Thanksgiving is one of America’s most celebrated and popular holidays. It is a day that most families get together, have a feast, and watch football. Despite these fun traditions, one of the most important things about Thanksgiving that is often overlooked is showing gratitude and thankfulness for all the things in your life. Many times, people just go about everyday life and do not realize how blessed some of their possessions are until they are gone. This is similar to Jimmy Cross in the short story, "The Things They Carried" and Mrs. Mallard in, "The Story of an Hour". Jimmy Cross was in the military, fighting a war in Vietnam and did not truly understand how much his other soldiers mattered to him until one of them died. Similarly, Mrs. …show more content…
Jimmy was not sure how he should approach the situation because he did indeed love Martha, but that love resulted in losses somewhere else in Jimmy’s life. This caused Jimmy to feel a “sense of unreality” (Piedmont-Marton 1) because he could not even comprehend one of his soldiers dying. He did not realize that his love for Martha would affect the lives of his soldiers. In similar fashion to the way that Jimmy was unsure how to react when one of his soldiers died, Mrs. Mallard also did not know how to react to the death of her husband. Similarly to Jimmy Cross, after the death of her husband, Mrs. Mallard was unsure on how to feel about the death. Mrs. Mallard did not feel like she was in a healthy relationship, but deep down, she actually did love her husband. With this being Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts on her relationship, the news of her husband’s death caused Mrs. Mallard to initially have, “a paralyzed inability to accept its significance” (Chopin 1). Mrs. Mallard reacted to this because she truly did not know what to think of his death. She thought that her life would be way better because she could get out of her obligated relationship, but she truly did not …show more content…
"Fatal Self-Assertion in Kate Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour.'." Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, edited by Janet Witalec, vol. 127, Gale, 2002. http://www.gale.com/gale/gale/gale/gale/gale/gale/gale/gale/gale/gale/gale/gale/gale/ Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420046600/GLS?u=j220907&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=97fc71c8. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024. The. Originally published in American Literary Realism, vol. 78. 32, no. 2. 2, Winter 2000, pp. 113-114. 152-158. The syllable of the syllable. Chopin, Kate. A. The Story of an Hour: A Short Story. Harper Collins, 2014. Hicks, Jennifer. A. An Overview of “The Story of an Hour”." Short Stories for Students, Gale, 2002. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420007762/GLS?u=j220907&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=9d559ea3. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024. The. O’Brien, Tim. A. The Things They Carried. Houghton Mifflin (Trade), 2009. Piedmont-Marton, Elisabeth. The Things They Carried. Short Stories for Students, Gale, 2002. Gale Literature Resource Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420022972/GLS?u=j220907&sid=bookmark-GLS&xid=732e7223. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024. The. Silbergleid, Robin. The 'Standard'. "Making Things Present: Tim O'Brien's Autobiographical Metafiction." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Jeffrey W. Hunter, vol. 93, no. 1, pp. 113-117. 305, Detroit, MI, Gale, 2011. Gale Literature Resource Center,
Ego is the fall of many. In critical analysis, “Fatal Self-Assertion in Kate Chopin’s ‘Story of an Hour’”, Lawrence L. Berkove displays his view of Louise. It is evident in his article that he pays close attention to Chopin’s details of emotion. The article describes how the story forecasts the fatal ending with suspension and clues. He believes that the key to the story is “recognizing this deeper ironic level” (Berkove). Kate Chopin leaves the story up for interpretation concerning theme and the true reason for her death. Berkove, in his article, states that the theme of the story is extreme self-assertion and that feminism shines through the story.
“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story written about the Vietnam War. The title has two meanings. The first is their duties and equipment for the war. The second, the emotional sorrows they were put through while at war. Their wants and needs, the constant worry of death were just a few of the emotional baggage they carried. During the Vietnam War, like all wars, there were hard times. Being a soldier wasn’t easy. Soldiers always see death, whether it be another soldier or an enemy. In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien explores the motivation of solders in the Vietnam War to understand their role in combat, to stay in good health, and accept the death of a fellow soldier.
