Symbolism and Irony in “The Story of an Hour”

612 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character analysis essay story of an hour

Mostly on every story, a person, place, or even an object can be described or represented more than what it actually really is. It’s just trying explain more than what the author is trying to get across the story, but it also makes you think twice about what it’s trying to say to show through the main idea. There is all sorts of symbols like the multiply sign is used to show that they double the number of what they’re trying to solve. Colors may also be used to show symbolism like they can make you label certain things and it symbolizes the object you labeled with the color. In the story, The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard and all her actions and surroundings are used as symbolism .At the beginning of the story; Mrs. Mallard had heart conditions, so what they did to explain the tragic death of her husband to her. Was that they kept her as comfortable as they could and released the news to her little by little, and also gave her hints in order for her not to know by the harsh way, notified by the newspaper office in which the husband of her sister worked at currently. Alex Craig “Her physical heart problem symbolizes her emotional heart as it relates towards he marriage”. Heart problems are not always health issues because sometimes it can also be the emotional feelings that person is going through that makes the heart ache with sadness. Besides the fact that Mrs. Mallard has “Heart Trouble” one should take the problem more meaningful than just the idea that she is unhealthy. But yes the heart can be looked at because of health conditions but really it enforces that the death of her husband really caused serious pain for her heart to be like that. In addition there is also another way that there is symbolism. It is whe... ... middle of paper ... ...her room she will no longer be bound to her husband but rather free to do what she wants whenever she chooses to. Mrs. Mallard is at last apart from a person who was once somebody she loved but then started to dislike him because of his selfishness towards her. Then at last she comes to a point when she sees him and dies because she knows she will be jailed up again with his possession with her. Works Cited 123 help me editors, “symbolism in ‘The Story of an Hour.’” 123 help me, Inc., n.d web. 17 Mar 2014 Lorcher, Trent. “Irony in ‘The Story of an Hour.’” Bright Hub Education. N.P., 17 Apr 2012. Web. 17 Mar 2014 Shmoop Editors.“’Story of an Hour’ Heart Trouble.” Shmoop. Shmoop, Inc., N.d Web 17 Mar 2014 Westwood, M. “What are examples of Verbal, Situational< and Dramatic Irony in ‘The Story of an Hour.’” E-Notes. E-Notes, Inc., 30 Sept 2013. Web. 17 March 2014

Show More
Related

  • The Struggle for Freedom in Yellow Wallpaper and Story of an Hour

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...opin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." In Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters, Eds. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997. 158-159.

    Read More

  • Clever Manka by Anonymous

    415 Words  | 1 Pages

    is also oppressed by the circumstances within her marriage. Mrs. Mallard however suppressed her feelings and of unhappiness and in which the story implies puts stress on her heart. The announcement of her husband death brings on conflicting feelings of grief and joy. Mrs. Mallard paradoxical statement about the death of her husband changes her perception about life. “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.

    Read More

  • The Dilemma of Women

    1812 Words  | 4 Pages

    "SparkNotes: The Story of an Hour: Important Quotations Explained." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. .

    Read More

  • Death After Freedom in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jamil, S. Selina. "Emotions in the Story of an Hour." Explicator 67.3 (2009): 215-220. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in The Story of an Hour

    369 Words  | 1 Pages

    Mrs. Mallard is described as being young and having "a fair, calm face" symbolizing the beauty and innocence of a child. Brently Mallard had repressed her, and now through this seemingly tragic event she is freed of his rule over her and she is able to go on with her life.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    While Mrs. Mallard’s husband is dead she feels more free and at peace with herself and also life. She feels as if weight is lifted off of her shoulders. Her husband is not there pressuring her, she is independent and experiencing a new life without him. Also, she feels as though it might be hard without him. As much as it might be hard on her she feels as if it will be equally if not more enjoyable. She will find herself within these new steps and experiences in her

    Read More

  • The story of an hour

    691 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mrs Mallard is pretending she is mourning over her husband’s death. She gives the expression that she wants to be alone with her grief, so she locks herself into her room. But because of the third person limited point of view, we know what is really going on inside Mrs Mallard’s mind.

    Read More

  • The Story Of An Hour The Story

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story begins with the news of the death of Mrs. Mallard's husband. She takes the news hard at first, but when she is alone in her room, the setting of the room does not convey a scene of sorrow. The setting of the room shows many signs of renewal or rebirths. It suggests that it is a rebirth for Mrs. Mallard. In many respects, it shows a much bigger scene. Mrs. Mallard could be thought ...

