"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
Considering the work we have done so far on claims and evidence, review your annotations on the story to address the prompt below:
What claim can you make of the text, “The Story of an Hour” relevant to the two main characters: Mrs. Mallard as well as her husband?
As you prepare your blog discussion around the claim and evidence from the text, consider whether you might consider the narrator’s account of each character to be a reliable one as you form the analysis of your CHOSEN character.
In layman's terms, HOW would you analyze either Mrs. Mallard or her husband, considering the author's treatment of the following concepts: values, beliefs, biases, cultural norms, assumptions?
As you prepare your original post to the blog question/prompt, remember to adhere to the rules regarding the conventions of written English. Also, kindly keep the blog rubric in mind as you self assess or as you respond to your peers' posts.
Remember you must respond to at least TWO other classmates' postings in order to complete your blog session and DO NOT FORGET TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF IN THE BLOG BEFORE CHOOSING "ANONYMOUS" IN THE DROP DOWN MENU.
(You will find an additional copy of the story here as well as some additional ideas and hyperlinks for greater insights into the story)
Note: If you find an image or other enhancements that you would like to include to enhance your blog post relevant to the analysis of Mrs. Mallard or her husband, please feel free to do so in this post.
Happy blogging!
Sebastian Marte
ReplyDeleteLouise Mallard can be seen as someone that looks at her husband's death in joy because she imagines the years ahead of her, which will belong to her. She will be without no one to oppress her because she thinks that all women and men oppress one another even if they do it out of kindness.According to cultural norms, when you hear of the death of someone's death, especially someone who is your significant other, your supposed to be heart broken and grief for a long time,but Mrs.Mallard is an intelligent independent woman that understands the “right” way for a woman to behave but her internal thoughts and feelings are not correct.When her sister announces that Brently has died, Louise cries dramatically rather than feeling numb, as she knows many other women would. Her violent reaction immediately shows that she is an emotional, demonstrative woman. She knows that she should grieve for Brently and fear for her own future, but instead she feels elation at her newfound independence. Louise is not cruel and knows that she’ll cry over Brently’s dead body when the time comes. But when she is out of others’ sight, her private thoughts are of her own life and the opportunities that await her, which she feels have just brightened considerably.
Jeily Antigua
DeleteSebastian, I agree with your depiction of Mrs. Mallard and your description of her being someone who understands the cultural norms in her society and her acting accordingly, whether that be through her portrayal of grief, or her ultimately agreeing to get married due to the expectations society held over women in that period. It resonates with me how you exemplified to the reader that even though Louise did find joy in her late husband’s death, she is not a cruel woman but rather a victim of society and their rules. I also enjoyed throughout your response how you chose to not just use evidence but instead draw conclusions based on what you as a reader observed in the passage.
Shon Mack Jr
DeleteI agree with your breakdown of Mrs Mallard and the way you breakdown her character. I clearly understand the truth of her character through your blog response. I gather the information that she is someone who understands the way society works and how one should act towards death. But, at the same time you give insight of not only her character now but the way her character will soon act. You did a great job of using evidence to support the meaning behind what you were saying as well as draw realistic conclusions based on evidence from the passage.
Aaliyah Benaine
DeleteI most definately agree with your claim and indept description of Mrs Mallards character.You made it easier to comprehend her situation and come to the conclusion of her acceptance to the norm of society.