“They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing- these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight.” (O’Brien 604) “The Things They Carried”, written by Tim O’brien, portrays a platoon of soldiers in The Vietnam War by the baggage that they carry, both mentally and physically. The main character, whom was assigned to be First Lieutenant of the platoon, is twenty-four year old Jimmy Cross. Lt. Cross is a prime example of a leader who is too immature to handle the responsibility of their role. He is constantly daydreaming about Martha, obsessing over the letters and gifts she has sent him, rather than leading his men. Martha is a student at a college back in Lt. Cross’s hometown. Lt. cross and his men all have baggage that weighs them down, but as the assigned leader, Lt. Cross has to free himself of these distractions. In “The Things They Carried” Lt. Cross’s inexperience and lack of focus, combined with his ample emotional and physical baggage, stand in the way of him fulfilling his responsibilities as the First Lieutenant of his platoon.
In the novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, there are a lot of characters that carry burdens which manifest later into themes of the novel. The novel is about the Vietnam war and the experience of drafted 18-24-year-old individuals serving in a platoon squad together. For instance, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross who is a vital member of the Alpha Company carries vital things that later translate into the theme. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries compasses, maps, and responsibilities for the Alpha Company such as marching in a line and keeping guns clean. The character accompanied with all his objects is used as a metaphor for the war that has no structure. He is a leader in the eyes of the Alpha Company who see him as the oldest and wisest but
One of the main characters of The Things They Carried ,written by Tim O’Brien ,named Lieutenant Jimmy Cross and he was only 24 years old, yet he carried the responsibility for the lives of his men. Like most men in the war Jimmy Cross did not sign up for it, he was drafted, and often times his mind was elsewhere trying to escape the realities of the war. He was young and often thought about what most do at his age, women. He had a particular girl, and he was often caught daydreaming about this girl back home. Her name was Martha and she was an English major at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey, she played volleyball and was a junior in college. In a way Martha represented a religion to him, and he worshipped her day and night. Although Martha was not interested in Cross, he was still interested in her and loved knowing that the love was not returned. The way that the men escaped their reality differed and for Cross, Martha was his distraction. Cross was indeed a martyr. Much like a martyr he endured great suffering brought on by saying goodbye to all that reminded him of Martha on behalf of a belief or cause such as keeping his men alive during the war.
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.
In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien the author tells about his experiences in the Vietnam war by telling various war stories. The quote, "It has been said of war that it is a world where the past has a strong grip on the present, where machines seemed sometimes to have more will power than me, where nice boys (girls) were attracted to them, where bodies ruptured and burned and stand, where the evil thing trying to kill you could look disconnecting human and where except in your imagination it was impossible to be heroic." relates to each of his stories.
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Eds. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson, 2010. 261-263. Print.
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Heritage of American Literature. Ed. James E. Miller. Vol. 2. Austin: Harcourt Brace Jovanich, 1991. 487. Print.
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Eds. John Schilb, and John Clifford. 5th. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 705-706. Print.
In conclusion, “The story of an hour” is a clear depiction that women status in the society determines the choices they make about their lives. In this work, Chopin depicts a woman as a lesser being without identity or voices of their own. They are expected to remain in oppressive marriages and submit to their husbands without question.
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. 4th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: St. Martins, 1997. 12-15.
Kate Chopin’s story “The Story of an Hour” focuses on a married woman who does not find happiness in her marriage. When she hears of her husband’s death, the woman does not grieve for long before relishing the idea of freedom. Chopin’s story is an example of realism because it describes a life that is not controlled by extreme forces. Her story is about a married nineteenth-century woman with no “startling accomplishments or immense abilities” (1271). Chopin stays true to reality and depicts a life that seems as though it could happen to any person.
In "The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin tells the story of a woman, Mrs. Mallard, whose husband is thought to be dead. Throughout the story, Chopin describes the emotions Mrs. Mallard felt about the news of her husband's death. However, the strong emotions she felt were not despair or sadness, they were something else. In a way, she was relieved more than she was upset, and almost rejoiced in the thought of her husband no longer living. In using different literary elements throughout the story, Chopin conveys this to us on more than one occasion.
Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour is a brilliant short story of irony and emotion. The story demonstrates conflicts that take us through the character’s emotions as she finds out about the death of her husband. Without the well written series of conflicts and events this story, the reader would not understand the depth of Mrs. Mallard’s inner conflict and the resolution at the end of the story. The conflict allows us to follow the emotions and unfold the irony of the situation in “The Story of an Hour.”