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing Story Of An Hour And Hills Like White Elephants

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mallard has and epiphany while sitting in her room grieving for her late husband. Epiphany is not the only technique that is discovered during the short story. The others that could be seen are: situational and dramatic irony, imagery and symbolism. Mrs. Mallard came to the realization that she can indeed continue living life to the fullest even after the news of her husband’s passing. Imagery is when she was sitting in her room looking out of the window and seeing the sights outside through her window. Both situational and dramatic irony play a role in this story also. Even though Mrs. Mallard had a sick heart, she also was ached by a heavy heart from the news of the passing of her husband but realized that things would be alright but at the end of the short story she saw him (her husband) and died of

    Read More

  • Story Of An Hour Analysis Essay

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most women in Mrs Mallard’s situation were expected to be upset at the news of her husbands death, and they would worry more about her heart trouble, since the news could worsen her condition. However, her reaction is very different. At first she gets emotional and cries in front of her sister and her husbands friend, Richard. A little after, Mrs. Mallard finally sees an opportunity of freedom from her husbands death. She is crying in her bedroom, but then she starts to think of the freedom that she now has in her hands. “When she abandoned herse...

    Read More

  • Feminism In Kate Chopin's Of An Hour

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mallard supposed to be with her husband by his side and giving him advice she was not. This also lead to the news that they gave her husband had died and she was happy , she felt free. Her sister thought Mrs Mallard was crying in her room or very sad but she was not. “She said it over and over under her breath: Free, Free, Free!”(Kate Chopin 's View on Death And Freedom in the story Of An Hour,1).This was unexpected and weird in many ways . It was expected that Mrs Mallard was going to react differently as she really did. This means that maybe the years she was with her husband she was going to get attached to him but she was not . “Her sister Josephine,reminded us of her conventional thought that women should attach themselves to their husbands”(Kate Chopin 's View on Death and Freedom in the story Of An Hour,1). After that Mrs Mallard wanted her time alone in the room nobody actually knew how she felt in reality. She had a conflict in her life. Mrs. Mallard had her own experiences and thoughts. Love , freedom, and marriage were her things. Maybe she was suffering and she stuck in her mind those ideas and felty all the peace she wanted. She was not really conscious it was between her world and the actual real world she had to face. This leads to her feelings sometimes she wouldn 't love her husband , and sometimes she would and it was all mixed up into different feelings and emotions. When she saw her husband in the door she cried , but it was of happiness not sadness and it was a rare death. We as readers consider that seeing her husband shocked her and anguish when she sees her husband. The doctor eventually said a different thing that the joy killed Mrs. Mallard .” The conflict between Mrs. Mallard’s life and death becomes so irreconcilable that she finally dies of heart disease when she is told that she will see her husband come home alive instead of death in the railroad disaster.”(Kate

    Read More

  • Marriage a.k.a. True Bondage

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    "The Story of an Hour" "The Story of an Hour" N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Story Of An Hour

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mallard realizes the shocking truth of her husband. At the beginning of the story we discover that Mrs. Mallard suffers from a heart condition when Richard and her sister try to deliver the news with caution; in addition, this indicates that Mrs. Mallard is also very fragile. Moreover, these hold ironies because of her unhappiness in her own marriage; the heart meaning her love for her husband, and the trouble indicating her struggle in her marriage. In “The Story of an Hour” Kate Chopin states, “…she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.” When Mrs. Mallard heard the news of her husband sudden death we realized that her true feeling were joyful and in a way relieved. Already feeling overwhelmed with her new found freedom, Mrs. Mallard receives another shocking discovery by seeing that her husband was actually alive. This caused her to have a heart attack. When she died her family could’ve presumed she died of happiness for the sudden revelation of her husband return, when in reality her happiness was taken away from her as soon as Mr. Mallard walked through the door. The surprising ending and the irony gave the story a feeling of meaning and understanding of what really was going on in Mrs. Mallards

    Read More

  • Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The story of an Hour,”tells the tale of Mrs. Mallard who has fallen victim to the misogynistic oppression of the late nineteenth century. She receives word of her husband’s death, and upon hearing news is filled with a mix of emotions. Ranging from anger,and sorrow, to relief, and joy. She is torn between her desire to be free and her sense of obligation to mourn the loos of her husband. This crates an internal conflict for her, as well as a character verses society conflict due to the fact that she did at times lover her husband and truly feels bad about his death but is also unable to repress her joy, and dreams of her freedom which was not exemptible at the time.

    Read More

  • Unveiling Freedom: Analysis of 'The Story of an Hour'

    1389 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the beginning, the sad tone is effective because, as far as the reader knows, Mrs. Mallard loved her husband and is grieving his death. She even acknowledges that she will probably be sad later, but for now, she is happy and feels free: “She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death...but she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.” Then, as imagery begins and the story takes shape, it takes a hopeful and joyous turn, which feels peaceful and makes the reader feel like Mrs. Mallard is finally free from living behind her husband. The phrase “free” is repeated several times, which makes the tone happy and joyous, and the tone change from the beginning becomes obvious. Both the imagery and plot help this section to feel almost dream-like. At the end, when Mr. Mallard enters, the tone shifts quickly to sadness, as Mrs. Mallard dies a tragic death. She drops dead once she sees her husband alive again, and she knows that all of her freedom that she held in her hands is gone. The only way to be an independent woman in this society is to be a widow, and Mrs. Mallard almost had that freedom, but she is so sad she

    Read More

More about Symbolism and Irony in “The Story of an Hour”

Open Document