The Story of An Hour Essay Example For Students

The Story of An Hour Essay In Kate Chopins short story The Story of an Hour, thereis much irony. The first irony detected is in the way thatLouise reacts to the news of the death of her husband,Brently Mallard. Before Louises reaction is revealed,Chopin alludes to how the widow feels by describing theworld according to her perception of it after the horriblenews. Louise is said to not hear the story as many womenhave heard the same. Rather, she accepts it and goes to herroom to be alone. Now the reader starts to see the worldthrough Louises eyes, a world full of new and pure life. Inher room, Louise sinks into a comfortable chair and looksout her window. Immediately the image of comfort seems tostrike a odd note. One reading this story should question theuse of this word comfortable and why Louise is notbeating the furniture instead. Next, the newly widowedwomen is looking out of the window and sees spring and allthe new life it brings. The descriptions used now are as faraway from death as possible. We will write a custom essay on The Story of An Hour specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The delicios breath ofrainthe notes of a distant song. ..countless sparrows weretwittering.. .patches of blue sky . All these are beautifulimages of life , the reader is quite confused by this mostunusual foreshadowing until Louises reaction is explained.The widow whispers Free, free, free! Louise realizes thather husband had loved her, but she goes on to explain thatas men and women often inhibit eachother, even if it is donewith the best of intentions, they exert their own wills uponeachother. She realized that although at times she had lovedhim, she has regained her freedom, a state of beeing that allof G-ds creatures strive for. Although this reaction iscompletely unexpected, the reader quickly accepts itbecause of Louises adequate explanation. She growsexcited and begins to fantasize about living her life forherself. With this realization, she wishes that life might belong, and she feels like a goddess of Victory as she walksdown the stairs. This is an eerie forshadowing for an evenmore unexpected ending. The reader has just acceptedLouises reaction to her husbands death, when the mostunexpected happens; her husband is actually alive and heenters the room shocking everyone, and Louise especially,as she is shocked to death. The irony continues, though,because the doctors say she died of joy, when the readerknows that she actually died because she had a glimps offreedom and could not go back to living under her husbandswill again. In the title, the story refers to that of Louiseslife. She lived in the true sense of the word, with the will andfreedom to live for only one hour. Book Reports The Story Of An Hour Essay Example For Students The Story Of An Hour Essay The use of irony makes stories enjoyable to read. Stories with irony keeps readers interested and in suspense. The use of irony Kate Chopin uses in the short story The Story of an Hour keeps readers attached to the story and lets readers understand Mrs. Mallards true feelings about her husband. The way Mrs. Mallard expresses her emotions towards her husband makes the story likable. Her character traits and the way Chopin puts the ironic twist into the story keeps you interested. What I liked about the story was how Chopin used irony to inform readers of Brently Mallards false death. Her use of irony kept me in suspense throughout the story and shocked me at the end where I learned that Brently Mallard was still alive. The reason Chopin informs readers of his false death is to let readers know how Mrs. Mallard feels towards her husband. She did not hear the story as most women would have. Instead, she did not feel pity or agony for her husband. Once Brently supposedly dies, Mrs. Mallard is now looking forward to the future. What I also liked was how Chopin used good details when she describes Mrs. Mallard. She describes her as being young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. You can easily paint a picture of Mrs. Mallards face with Chopins details. It makes the story a lot easier to read and it keeps you interested. The 3rd thing I liked about this story was how Chopin ended the story with Mrs. Mallards death. O nce Brently walked through the door, Mrs. Mallards life collapsed. All of her hopes and dreams for the future had disappeared. Once Mrs. Mallard saw Brently, she died. She had been so happy with his death that it killed her to see him again. As you can see, the use of irony, the details, and all of the suspense makes this story enjoyable to read. We will write a custom essay on The Story Of An Hour specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Bibliography: