In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, the main character, Louise Mallard, is a woman who appears to have everything life could offer her. She is a wealthy, intelligent, young lady who has a home and a husband that loves her. Similarly, the poem, “Richard Cory”, by author Edwin Arlington Robinson, also speaks of a character that appears to live a privileged life. Cory, like Mallard, is also very wealthy. He lives uptown, dresses exceptionally well and is envied by the people of his town. However, both writings present a theme that conveys the comparison of illusion versus reality. There are often times when people and situations in life appear to be a certain way, but in actuality that is not the way they really are.
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“The Story of an Hour”, Chopin begins the narrative with Louise Mallard learning of her husband’s untimely death. As a result, the tone of the story begins very sad and somber. Chopin describes Mrs. Mallard’s response to the news by stating, “She wept once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms” (236). However, within the hour, the story exposes an unexpected secret. Mrs. Mallard reveals her true feelings of her husband’s death by declaring, “Free! Body and soul free!” (237). Though Mrs. Mallard is actually unhappily married, she portrays herself as the opposite, due to a stereotype of married women of her time period. In “Richard Cory”, Robinson’s imagery of Cory is that of a fine dressed, clean cut gentleman. Cory is also depicted as being well spoken and is further compared as being “richer than a king” (674). It is because of these qualities that the poem suggests that he is “admirably schooled in every grace” (674). Richard Cory is envied yet accepted by the townspeople, who wished to be in his place. The plot implies that with all of Cory’s many attributes, he must live a perfect life. On the contrary, this implication could never be more wrong.
After reading The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin, Daniel Deneau remarkably breaks down and analyzes the most intense aspects of the short story. Deneau acknowledges simple things such as “the significance of the open window and the spring setting” along with more complex questions including what Mrs. Mallard went through to achieve her freedom. He also throws in a few of his own ideas which may or may not be true. Almost entirely agreeing with the interpretation Deneau has on The Story of An Hour, he brings stimulating questions to the surface which makes his analysis much more intricate.
It is important to note how each individual story is similar and different, because it allows us to understand how the emotions in the book affect us. ‘The Interlopers’ and ‘Story of an Hour’ are two of my favorite short stories. They are both very different, and have their own unique style. They are, also, somewhat similar. This is because the authors of the book are both similar and different, both in their backgrounds and personalities. In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting both short stories from my own point of view.
Both "Richard Cory" poems by Paul Simon and Edwin Robinson reflect the idea of the American Dream, but both in distinct ways. The two poems are different in the ways that societal views have changed through time based on wealth. The image society portrays the American Dream is depicted in the poems by the conversion from royalty to fame. This change of the American Dream is shown through many symbols, but wealth best illustrates how times have changed from the Cory of Robinson's poem, to that of the poem by Paul Simon.
In Chopin’s thousand work short story The Story of an Hour, the protagonist Louise Mallard is afflicted with heart trouble but learns that her husband has died in a railroad accident. Upon her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard catches a glimpse of what independence feels like, but it is quickly taken away from once her husband returns unharmed. Chopin’s feminist ideals form the basis of this story where she explores female identity in a patriarchal society. For women of her time, marriage could be likened to prison where only death could set their “body and soul free” (Chopin 237). Considering the status of women in the late nineteenth century, Louise Mallard is a sympathetic character; she represents the oppression of women and the futility of asserting female identity in a patriarchal society.
For Richard Cory, the saying money can’t buy happiness, could not be more appropriate. He is, according to the people of the town, the man with everything. Everyone wished they could be more like him, “he had everything to make us wish that we were in his place”. In contrast Miniver Cheevy, had nothing to be admired for, he had done nothing with his life and yet he longed to have the adoration that Richard Cory had, the respect and almost kingly qualities, “he was a gentleman from sole to crown”. Miniver Cheevy wanted to be the hero that Cory was to the people on the street. “Miniver mourned the ripe renown that made so many a name so fragrant.”
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.
Both of the main characters in “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Stetson are women in the 19th century. The main female character in “Story of an Hour” was told that her husband died, but when she found out that he was not, she died of a heart attack because of her heart condition. The main female character in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is being neglected by her husband, which makes her rethink their relationship, and eventually, go crazy. Carver and Stetson both use elaborate settings, similar protagonists, and use a theme of lost. However, the wife in The Yellow Wallpaper was grieving because her husband does not care for her, compared to Story of an Hour was grieving because of her husband's “death”.
