Characterization, Tone, and Setting in The Story of an Hour

570 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The story of an hour theme essay

Characterization, Tone, and Setting in The Story of an Hour

1 The theme of “The Story of an Hour” is do not believe everything that is told to you until you see it yourself. This story is understood better when you focus on these three critical concepts, characterization, tone and setting.

2 First off is characterization, which is important for what is upcoming at the end of the story. To understand this you must understand the character of Louise Mallard. Louise was young looking with fair skin and a calm face, who spoke repression and some strength. [?] She also has a heart problem, which means the death of her husband has to be broken to her as gently as possible. But now [?] there is nothing but a dull stare gazing into the patches of blue sky as if she was in intelligent thought.

3 The second of the three critical concepts I am using is tone. Tone is the prevailing attitude as perceived by the reader. Attitudes I got from reading this story were sad and shocked. The sad part is when her husband had died in a railroad disaster. It was her sister who had, with broken sentences, slowly told her that he had died. Mr. m[M]allard's friend Richard was also there at the time to assist Josephine in breaking the bad news. After they had told her, she had looked [?] herself in her room and stared out the window. The second attitude was shocked this was how I felt at the end of the story. [CS - 1] The reason I did is when Josephine finally got Louise to come out of her room and come back downstairs. [Frag -1] On the way downstairs the front door opened and in walked Mr. Mallard who was supposedly dead. The sight of him shocked Louise so much that it had caused her to have a heart attack and die. This was shocking to me because they had said that he had died in a railroad accident and the second telegram confirmed it. But Mr. Mallard had said that he was now were [nowhere; Hostage 50] near the supposed accident even though [?] he did not even hear about one.

Show More
Related

  • Rough Draft Of The Story Of An Hour

    384 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Story of an Hour is a short story of Ms. Mallard, a woman with a heart condition who receives short term good news. Chopin uses contrast between independence, marriage, and gender to show how hidden emotions can effect a woman’s actions in the time period where women did not have much power or right to speak what came to their mind.

    Read More

  • First Persian Gulf War: 1990-1991

    3073 Words  | 7 Pages

    Kuwait was a small country that had once been part of the Ottoman Empire like Iraq. Then Kuwait had become a British Protectorate from which it had been granted its independence. Its borders had been set in a subjective manner causing it to be difficult to de...

    Read More

  • Women's Rights in the 1940's Illustrated in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is about a young married woman, Louise Mallard, who has a heart condition and a shock can kill her immediately. Her sister, Josephine, was careful not to upset Louise when her husband, Brently Mallard, died in a train accident. Louise cried and went to her room. However, Louise felt happy, even though the situation was tragic. In addition, she realized that she gained freedom from a depressing marriage and from her dominating husband.

    Read More

  • The Life and Death of Pan-Arabism Ideology

    2879 Words  | 6 Pages

    “One Arab nation from Gulf to the Ocean,” gives meaning to the term “Pan-Arabism” in the Middle East. A notion where Arab nations transcend their state boundaries to form political mergers with other states and achieve an ‘Arab unity.’ The existence of Arab states had been tumultuous throughout the decline of the Muslim order, the end of the Ottoman Empire, the Palestinian defeat, Six Day War and Arab-Israeli war in 1973. This essay will critically examine Foud Ajami’s case for a raison d’état in the Middle East and his claim that there were six broad trends leading to the alteration of the balance of power away from Pan-Arabism and towards the state. It will be argued that Pan-Arabism was a romantic ideology that Arab states found convenient to support, all in advancement of their nationalistic state agendas. It was never a realistic endeavor that was physically undertaken by the Arab states and was thus never alive in a tangible sense. However, Pan-Arabism as an ideology had a place in the Middle East and was thus alive in an ideological sense.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Jane And Mrs Mallard

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mrs. Mallard was considered a sensible woman with a weak heart, everybody thinks that she is not strong enough and therefore her family was worried about how they were going to give her the bad news about her husband. “Mr. Mallard is dead”, anyone would imagine a horrible reaction, lots of tears and screaming. But when she heard this, her reaction was different. Louise was feeling the freedom she’s been

    Read More

  • Wahhabism Essay

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Qatar’s culture is progressive neither because it is Western nor because it is fundamentally Islamic but because it manages to use soft diplomacy to lie in the middle of the two, on the front edge of both cultures. Qatar practices soft diplomacy because it allows them the luxury of gaining a variety of allies who would hopefully provide support to them if they were to need it. So, Qatar’s progressive media and culture are based on Qatar’s soft diplomacy that stems from its less fundamental Wahhabism and its efforts to gain

    Read More

  • Exploring Kate Chopin's Literary Mastery: A Study on 'The Story of an Hour'

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    To be inconsistent with traditional communities beliefs it is hard for many to accomplish. Nevertheless, writer Kate Chopin fights that conflict to deliver the readers a few of the greatest thought vexing literature that a human can get their hands on. Applying to her improvement reflections of narrative stories, such as plot control, irony, and character development, Kate is capable to take the reader towards a world of feelings that humanity would despise. Chopin shows her unbelievable literary ability in “The Story of an Hour” by joining character development and plot, with her use of thought-provoking vocabulary and narrative irony.

