Wednesday, February 12, 2014

"Story of an Hour"- Period 3

Please post your view of how the structure of "The Story of an Hour "contributed to the theme.  Be sure to establish what the theme is, and use at least one quoted reference from the story to support your point.  Minimum of one paragraph.

19 comments:

  1. 'Story of an Hour' by Kate Chopin surprised me by the plot twist in the end, leaving me very confused and with unanswered questions like; How did the husband's name appear in the paper if he never died, and where was he if he didn't die? The theme of 'Story of an Hour', in my opinion, was optimism. At first Louise was heartbroken at her loss but when she was all alone in her room, she realized that she was free from anything her husband may restrict her from (not in a form of abuse, but just by existing with her). And when her husband walked through the door, alive, she apparently 'died of happiness' since she has a weak heart as she realized she was wrong and was wanting to spend a future with him again. Louise, in character, is very optimistic in general. The structure of the story was very choppy-sentences in pieces here and there describing something- and it could relate to sudden changes of emotion, which is what happened to Louise in this story as she was optimistic.
    Megan Glynn Period 3

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    1. I forgot the quote...
      A sign that she was being optimistic about the situation and looking on the bright side of things was that she kept on repeating the word 'free', tying in with believing that her husband couldn't hold her down anymore. In the text it says, "She said it over and over under the breath: "free, free, free!""
      Megan Glynn Period 3

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  2. I found that The Story of an Hour was a very bittersweet story. I felt the theme was chaos and order. The death of Mrs. Mallard's husband seemed like a tragedy at first. The author writes, "Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul." But she comes to a realization. A sense of freedom comes over her as she realizes she can live the rest of her life alone. She is quoted by saying "Free! Body and soul free!" The end comes as a shock as she ends up dying of heart disease right before her husband comes back home, unharmed. Order can follow chaos, but chaos can come right back around again.
    Claire Paterson
    Class 3

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  3. The theme of The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin is freedom and confinement. In the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard was grieved and felt remorse for the death of her husband. She felt abandoned and wept to her sister. However, as she gazed into the blue sky with dark clouds, she felt liberated and free, as she could live her own life instead of the desires of her husbands. She admits to herself, "There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself." Women in the 1800's did not have freedom and were often regarded as a property of men.
    The guilt of this 'monstrous' joy, perhaps caused her own death at the sight of her husband, who was not dead. Perhaps she could not live with the burden of the thought that she felt joy at the news of the death of her own husband.
    Reitsuma Panta
    Period 3

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  4. “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin is an interesting tale that gives some insight into the lives of women in the 19th century, and also the affects grief and restriction can have on an individual. It is for this reason that I believe there isn’t just a single theme or genre this short story can fall into, simply because it is so open to interpretation. I’ll classify it as a family drama, as it takes place in the home, but I feel like there is more to it. An aspect to me that I feel goes somewhat unrecognized is the theme of freedom, or rather, the lack-there-of. Let’s analyze this. It is evident that initially Mrs. Mallard was grieved and felt irreconcilable heartache, weeping in the arms of her sister, but rather quickly, she moves on and looks at the positive aspects of her husband’s “death.” Looking out the window, she realizes she now has the ability to live her own life, and not have to fall victim to orders from her husband; she is finally free. In the text it says, “Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long;” Mrs. Mallard now desires to live a long time (even though - spoiler alert - she dies soon after seeing her husband) because she has nothing to hold her down, or, rather, control her.
    There is some debate as to why Mrs. Mallard “kicked the can,” but there is a general consensus. Some argue it is because she had this overwhelming guilt for feeling this great deal of joy at the thought of losing her husband; others say her heart condition was to blame. But perhaps, maybe it was the combination of the two.
    Period 3

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  5. The theme of the "The Story of an Hour" was, in my opinion, happiness and freedom. The theme of the story is ironic given the premise of the story. In the story, the main character, Mrs. Mallard's husband has just died and it documents how she copes with this news. Most assume that someone wouldn't be happy with this news, but Mrs. Mallard oddly is. This is because she finally feels free, as most women in this time period didn't because of the chauvinist culture that existed. She said that at times she truly loved him but that she could finally live indecently. To quote the story,"there would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself." When it was revealed that Mr. Mallard wasn't dead, Mrs.Mallard died of heart disease, otherwise known as, "of the joy that kills." She felt so guilty about being so happy about the passing of her husband that she up and went. In other words, she was so happy it killed her.
    Justin Campos
    Period 3

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  6. I really enjoyed the story "The Story of an Hour". To be frank, I didn't notice anything about its structure in particular that meant anything to the plot of the story. But, I could see a theme and I think that theme is sort of both relief and disappointment. Because when her husband died, Mrs. Mallard was sad, but also relieved in a way. And when he was alive at the end, she was happy to see him and disappointed about her new found life ending just like that, which was overwhelming enough to kill her. My favorite line in the story was, " She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long." because it showed her relief about the death of her husband, and illustrated how much had changed in that small amount of time since she learned of his death. It goes to show how sometimes even if you love someone or something, it's better off for both parties if you let go. Because letting go is what set her free.
    Jennifer G.
    Period 3

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  7. "The Story of an Hour" is an interesting story with mixed emotions. The theme of this story can be freedom, joy and disappointment as well. I like the fact that Louise found the real her after the news of her husband's death. Not that she was happy about his death but she was captured and bounded by that unwanted relationship. She wanted freedom and she hadn't realized that until the news arrived. I can't believe she was so happy that she died of happiness. Though, I feel glad that she died with joy instead of coming back to reality and living the old life, again. “Her fancy was running roit along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. ” It was pretty ironic how she wished for a longer life and she instantly died. But she got freedom in return, freedom of her own.
    ~Shilpa R Period 3