Jeily Antigua
ReplyDeleteIn “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, the writer delves into the complex reactions of repressed, 19th-century woman, Louise Mallard, upon learning the news of her husband, Mr. Mallards, sudden death. Throughout the rapidly changing emotions of devastation, unexpected relief, and lastly acceptance, readers are able to observe the claim of freedom, no matter the circumstance, being a natural given right that humans will crave--even when negated that. Chopin successfully portrays the claim of freedom being an essential thing to all humans, no matter the circumstances, by introducing the effect Mr. Mallard’s death had on Louise. Delicate, devastating news that was told to Louise in “broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing”. But, Louise Mallard was unlike the women accepted in her society. Although devastated, Louise did not stay with a “paralyzed inability” to accept her husband’s death as many women before her usually did. Something portrayed to the readers with Louise’s quick-witted response of having “wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment in her sister’s arms”. Where right after when her grief passed, she spent her time alone and would have no one follow her, in a world “aquiver with the new spring life”, a stark contrast to how she was feeling in relation to the news of her husband’s sudden death. At the news of her husband’s death, Louise can be described as being “motionless”. She did not know what to do or how to act in a world where her husband did not exist. But, “creeping out the sky” came this feeling of unexpected relief to Mrs. Mallard. Women like her, women in a society where they were not expected to be independent and to have thoughts of their own, were not supposed to feel free and supposed to feel relief at their husband’s death and the implications of it, it simply was not proper for women in the 19th century. This portrays to the reader that Mrs. Mallard lived in very different times where women and their emotions, whether they were proper or not, were severely repressed. But, the feeling of elation that Mrs. Mallard felt was so strong that she was left powerless to the very feeling that came with being “free, free, free!”. No longer were her eyes “vacant’ but they now had a “bright” look to them, an effect of the feeling of freedom she was now beginning to feel. Through the “monstrous joy”, the readers are exposed to, Mrs. Mallard’s resistance to getting married was exposed to the readers, something not expected based on her previous grieving. Mrs. Mallard, now a widow, was looking forward to a new chapter of independence in her life. No longer would she be expected to have to coexist with a “powerful will bending hers”--a powerful will that her husband and his influence was behind. Her years would be only hers for the time to come and that is something she welcomes with open arms. And although it took an unfortunate situation for her to gain her long wanted freedom, as she carried herself “like a goddess of Victory” with “triumph in her eyes”, Louise would not have it any other way.
Jalen Jones
DeleteI agree with Jeily's depiction of Kate Chopin’s “A Story Of An Hour”. Her detailed response and vast repertoire of vocabulary, put her ideas into perspective of how the life of Mrs. Mallard is changed by the death of her husband. One of the things that stood out to me in her response is the way she incorporated her pieces of evidence in her responses. For example, she says “Although devastated, Louise did not stay with a “paralyzed inability” to accept her husband’s death as many women before her usually did”. This shows her versatility with the passage; By not citing a whole chunk of evidence that would just add length to her response, she is able to get her point across while stating the required evidence needed for her response.
Shon Mack Jr
ReplyDeleteThe passage "The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin Bio focuses on the complex reactions Louis Mallard, a young woman with a heart disease, has after learning of her Husband Brently Mallards apparent death. Mr Mallard was reported as one of the ones killed in a very serious railroad accident. As the passage continues, the sudden changes in Louis' emotions change. She is at first taken by shock when her sister Josephine told her the news of her husbands death. Just as a normal person would react, she cried. "She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment" gives the entitlement that it was a quick sense of being alone. As time progressed, we see the acceptance of the death. She was embracing the fact that she was "free free free". When a person loses someone in their life and the person feels "free" after that means that they are sort of relieved. At the same time as building Louis character, we get a sense of Brently's character. Mrs. Mallard sees Mr Mallard as an overpowering figure in the relationship, so with him no longer alive or in the house she feels like she can now live for herself. The passage states "there would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature" so the fact that this was included shows Mr Mallard's character. He is an overpowering figure that can be very stressful. She was so happy at the fact that she was finally alone or out of his grasp. With the add on of "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". All in all, the way that Mrs Mallard acted after the death of her lover and the reason behind her being happy shows the complexity of her character along with Mr Mallard.
Sebastian Marte
DeleteI agree with your depiction of both Mrs and Mr.Mallard. I like how you incorporated lines from the story to help make your point and that you also didn't just explain the evidence.
Gavin Seebalack
DeleteI agree with Shon of how he has depicted both of the characters in this story. In his blog, he has built up the claims of both characters by adding evidence to support them. I like the use of evidence and how you explained how it is effective in your writing.
nailiya johnson
Deletei agree with shon,the supporting details you gave to support your claim along with well explaining, He also includes both characters and provides evidence for both.
Nathaniel Rodriguez
DeleteI agree with your claim on the characters in this story. It is shown in your response that you know the personalities of characters. You made a clear claim and you supported it with good evidence. It shows how well you were able to depict these characters.
Nathaniel Rodriguez
ReplyDeleteIn the text "The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin the claim that I can make about Louise Mallard is that , death will cause grief, but it will ultimately lead to everlasting joy. In the story, Louise Mallard receives some tragic news about her husband. She receives news from her sister Josephine that her husband was in a railroad accident and he passed away. Now as a normal person, Louise's sudden reaction was to cry tears of sadness. This is shown where it says "She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms" Louise was crushed that she lost the one person that she loved, and in the tragic way that she did. She acts as if she will never be the same without her husband. But as the story progressed, the attitude of the newly made widow starts to change. The mood of the character goes from grief to relief. Its as if the widow is happy that her husband is dead because she can do her own thing now. This is shown where it says "But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely." Even though she was hurt at the moment, she knew that she was once again in control of her own life and destiny. Its as if her husband was a controlling and demanding figure because the wife was so relieved of his death. Louise finally got over the only obstacle in her life, which was her husband. Now she can once again live for herself and for nobody else. Now even though her freedom had to come in the unfortunate events of her husband's death, she was more relieved that she got her life back. The joy that she felt at the thought of living for herself outweighed the grief and sorrow she felt due to her husband's death. If she was so happy after her husband died, this means that she was not in a happy relationship. And this lead to the everlasting joy that Louise felt.