    Read More

  • Key Elements:The story of an hour

    376 Words  | 1 Pages

    Key Elements:The story of an hour · Plot: Standard plot. A woman who receive the notice of her husband's death, and when she begins to felt freedom her husband appear again and she can't accept it and fall died. · Characterization: Few characters a. Mrs. Mallard or Louise: Mallard's wife. Was afflicted with hearth trouble.

    Read More

  • Salty Oil Money In The Novel Cities Of Salt, By Abdelrahman Munif

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author exposes how the American and Arabs cultures met and interacted. It is clear that the Arab people did not comprehend the changes they would face. Furthermore, the Americans had to adapt but somehow still overcome religion and tradition. Consequently, the beginning of the oil era brought financial wealth but for the greater part brought painful changes to Arab societies. It is difficult to understand how oil wealth did not completely modernize the Middle East for a greater good. Instead we know about the real situation in both the novel and the real Arab culture and how oil money paired with retroactive empires, old religious beliefs and self-absorbed Western governments took over.

    Read More

  • Western Influence and Women of the Middle East

    3886 Words  | 8 Pages

    The omnipresence of the American and European culture in the countries of the Middle East is a universally recognized phenomenon. The culture, thoughts and status quo of the people have been and continually are being changed and challenged due the mass spread of American goods and ideas. The American national culture largely revolves around the wants, needs and goals of the individual. As the one of the greatest superpowers of the time, its influence on the global community towards the focus on the individual is nothing short of inevitable. The movies, clothing and new age mentality of America are sending all people regardless of age, upbringing and locale, into a grand scale social transition. The Arabs and Muslims beliefs, traditions and entire state of being are no longer as they were 20 or 30 years ago. The women of the novels, Nadia, Fatima, Umm Saad, Maha, Asya, and Su’ad, each living in various Arab countries with unique situations of their own, all are united on the common ground of American introduced idea and concepts of individualism through such venues as feminism, capitalism, sexism and consumerism which adversely affect their society.

    Read More

  • Hiding From The Truth

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the reading, "The Story of an Hour," many things weren’t as they seemed. This is called symbolism. Where one write something and it symbolizes another thing. For example, someone’s blood gets warmer. That wouldn’t symbolize them getting hot, it symbolizes them having a warm and happy feeling about something. This shows that things aren’t thought of as they are supposed to be. Symbolism also leads to hidden truths. Things that also don’t mean what they seem. Just as symbolism, hidden truths need to be thought out, and thoroughly processed in one’s head. In the reading, "The Story of an Hour," many things aren’t as they seem, leading to hidden truths, symbolism, and an unusual ending.

    Read More

  • How Is Mrs. Mallard A Sympathetic Character

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mallard’s friend, Richard, learned of his death in a railroad accident while at the newspaper office. Mr. Mallard’s name was leading the list of “killed” (p.234). He knows that Mr. Mallard’s wife is afflicted with a heart trouble, so he wants to break the news as gently as possible. She is told by her sister Josephine of his death. After being told of Brently’s death she cries at once, with wild abandon in her sister’s arms.

    Read More

  • The Story Of An Hour The Story

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    If, in today's world, a teenage girl was told that her future had been decided a long time ago, she would probably not take the matter lightly. During the early twentieth century though it was quite different. In a time bent on the notion that when a woman reached a certain age, she should be married, Kate Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour'; brings a different idea to a world that was not close to changing anytime soon. Her story brings light to a fact that is fairly accepted by today's society, but was shunned during her time. Life before this time demanded that women should get married due to necessity. Most of America was still rural and women were needed to do certain task on the farm. When industrialization came along though, things became simpler, cities grew, and there were more choices for people to do. Women were not tied down on the farm any more. Her story shows one woman's chance to be what she wanted to be and not be looked down upon in her society. Chopin gives light on women having more freedom to do what they wanted to do in regards to marriage.

    Read More

  • Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death affects everyone differently, but death takes a strange toll on Louise Mallard. The news is presented to Mrs. Mallard gently because she has a heart problem. Her sister Josephine has to share horrible news with her about her beloved husband who has died in a railroad accident. The news comes out of nowhere and Louise cannot fathom what she is hearing. She will do anything to convince herself that she can live life without her deceased husband. Is losing a loved one enough to drive someone insane?

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Weapons

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are positives for the idea of having nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons were created as a defensive mechanism towards outsider threats. They act as a key suppressant against major threats and wars starting up again and discouraging bad governments from showing signs of aggression (OccupyTheory). Nations who publically own nuclear weapons are more likely to be feared and have rival nations stay away from them and from weaker nations due to the power of the weapon. It is a sign of strength and the nations who do have it are less likely to be invaded, than a nation who does not have nuclear weapons. Nations who have nuclear weapons benefit from having them, because they become known as powerful states and that is a good reputation to have, so rival states don’t attack them. Most nations do not want a nuclear attack in their homelands and would avoid any

    Read More

More about Characterization, Tone, and Setting in The Story of an Hour

Open Document