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  8. The theme of story of an hour can be freedom, happiness, and optimism. When Louise is informed of her husbands death she locks herself away to go and deal with her sadness alone. After some time she realizes the positives of this particular situation. "She saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome". Louise realized that once she got over the initial shock of her husbands' death that she would be able to live a life of freedom not held down by anyone anymore. Louise took a very depressing moment in her life and used her optimistic nature to find a positive deep inside of it. Shockingly at the end of the story, her husband turns out to be alive and at the sight of him, she has a heart attach and died. Her heart attack was sparked from her extreme happiness of seeing him, but also her regret because she found a way to move on so quickly when he was not really dead.
    Kevin C.
    Period 3

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  9. I think the theme in the story is the search for freedom and independence. This is shown in the structure of the story. In the beginning, we believe the woman feels heartbroken and lost over the death of her husband, but we later learn she feels relieved that she is alone and only has "to live for herself." The structure of the story sets it up so the end is a shock to the reader and presents a contrast in lifestyle. We feel sympathetic towards the woman, especially when we learn at the end her husband isn't dead and is instead coming home- right as the woman dies of heart disease. "Story of an Hour" is a heartfelt story that makes the reader think.

    Eleanor Hall
    Period 3

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  10. The story "Story of an Hour" gives an interesting perspective on the natural hunt for independence, as well as the grieving process. When Louise is informed of her husbands death, rather than simply grieving, she tries to see the brighter side of things. She understood that she is now her own woman, and not just her husbands wife. She is a new woman, "There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself." However, i believe that she lies to herself. At the end, when she discovers her husband is alive, her happiness kills her. At first i was confused, but i think that she was lying to herself during her brief grieving process. Overall, this story really gave me an interesting perspective on life and death.
    Jared P Period 3

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  11. Tell Tale Heart has a tone that is very sporadic and all over the place. In one case it is almost scary and terrifying in the way of the unreasoned murdering of a man with a vulture like eye. It seems like a psychopathic type of way and how he kills him. Poe being a dark and scary writer does a good job of trying to make the reader feel the terror and feel as if they are watching the man stalk the old man from a nearby place. Its a very disturbed tone and poe does a good job of making the reader feel as if they are in the story
    Dalton E
    Period 3

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  12. The Story of an hour is a story about guilty pleasure. Though Louise's husband died she feels joy and excited about it. She knows that this is not what she should be feeling about the loss of her husband but the epiphany that she is now a strong independent women is so enticing to her. This is her guilty pleasure. She so desperately wants to be happy about her new life but society would not accept this way of thinking and she would be shunned. Then when Brently returns, its almost like a cruel joke that she got to feel the happiness and then its ripped away and she will never feel it again. This in-turn kills her because her heart wants so dearly to be happy but knows that it never will be.

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  13. The theme of "The Story of An Hour" can be summed up in one word. Discovery. First mrs. Mallard discovers that her husband has died in an accident while away on work. She is overcome with grief at first. A soon while after she has a personal discovery that she is now free of any restrictions holding her back in life. She is now alone and can focus on herself and anything she has ever dreamed of doing. At the end of the hour another discovery is made that her husband is still alive and he discovers that she falls dead because of "joy that kills."
    Elena M. Period 3

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  14. The theme of "The Story of An Hour" is freedom. Strangely, she felt free after her husband had died, rather than grieving over his death. No longer did she have any restrictions that held her back from being free, freedom to express herself, and also freedom as a woman which wasn't an entirely feasible idea in the time period that this story was written in.
    Cara Broughal
    Period 3

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  15. The theme of "The Story of the Hour" seems to very mixed. At first it seems like it will be grieve and dealing with loosing someone important, but then it turns into a story about being independent and your own person. The woman had lost her husband which of course is devastating, but it soon turned into her being able to find herself. She was not being held back by her husband. "She would live for herself." But when he comes back and isn't dead, she is instantly happy, but then actually dies. That is a little confusing because she ended up being happy while he was gone so she could be herself, but the joy killed her.
    Emma Salvatore
    Period 3

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  16. The themes of, "The Story of the Hour," are complete opposites such as discovery and confinement. It starts in a rather depressing state where she is in an unwanted relationship that is holding her back from realizing her true potential and self worth, but then when she receives the information of her husbands passing it is almost if a burden is lifted off her shoulders and she is filled with happiness. I was also surprised that she ended up dying from the overwhelming happiness but was comforted that she went at a better point in her life than when she was in the unhealthy relationship in her past.One quote that proved she was finally enjoying herself was when she repeated, "She said it over and over under the breath: "free, free, free!" She was content with no longer having her husband and felt like she was a newly discovered woman with her own liberties.
    Alyssa Case
    Period 3

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  17. tory Of An Hour shows the hardships and the aftermath affects of losing a loved one. The process after that is very terrible and requires alot of independance and heart to get through it. It shows alot about independance and the power and ability to move on from such a tragic accident. "Free! Body and soul free!" she says when she realized she will be alone and free for her life which gives her a sense of relief that she has been looking for
    Dalton E
    Period 3

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  18. I think that Story of an Hour was a strange book, mostly because of the way that the wife handled the whole situation. She seemed to be joyous with the passing of her husband, which was strange because she seemed to show great affection for her husband at the same time. It really seemed like a hurricane of feelings from her and I had a hard time grasping where she was coming from
    Mike B Period 3

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