Appearances can be deceiving is a phrase we hear often, but we don’t always know exactly what is meant by it as we have never experienced it. “Richard Cory” allows us, as readers, to experience it. The poem not only physically makes you feel what the speaker and the rest of the antagonists felt when they heard Richard Cory took his own life; but it shows you as well. With the help of rhyme scheme, word choice, and point of view, Edward Arlington Robinson demonstrates, through his poem, that appearances are not always what they
In his poem “Thou Blind Man’s Mark,” Sir Philip Sidney writes of a speaker addressing the subject of desire by comparing it to a concept that is able to deceive men and ruin their lives through superficial achievements. Through a number of poetic devices, including apostrophe and extended metaphor, Sidney serves to convey the speaker’s complex attitude toward the concept, including how he will no longer allow his life to be controlled by desire’s corruptive nature.
Illusion’s purpose is questioned in this fact-based world we call reality. Blanche, Stella’s sister, is used to represent illusion. Her whole life, from her diamond tiara made of rhinestones, to her spurious façade, is literally and metaphorically an illusion. The concept of illusions is further developed through the light motif in the play, with Blanche displaying “moth” like characteristics, avoiding “strong light”(pg.3) and “naked light bulb[s]”(pg.54). The light motif also represents a time of innocence, before Blanche’s husband’s death, when there was “blinding light” in her life, but after her husbands suicide, there hasn’t been“ any light that's stronger than this--kitchen—candle” (pg.103). Stanley is an advocate for reality, as shown by his constant struggle to uncover Blanches illusions about her past. Williams suggests that illusion’s serve as an essential part of society. Whether it was Blanches husband’s suicide or Stella’s husband’s participation in rape, illusions are shown throughout the play to help people deal with harsh realities. They help ‘victims’ of reality see “what ought to be truth”(pg.127) through illusions, alleviating unwanted pain.
We are able to gather the image of an extremely polished male who is not only a man but a gentleman. Richard is wealthy beyond measure and the people clearly lust for his riches. The metaphor throughout the poem which compares Richard to wealth teaches a strong lesson to the townspeople. The author closes this poem with the lines “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night / went home and put a bullet through his head. (15-16)” If we once again compare Richard to wealth, this phrase indicates that although the townspeople believe they will gain happiness from obtaining wealth, they may actually find that their calm is destroyed by wealth. Without the use of imagery and metaphor acting together throughout this piece of literature, it is my opinion that the reader may not have gained a clear picture of Richard Cory and his relationship of superiority with the people of the
If we go back in time we can analyze that woman have always been held below men. In the past the only essentials people had to keep record were a pen and a paper so authors used these tools to keep record of events going on the era. In the story, “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wall-paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman two women are subordinated by their own husbands showing how gender play a role in marriages.
During my ride on a crowded subway headed toward downtown, I met two deceitfully ordinary people named Nate and Claire. Claire, the first to spark conversation, introduced herself as a columnist for an impressive, well-known newspaper. With not a hair out of place or as much as a wrinkle on her blouse, she was nothing short of a perfectionist. She was young, almost too young to look so stressed. Nate, who appeared just as young, looked like he was fresh off of Wall Street. Everything about him exuberated wealth from the clothes he wore to the deepness of his voice. But it was easy to see he wasn’t happy with his life. Just one look into his sallow eyes, and you could see guilt the size of his fortune.
Freedom, and pure joy can be hard to find no matter who you are, but when you have it and there is something standing in your way it can be difficult to act on it. In Kate Chopin's “ The story of an hour” we see that happiness is hard to find and when you find it, it’s truly a marvelous joy and wonder, however if you don’t push and grab it when you can it may be too late. We will see Mrs.Mallard obtain happiness, and when she finally realizes it she has she is overfilled with joy. However when she goes to think and live out her new found freedom reality is slammed back in her face, killing her and her new found freedom.
Illusion vs. reality has been a major running theme in all the plays we have read in class. By interpretation, the idea of illusion is a way to build an alternate fantasy world for oneself where he/she can escape from reality. From all the characters analyzed in class, Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire would definitely be the one character who is so steadfast on illusion that she lets it shape her life as she believes it is her only way towards a happier life. As seen in the above quote, Blanche chooses to dwell in illusion, for it is her primary defense against the troubles in her life. Illusion has had a freeing enchantment that protects her from the tragedies she has had to endure. However, Blanche is not the only character with this fixation on illusion. In this paper, I will be analyzing other characters like Nora from A Doll’s House, Eliza from Pygmalion and Mrs. Hale from Trifles, who just like Blanche have also succumbed to the world of illusion as opposed to reality.