character’s image of the world is already changed since she was informed of her husband’s death. In the twelfth paragraph, Chopin uses her character’s new perspective of the world to exemplify the confinement women felt. The character understood she had â€Å"no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself† (Chopin 2). Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts revolve around her limitations during marriage. She soon realizes that she would have â€Å"no powerful will bending hers† (Chopin 2). Mrs. Mallard was likely controlled her entire marriage; and now she is released from her husband’s dominance. Before opening the door for her sister, she was thinking about â€Å"all sorts of days that would be her own† (Chopin 2). The character looked forward t o her new life ahead of her because of the new freedom she has gained; she thought about the future that involved her freedom from marriage. Mrs. Mallard eventually says a prayer to herselfShow MoreRelated Literary Analysis: the Story of an Hour Essays645 Words   |  3 PagesWhen first reading Kate Chopins Story of an Hour, one may not typically be surprised at its ending, write it off as one of those creepy back from the dead horror stories and forget about it. There is more to this story than simply horror. The author is making a very strong, however subtle, statement towards humanity and womens rights. Through subtle symbolism, Kate Chopin shows how marriage is more like a confining role of servitude rather than a loving partnership. Mr. Mallard is assumedRead MoreLiterary Analysis- the Story of an Hour Essay1832 Words   |  8 PagesRide of Her Life In â€Å"The Story of an Hour† (1894), Kate Chopin presents a woman in the last hour of her life and the emotional and psychological changes that occur upon hearing of her husbands’ death. Chopin sends the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, on a roller coaster of emotional up’s and down’s, and self-actualizing psychological hairpin turns, which is all set in motion by the news of her husband’s death. This extreme â€Å"joy ride† comes to an abrupt and ultimately final halt for Mrs. Mallard whenRead MoreEssay on Literary Analysis on Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour 657 Words   |  3 PagesChopin’s â€Å"The Story of An Hour† focuses on a woman named Louise Mallard and her reaction to finding out about her husband’s death. The descriptions that the author uses in the story have significance in the plot because they foreshadow the ending. This story mainly follows a woman with heart trouble. Her husband’s name appears at the top of a list of people killed in a railroad accident. The story than explains her reaction upon finding out about his death. At the end of the story, her husband (whoRead MoreSymbolism in The Story of an Hour758 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism in the â€Å"Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin For this lesson I read The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. Although there are many literary devices used in The Story of an Hour, I have decided to write my essay on the use of symbolism. The literary device symbolism is a technique used to represent ideas and events by using significant or important things that stand out in the story. A few things that stood out most in the story would be the comfortable chair, and Mrs. Mallards heartRead MoreLiterature Comparison735 Words   |  3 Pagesforms of literature. They are novel, drama, poetry, biography, non-fictional prose, essay, epic and short story. All these types of literature have some elements. To complete a piece of literature, a writer, dramatist or a novelist must use certain elements like plot, character, theme, etc. to capture the interest of their readers. When reading literature, there are themes which are interpreted within the literary piece. Themes reflect innocence, experience, life, death, reality, fate, madnessRead Moreexemplification essay653 Words   |  3 PagesOct. 30, 2013 Prof. Farve Exemplification Essay Types of Irony Is it strange how love can be a source of happiness, but also cause a lot of pain? Yet people tend to search for love, and once these people find love it comes with both pleasure and ache. Irony plays a role in love because love is what people perceive as joy but also causes hurt, yet people still search for love. In Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour, there are different forms of literary, situational, and dramatic irony used. TheRead MoreEssay about Comp and Lit Comparison of Blue+Yellow/Story of an Hour1296 Words   |  6 PagesComp amp; lit II Essay 1 In the short story â€Å"the Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin and the short story â€Å"blue + yellow† by Chris Killen compare in many ways. These two stories use the same literary device strongly such as imagery. Imagery is a literary device in which the author uses words and phrases to paint a picture in the readers head throughout the story. These two short stories are written with very descriptive language to help paint a picture of the occurrences in the story and describe a sceneRead More Shirley Jacksons The Lottery 946 Words   |  4 Pagesout of the American literary canon.† (http://shirleyjackson.org/Reviews.html) Jackson wrote many short stories and even some books. They are more on the dark, witchlike side, however. Kelleher explains that Jackson stated in some interviews that she practiced magic. No one really knows if she was serious while practicing witchcraft or not, but it ended up helping her write her stories http://www.literarytraveler.com/li terary_articles/shirley_jackson_bennington.aspx). A major story that throws peopleRead MoreReflection Paper : A Trip906 Words   |  4 Pagesfirst draft, I had two stories, the first being about a change of fate (Wheel of Fortune) and the second being about a past excursion (A Trip). However, after being workshopped, I realized that I had to focus on one of the stories. As such, I took into consideration what my peers thought that day and decided to expand upon my second story, originally titled â€Å"A Trip†. One of the major issues I faced when writing my stories was having a clear focus. Additionally, since each story was relatively shortRead MoreTechnology and Family Issues in The Veldt by Ray Bradbury Essay1493 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"When I punished him for a month ago by locking the nursery for even a few hours—the tantrum he threw!† (Bradbury). This line of the story explains the wanting of the family’s children back against technology. It also shows that the technology is winning because of the desire to keep playing in the nursery. â€Å"The Veldt† is a short story written by Ray Bradbury who was born on August 22, 1920 and passed away on June 5, 2012. He was very interested in the science fiction genre and Edgar Allan Poe (Kattelman)