In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, the main character, Louise Mallard, is a woman who appears to have everything life could offer her. She is a wealthy, intelligent, young lady who has a home and a husband that loves her. Similarly, the poem, “Richard Cory”, by author Edwin Arlington Robinson, also speaks of a character that appears to live a privileged life. Cory, like Mallard, is also very wealthy. He lives uptown, dresses exceptionally well and is envied by the people of his town. However, both writings present a theme that conveys the comparison of illusion versus reality. There are often times when people and situations in life appear to be a certain way, but in actuality that is not the way they really are. In
It is important to note how each individual story is similar and different, because it allows us to understand how the emotions in the book affect us. ‘The Interlopers’ and ‘Story of an Hour’ are two of my favorite short stories. They are both very different, and have their own unique style. They are, also, somewhat similar. This is because the authors of the book are both similar and different, both in their backgrounds and personalities. In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting both short stories from my own point of view.
Kate Chopin exquisitely presents a story of a young, free-spirited woman that stands out of social standards, using a wide variety of rhetorical terms and figurative language. Among these, Chopin used many examples of imagery in Story of an Hour, composing a very visually descriptive and intriguing piece that captivates readers since 1894. The use of imagery has a pivotal role in her short story as it visualizes the whole situation and creates a compelling contrast between the story and emotions of both characters and the readers.
In Chopin’s thousand work short story The Story of an Hour, the protagonist Louise Mallard is afflicted with heart trouble but learns that her husband has died in a railroad accident. Upon her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard catches a glimpse of what independence feels like, but it is quickly taken away from once her husband returns unharmed. Chopin’s feminist ideals form the basis of this story where she explores female identity in a patriarchal society. For women of her time, marriage could be likened to prison where only death could set their “body and soul free” (Chopin 237). Considering the status of women in the late nineteenth century, Louise Mallard is a sympathetic character; she represents the oppression of women and the futility of asserting female identity in a patriarchal society.
Both of the main characters in “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Stetson are women in the 19th century. The main female character in “Story of an Hour” was told that her husband died, but when she found out that he was not, she died of a heart attack because of her heart condition. The main female character in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is being neglected by her husband, which makes her rethink their relationship, and eventually, go crazy. Carver and Stetson both use elaborate settings, similar protagonists, and use a theme of lost. However, the wife in The Yellow Wallpaper was grieving because her husband does not care for her, compared to Story of an Hour was grieving because of her husband's “death”.
In his poem “Thou Blind Man’s Mark,” Sir Philip Sidney writes of a speaker addressing the subject of desire by comparing it to a concept that is able to deceive men and ruin their lives through superficial achievements. Through a number of poetic devices, including apostrophe and extended metaphor, Sidney serves to convey the speaker’s complex attitude toward the concept, including how he will no longer allow his life to be controlled by desire’s corruptive nature.
After reading The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin, Daniel Deneau remarkably breaks down and analyzes the most intense aspects of the short story. Deneau acknowledges simple things such as “the significance of the open window and the spring setting” along with more complex questions including what Mrs. Mallard went through to achieve her freedom. He also throws in a few of his own ideas which may or may not be true. Almost entirely agreeing with the interpretation Deneau has on The Story of An Hour, he brings stimulating questions to the surface which makes his analysis much more intricate.
While reading the two stories The Story of an Hour and The Interlopers I noticed that these stories are completely different. Now most all stories or books have something alike and these two may have some similarities, but they're practically from to different worlds.
If we go back in time we can analyze that woman have always been held below men. In the past the only essentials people had to keep record were a pen and a paper so authors used these tools to keep record of events going on the era. In the story, “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wall-paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman two women are subordinated by their own husbands showing how gender play a role in marriages.
