Analysis of Kate Chopin’s “The Storm”
Thesis: Chopin’s use of symbolism, irony, and tone in “The Storm” reveal her want for happiness
I. Symbolism in “The Storm” makes a connection between the affair of Calixta and Alcee, the main characters.
A. Chopin describes the storm as rain pouring down with a recurrence and consistency that advocates rain. The adjectives “sinister” and “cyclone”, let’s you know that the storm is just a daunting existence in the nature world. “The rain beat upon the low, shingled roof with a force and clatter that threatened to… deluge” (Chopin 121).
B. “A bolt struck a tall chinaberry tree at the edge of the field. It filled all visible space with a blinding glare and the crash seemed to invade the very boards they …show more content…
Why would Bib be seen as brave and not scared of storm, “Bibi laid his little hand on his father’s knee and was not afraid” (Chopin 120); but his mother Calixta is at home with a man whom is not her husband, who is also a grown woman and loses herself-worth due to her inner fear, “The house’ll go next! If I only knew w’ere Bib was” (Chopin 121)!
III. Finally, the tone present in “The Storm” shows the reader how encouraging an outlook Chopin had on the story’s theme of happiness, sympathy, and sexual desire.
A. At the beginning, Calixta is unhappily married and unsatisfied because her marriage lost its passion. The storm came after a two-year drought which represents Calixta’s lack of satisfaction (Chopin 121), and the storm signals the release of her pent-up sexual energies.
B. She did not notice the storm coming, so she is portrayed as a passive protagonist because she is not truly aware of her internal discontent. As Alcee and the storm approaches, her sexual intensity rises as well does the storm, so when they climax it is the climax of the storm too (Chopin 122)
C. According to the last sentence, once the storm ended everyone was happy just like Calixta and Alcee were both happy now. Without the storm happening, they would have never been concluded in Calixta’s home therefore the affair would have never happened (Chopin