The Story of an Hour Essay examples - 1963 Words

Literary Elements in The Story of an Hour In Kate Chopin’s short story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† she uses different kinds of literary elements to clearly define her story and to show all of the meanings behind what happens in the story. There are many different kinds of literary elements used in this short story but I believe the most important one is irony. Irony is what she used the most throughout the story all the way into the conclusion which was by the far what gave the story a tragic and ironic ending. If she did not use all of the literary elements that were used in this story then the story would not be a whole and it wouldn’t all come together and make sense. It would be more dull and completely uninteresting and confusing.†¦show more content†¦There is also one more ironic significance to the very first line of this short story. â€Å"†¦great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s de ath† (Chopin 659). This is significantly ironic because this news is what gently â€Å"breaks† her down and causes the conclusion of the story. Also ironic is the care taken by Louises sister Josephine in breaking as gently as possible to Louise the news of Mr. Mallards death; this great care not only contrasts with the sudden revelation that will occur at the storys conclusion but also seems full of irony in light of Louises subsequent reaction to Josephines news (Evans). This story is simply based on life’s expectancy and unpredictability. It teaches you the lesson that anything can happen to any one at any time. If he had taken further time to determine the accuracy of the report, the story might have developed very differently than it does, but this is a story that very much concerns lifes unpredictability (Evans). In this line Evan’s explains how if Richards had just waited to tell about the incident then this whole story would have been diffe rent. When Louise is sitting in her room staring out the window the story goes into a brief descriptive scene where Chopin describes the nature outside. There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window (Chopin 659).Show MoreRelatedThe Story Of An Hour And The Story Of An Hour2009 Words   |  9 PagesWomen are taught from a young age that marriage is the end all be all in happiness, in the short story â€Å"The Story of An Hour† by Kate Chopin and the drama â€Å"Poof!† by Lynn Nottage, we learn that it is not always the case. Mrs. Mallard from â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and Loureen from â€Å"Poof!† are different characteristically, story-wise, and time-wise, but share a similar plight. Two women tied down to men whom they no longer love and a life they no longer feel is theirs. Unlike widows in happy marriagesRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour854 Words   |   4 PagesIn â€Å"The Story of an Hour† we are taken through a journey. The journey is the thoughts and emotions going through Mrs. Mallards (Louise) mind. The journey only takes an hour, so everything moves at a fast pace. Louise seemed to process the news of her husband’s death without an initial element of disbelief and shock. She goes right into the reaction of grieving for her husband. She quickly begins to feel other emotions. At first she does not understand them. The journey is a way that Louise comesRead MoreStory of an Hour1203 Words   |  5 PagesThe Story of an Hour 1. There are many themes in The Story of An Hour; ‘heart trouble’ – which describes not only the physical affliction of Mrs Mallard but also the emotional suffering in her marriage. Three other themes that are prominent within this story are; death, freedom and oppression. Though, the themes of freedom and oppression can be seen as the main themes within this story, as we see the character of Mrs Mallard – a Mallard is a type of wild duck, which can be seen as being symbolicRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour1414 Words   |  6 Pagesarticle would be bad satire, a bad argument. Chongyue and Lihua’s â€Å"A Caricature of an Ungrateful and Unfaithful Wife† distorts Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† through imaginative exaggeration of character interaction, emotional ignorance, and its simplification of the characters and the text. Firstly, there is no evidence in the text of â€Å"The Story of an Hour† to suggest that Louise Mallard has been at all unfaithful to her husband. One sentence within the article suggests that some readers have sensedRead MoreStory of an Hour848 Words   |  4 PagesStory of an Hour Kate Chopin s the Story of an Hour includes a vast amount of literary devices. Irony, foreshadowing, personification, imagery, symbolism, metaphor and repetition are some of the major literary techniques used by Chopin within this short story about a woman named Mrs. Mallard. Although the story covers only one hour in the life of the main character, the use of these various literary techniques present the theme of the story to the reader in a very entertaining manner. TheRead MoreStory of an Hour619 Words   |  3 Pages â€Å"The story of an hour† is a short story written by Kate Chopin. According to Wikipedia, she was born Katherine O’Flaherty on February 8, 1850, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was an American author of short stories and novels. She is now considered by some to have been a forerunner of feminist authors of the 20th century. â€Å"The story of an hour† was written on April 19, 1894 but was originally published in Vogue on December 6, 1894 as â€Å"The Dream of an Hour†. It was first reprintedRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour1169 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is a story that in a few pages creates commentary, emotions, and thoughts about a simple yet very important part of every civilization. It is quite amazing that a short story written over a hundred years ago is still relevant to our society today. Every successful civilization has had some form of marriage, and while this story is to many criticizing the institution of marriage, I believe that people could see this dichotomy of oppressor vs oppressed that this story triesRead MoreThe Story of an Hour1203 Words   |  5 PagesAyodeji Ilesanmi Ms. Pape English 1302.626 February 23, 2012 Part One: Alternate ending to â€Å"The Story of an Hour† â€Å"Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey, it was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine s piercing cry; at Richards quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife† (Chopin, 16). Read MoreThe Story of an Hour960 Words   |  4 PagesIn The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin suggests that in certain scenarios, the death of a loved one may be a blessing in disguise. Possible situations may include an abusive relationship, or an unhappy marriage, as the story suggests. Although the circumstances throughout the story might lead the reader to believe that Louises husbands death would cause her great pain, ironically, when she hears the news, she feels a sense of euphoria. This suggests that death may not always cause agony. LouisesRead MoreA Story Of An Hour1289 Words   |  6 PagesMost stories have more than one conflict, some bigger than others, but all important as a story progressives to the very moment everything clicks and comes together. After that point, the story starts to wind down, lose ends are tied, and the reader gets the satisfying feeling of a happy ending. The Story of an Hour is not your typical short story; but is similar to others in the way that conflicts are the leading force behind a short story. This story starts with Mrs. Mallard finding out any wife’s