Illusion’s purpose is questioned in this fact-based world we call reality. Blanche, Stella’s sister, is used to represent illusion. Her whole life, from her diamond tiara made of rhinestones, to her spurious façade, is literally and metaphorically an illusion. The concept of illusions is further developed through the light motif in the play, with Blanche displaying “moth” like characteristics, avoiding “strong light”(pg.3) and “naked light bulb[s]”(pg.54). The light motif also represents a time of innocence, before Blanche’s husband’s death, when there was “blinding light” in her life, but after her husbands suicide, there hasn’t been“ any light that's stronger than this--kitchen—candle” (pg.103). Stanley is an advocate for reality, as shown by his constant struggle to uncover Blanches illusions about her past. Williams suggests that illusion’s serve as an essential part of society. Whether it was Blanches husband’s suicide or Stella’s husband’s participation in rape, illusions are shown throughout the play to help people deal with harsh realities. They help ‘victims’ of reality see “what ought to be truth”(pg.127) through illusions, alleviating unwanted pain.
During my ride on a crowded subway headed toward downtown, I met two deceitfully ordinary people named Nate and Claire. Claire, the first to spark conversation, introduced herself as a columnist for an impressive, well-known newspaper. With not a hair out of place or as much as a wrinkle on her blouse, she was nothing short of a perfectionist. She was young, almost too young to look so stressed. Nate, who appeared just as young, looked like he was fresh off of Wall Street. Everything about him exuberated wealth from the clothes he wore to the deepness of his voice. But it was easy to see he wasn’t happy with his life. Just one look into his sallow eyes, and you could see guilt the size of his fortune.
Freedom, and pure joy can be hard to find no matter who you are, but when you have it and there is something standing in your way it can be difficult to act on it. In Kate Chopin's “ The story of an hour” we see that happiness is hard to find and when you find it, it’s truly a marvelous joy and wonder, however if you don’t push and grab it when you can it may be too late. We will see Mrs.Mallard obtain happiness, and when she finally realizes it she has she is overfilled with joy. However when she goes to think and live out her new found freedom reality is slammed back in her face, killing her and her new found freedom.
Both "Richard Cory" poems by Paul Simon and Edwin Robinson reflect the idea of the American Dream, but both in distinct ways. The two poems are different in the ways that societal views have changed through time based on wealth. The image society portrays the American Dream is depicted in the poems by the conversion from royalty to fame. This change of the American Dream is shown through many symbols, but wealth best illustrates how times have changed from the Cory of Robinson's poem, to that of the poem by Paul Simon.
Illusion vs. reality has been a major running theme in all the plays we have read in class. By interpretation, the idea of illusion is a way to build an alternate fantasy world for oneself where he/she can escape from reality. From all the characters analyzed in class, Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire would definitely be the one character who is so steadfast on illusion that she lets it shape her life as she believes it is her only way towards a happier life. As seen in the above quote, Blanche chooses to dwell in illusion, for it is her primary defense against the troubles in her life. Illusion has had a freeing enchantment that protects her from the tragedies she has had to endure. However, Blanche is not the only character with this fixation on illusion. In this paper, I will be analyzing other characters like Nora from A Doll’s House, Eliza from Pygmalion and Mrs. Hale from Trifles, who just like Blanche have also succumbed to the world of illusion as opposed to reality.
The vision of a dream may be overpowered by a staggering truth, that of forcing a person to accept the exposed reality of destiny. In The Story of An Hour, author Kate Chopin gives the reader the story of Mrs. Louise Mallard. A widow who astonished by her husband’s death is paralyzed by the elusion of the future awaiting. Unwillingly, she is rejoiced as liberation comes into her life. Although Mrs. Mallard loved her husband, she couldn’t defeat the approaching feeling of freedom, the plea for a longer life of empowerment and the reality of a rumbled dream as she realizes her husband’s survival.
Key Elements:The story of an hour · Plot: Standard plot. A woman who receive the notice of her husband's death, and when she begins to felt freedom her husband appear again and she can't accept it and fall died. · Characterization: Few characters a. Mrs. Mallard or Louise: Mallard's wife. Was afflicted with hearth trouble.