Analyzing 'The Story of an Hour' by Kate Chopin (1894) Using the Discovery Checklist - Essay Example

1. Analyzing 'The Story of an Hour' by Kate Chopin (1894) Using the Discovery Checklist My first reaction was empathy forLouise Mallard and the sadness she had when hearing of her husband's death. As I read on, and found he was alive, I felt as if she had been cheated both of freedom and life. When he came home, I felt shocked and guilty for wishing he had not returned. I did not wish anyone dead, but wanted Louise to have her freedom, I felt she lost out the most. The story is told through the emotional and physical responses of Louise, who can be described as a limited omniscient narrator because we experience the story through her point of view.

There is a feeling of restrained and polite behaviors, even when strong emotions are shown, as in he wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sisters arms. The setting suggests a comfortable, spacious home, an affluent and well decorated upper class American dwelling, at the end of the 19th century. After Richards brought the news, the action during the 'Hour' moved quickly. He had checked it for truth, and then got Josephine, Louise's sister to tell her he was a caring and thoughtful man who was worried about the heart condition and believed it would be better if a close relative, especially another woman, broke the bad news.

Josephine seemed very concerned and sort of fussy and nervous, but it was a bad situation. After her tears, Louise locked herself away and thought what it all really meant to her life. Instead of overwhelming sorrow, the ubtle and elusiverealization of freedom came, and in the way it was described, Louise can be seen to be a perceptive and realistic sort of woman. Her sister was worried about what was going on behind the door, that door is quite symbolic, for it links with the opening of the downstairs door later, which is more like shutting a cage.

When the two women go downstairs and find Brently Mallard letting 2.himself in with his key, Josephine screamed and Richards hid Louise's reaction. She died then, and doctors called it the oy that kills There could be two meanings in that her excitement at the thought of having her own life to live, or the joy at seeing the husband safe and well. The reader is left to make up their own mind. Louise was a thoughtful, honorable person who seemed to have had to submit her own wants to those of her husband, conforming to the demands of marriage in society at the time.

There is a suggestion that she is younger than him, but she was a dutiful wife. As the main protagonist, it would seem that he and society, marriage and its demands, all act as antagonists. The story is developed mainly through her actions, feelings and the settings in which her emotions are expressed. The use of color, as in the patches of blue sky, the elicious breath of rain, the istant songand the freedom suggested by the sparrows, all combine to show how much she would value being by herself with, a different life.

She was changed from a girl with a weak heart to a woman of strength and a mind on the future. The language is simple but effective, with no dialect; the simplicity gives it dramatic impact. At the same time, it makes the conflict between this woman and her social status, and what she wants, very clear. It is duty versus personal fulfillment, reality versus dream. Sadly, her personal dream is lost in the worst sort of climax her death. The story shows how in a short space of time, a person's whole life can change, as can the way they think and see the world.

In one hour, Louise felt sorrow, guilt, joy, hope for a future of her own and then loss of all hope. Themes in the story are universal, with love, hate, duty, compromise, hope, self-awareness and desire for independence. Also universal is the unpredictability of life, how easy it is for hopes to be dashed. It could be saying 'go for it', in the face of any opposition, for the inevitable truth is that everybody dies. The closest literary work I can relate this to is 'The Outsiders' by S. E.

Hinton, where Johnny died before he could do or see everything he wanted to. At the beginning, the story made me think of the families on 9/11, waiting for news of their loved ones, which felt very sad. 3.I would relate the theme to my own life when I consider things I wish I had done, but passed on them because of what others might think. Like making friends with somebody I like, and nobody else does. Or even, hanging out with people I don't really like, because everybody else thinks they are great.

It makes me think how hard it is to take a chance but that maybe we should think a bit deeper and make better use of our time and talents, and stand up for what we believe in.