Character Development - Essay Example

English Character Development In any narrative writing, character development is a key issue for effective message delivery. Particularly the main character holds the message of the story and allows character development helps the ready to understand the meaning of the story. By analyzing character development in Kate Chopin’s two stories, “the storm” and the “the story of an hour”, it is possible to show the significance of character construction within a story. Louise Mallard is the main character in Kate Chopin’s “the story of an hour”.

When she receives the message that her husband is dead, she mourns outwards but inside she is happy for the new acquired independence. When her husband happens to be alive, she is shocked and succumbs to heart attack, while many feel she is excited of the appearance of her husband. She appears to be an independent hypocritical woman (Chopin 1-4). On the other hand, Calixta is one of the main characters in Chopin’s “the storm.” Unlike her son Bibi and her husband Bobinot who are worried of her safety during a heavy storm, she is uneasy about them and is glad when an old boyfriend, Alcee, arrives and they make love (Chopin 4).

She is glad when her son and son arrive after the storm after Alcee left. Just like Louise, Calixta seems to be hypocritical and wary of her independence. The development of the two character points out to the key messages of the two stories. In ‘the story of an hour’, character-description provides us with the reality of Louise’s death. On the other hand, we learn that in “the storm” the theme of unfaithfulness prevails behind the curtains. This point out that the main character bears the key messages of any story and their development is critical in successful narration.

Works Cited Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour”. 1995. Accessed from:< http://www.vcu.edu /engweb/webtexts/hour/>[Accessed on 27th Mar, 2014] Chopin, Kate.” The Storm”. 2000. Accessed from:< http://www.freewebs.com/lanzbom /The%20Storm.pdf>[Accessed on 27th Mar, 2014]