...CA Essay “Story of an Hour” Kate Chopin’s literary work has touched many reader with an open mind of what many women in the ninetieth century was going through as a woman with no freedom. One of the most commendable aspects of Kate Chopin’s short story “The story of an Hour” is the fact that the author is able to manipulate oppression, freedom and symbolism in a table that is extraordinary compact. SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Story of an Hour.” SparkNotes LLC. 2007. http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/the-story-of-an-hour/ (accessed September 29, 2013). In the story, Mrs. Louise Mallards was an oppressed wife of Brentley Mallard. She afflicted with a weak heart and good care was taken to give her the news of her husbands death from a railroad accident. Her sister Joseline told her in broken sentences about the loss of Mr. Mallard. Obviously, Mallard reacted to obvious grief and admits that her husband was kind and loving. She knew at the funeral she would "weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead". However, despite the love between each other, Brentley’s death was a release from oppression. She never described ways he oppressed her, but hinted that the marriages in general stifles both women and men. Also, she suggested that she oppressed him as much as he oppressed her. Mallard thoughts that was going...
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...The Tale of Two Stories Sheri O'Connell ENG125: Introduction to Literature Instructor: Heather AltfeldFisher September 25, 2011 The Tale of Two Stories Thesis Statement This paper compares two short stories, "The Story of an Hour" (Chopin) and "The Necklace" (Guy de Maupassant). "How little a thing is needed for us to be lost or saved?" [ (Clugston, 2010) ]. Both stories portray two different yet alike women. Both women struggle to find their independence. Both women find trouble just when they believe they have 'succeeded' in their search. Introduction The poem “the Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is an impressive literary piece that attracts the feeling of the readers, as well as their minds. However, the story is very short and precise, but it is rich and complete, and every word of the poem has a deep thought and meaning (Charters 2003). Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" deals with a young American women's unanticipated sense of reprieve and independence upon hearing of her husband's death which enabled her to breathe the contentment during the last moments of her life with an anticipation, self esteem, and self consciousness. Mrs. Mallard's delight within her is termed as freedom in this story. (Jamil, 2009, 157) Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" deals with a young woman who struggles with wanting what she can't have and the consequences for trying to be something she is not. Mathilde struggles with her low social and economic class, she dreams of...
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...Life and Death of a Marriage Steven ENG 125: Introduction to Literature Professor: * Every short story generally follows a set of features. Whether it is the plot, a conflict, the setting, the time frame, the characters, the point of view, the themes, the styles, tone or the symbolism, (Clugston, 2014) short stories all have their similarities and differences. These similarities and differences are evident in the stories How I Met My Husband and The Story of an Hour when the main characters take journeys in life surrounding sad, emotional, and joyful events. These stories both follow a chronological pattern in order to create suspense and drama in stories that create a different style ending in their story; one is a happy ending and the other is sad. Both of these stories take place in different times, times that established different standards and views for all women. The women these stories are center around are both looking for love and happiness, however, the needs and wants of each ladies definition is slightly different as examined by their marriages. * Throughout life, people take on adventures full of journeys, trials, and tribulations. During life, most people will go through the steps of growth and development and one day may face marriage. Marriage is something that everyone seems to view differently these days and as time has elapsed, the definition of marriage has changed. There are quite a few people who have different views one what marriage...
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...of the story. But, because the narrator is looking back at situations and actions, her insights and feelings are also prominent, creating a reflective tone. "How I Met My Husband" and Point of View Wayne Clugston, author of Journey Into Literature, examines the role of first-person voice in Alice Munro's How I Met My Husband. Critical Thinking Questions Why does Wayne Clugston say that first-person point of view might be "unreliable"? What is another story you have read in first-person, and how did the use of first-person enhance or detract from the story? Alice Munro (1931—) ASSOCIATED PRESS/ChadHipolito/The Canadian Press Alice Laidlaw Munro was born in Wingham, a small town in southern Ontario, Canada. She began publishing short stories when she was a student at the University of Western Ontario. Since then, she has published seven collections of her stories, three of which received the Governor General's Award for fiction. Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013 in recognition of her distinctive craft and contributions to short story writing. Much of her work reflects perceptions she gained from observing the ordinary happenings and relationships of people in her small town and its rural surroundings. Speaking subtly to realities in today's world, Munro's work has a "looking back" quality, developed not with nostalgia but with clarity, humor, and insight, especially about women. How I Met My Husband Alice Munro (1974) Note that this story uses a...
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...The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin A PENN STATE ELECTRONIC CLASSICS SERIES PUBLICATION The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin is a publication of the Pennsylvania State University. This Portable Document File is furnished free and without any charge of any kind. Any person using this document file, for any purpose, and in any way does so at his or her own risk. Neither the Pennsylvania State University nor Jim Manis, Faculty Editor, nor anyone associated with the Pennsylvania State University assumes any responsibility for the material contained within the document or for the file as an electronic transmission, in any way. The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin, the Pennsylvania State University, Electronic Classics Series, Jim Manis, Faculty Editor, Hazleton, PA 182021291 is a Portable Document File produced as part of an ongoing student publication project to bring classical works of literature, in English, to free and easy access of those wishing to make use of them. Cover Design: Jim Manis Copyright © 2008 The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University is an equal opportunity university. Kate Chopin (born Katherine O'Flaherty on February 8, 1850 – August 22, 1904) was an American author of short stories and novels, mostly of a Louisiana Creole background. She is now considered to have been a forerunner of feminist authors of the 20th century. —Courtesy Wikipedia.org Contents ...
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...assignment, you suddenly develop an enormous desire to straighten your books, water your plants, or sharpen your pencils for the fifth time. If this situation sounds familiar, you may find it reassuring to know that many professionals undergo these same strange compulsions before they begin writing. Jean Kerr, author of Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, admits that she often finds herself in the kitchen reading soup-can labels—or anything—in order to prolong the moments before taking pen in hand. John C. Calhoun, vice president under Andrew Jackson, insisted he had to plow his fields before he could write, and Joseph Conrad, author of Lord Jim and other novels, is said to have cried on occasion from the sheer dread of sitting down to compose his stories. To spare you as much hand-wringing as possible, this chapter presents some practical suggestions on how to begin writing your short essay. Although all writers must find the methods that work best for them, you may find some of the following ideas helpful. But no matter how you actually begin putting words on paper, it is absolutely essential to maintain two basic ideas concerning your writing task. Before you write a single sentence, you should always remind yourself that 1. You have some valuable ideas to tell your reader, and 2. More than anything, you want to communicate those ideas to your reader. These reminders may seem obvious to you, but without a solid commitment to your own opinions as well as to your reader, your prose will...
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