The Development of Action in Kate Chopin's The Storm

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The Development of Action in The Storm

"The Storm" by Kate Chopin is about a storm that passes through a coastal townin the Southern United States. The story charts the different phases of the storm, and then associates the character interaction with each phase. The tension between characters increases as the physical aspects of the storm become more violent. This essay will outline the development of the storm and coincide character relationships with the outline. The passing of the storm is the central action in The Storm and this essay will analyze the affect it has on the story as a whole.

The storm is noted in the first line of the story. The stillness in the air alerted even Bibi, the boy, of the incoming weather. We find that both the boy and his father are worried about Calixta, the female head of the household. Bobinot is the husband and father. The mounting conditions make him think of his wife at home, and the sanctity of a strong marriage in contrast with the turbulence of a storm; he buys her a can of the shrimp that she is so fond of, a type of security for times when conditions are adverse. (Stanford, 665) Calixta is at home; her work has left her unaware of the gathering clouds. The next mention of the physicalities of the storm comes along with a stranger on a horse. The reader learns that the animals are huddled away from the storm, leading one to believe that the sense of changing weather is instinctual and that creatures will behave instinctually. Just as the stranger is to voice an opinion that would break a dangerous chain of event...

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...ions were perfect for a storm. Chopin does show humans with power over these conditions, when Alcee must fight his instinctive desires and leave Calixta for example, even though in most respects she treats the lustful urges encountered by Calixta and Alcee as uncontrollable and unavoidable as a storm. Chopin wanted to show that human nature is still a part of nature and that humans still must cater to Mother Nature s whims. The storm in this story is not essential for Chopin to get her point across, though it is a very strong backbone to carry her idea. She could have chosen several natural occurrences. Storms are traditionally literarily friendly and that humans have a certain fascination with storms. In closing, the different phases of the storm in this story is a good guideline for matters of the heart.

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