John Guerrero
DeleteNathaniel, your interpretation of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard’s relationship in the short story “The Story of an Hour” was good. I like how you were able to explain your claim by drawing conclusions about Mrs. Mallard’s relationship with her lost lover. However, I feel like you should use evidence more often to further strengthen your conclusions.
Jalen Jones
ReplyDeleteIn Kate Chopin's 1894 novel “The Story Of An Hour” the main character, Louise Mallard is depicted as a 19th century newly found widow after hearing about her husband's untimely death from a railroad accident. This was brought to her attention by her sister Josephine who relayed the message “in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing” and her husband's friend Richard who was at the newspaper office when the message of the crash was received: rushing over relay the terrible news. Prompting a normal reaction to this scenario based on cultural norms, Louise begins to cry:“ She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms.” As the news slowly but surely comes to fruition in her mind that the love of her life Brently has now passed, you gain a sense of how dependent women like Louise were during the 19th century to their husbands. With the author’s use of the word “abandonment”, Louise feels vulnerable not only because of her heart trouble but now she’s alone to fend for herself without her provider in her life. As the story progresses, we see Louise face an apparent shift in her whirlwind of emotions. At first, she seems to go through a state of depression which is conveyed in the line “When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her”. Usually allowing yourself time to “grief” the passing of a loved one can allow you to heal and look forward to the rest of your life. Then, you see her accept the fact that her husband has passed; gain a sense of relief that she now has control over her life. Shown in the line, “There would be no one to live for during those coming years...fellow-creature”. Coveying to readers that she can finally be independent and in charge of her own life and her own decisions which is rare for women during her time. The roles of women during the 19 century compared to the men allowed them to not be seen as equals. Men were more demanding and were in charge of the decisions that were made in their households while women were supposed to be timid and follow the directions of their husbands. Applying this logic to the story, Mr. Brently Mallard may have been more demanding and controlling over his wife Mrs. Louise Mallard’s decisions in regard to her life and the choices she made. But now that he has passed she able to be "free, free, free!". In addition to that, she hoped that’s the could have lived longer to relish in her newly gained independence with the author stating “ She breathed a quick prayer.... be long” but sadly she died due to complications of her heart problems. In conclusion, if it wasn’t for the passing of her husband Brently, Louise wouldn’t have known the joy of freedom and independence in her life driving home the claim, that gaining your independence can lead to eternal happiness.
Sebastian Marte
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your response, i liked how you stated that during that time period, men and women were not seen as equals. Men were seen as the superior ones, as the decision makers. I enjoyed how you added that she died due to her heart problems, this is something that i haven't seen included on other responses as well as mines.
Aaliyah Benaine
Deleteyour response was interesting yet informative, I loved how you made the comparisson to the days where women were not treated equally and you incorperated it into your claim .
Gavin Seebalack
ReplyDeleteIn the short story "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, a claim that can be made relevant to the two main characters are that Louise Mallard is viewed as someone who will take advantage and be happy about the death of her husband, with barely any grief. Mrs. Mallard was informed about the tragic news of her husband's death from her sister Josephine, who was already in tears from the grieving news. When Mrs. Mallard was told the news, she was also in tears of sadness, but not for long, as she would come to a life changing realization. Mrs. Mallard already has a heart disease and with the news that she was told, she was not dead even though she's really sensitive. "... with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once." This shows that she was crying with tears of sadness and was in grief for a little while because she has lost her loved one in a very serious railroad accident. As anyone else, she was sad for a moment, but as the story progressed her mood and emotions change drastically towards the situation. As the story continues, Mrs. Mallard accepts the death of her husband and comes to a realization that she is now free. She is now better off without her husband because of what he put her through. With Mr. Mallard's "powerful will", "persistence", and a "cruel intention", Mrs. Mallard is always trapped and cannot do as she pleases. But with the death of Mr. Mallard, she can now do so many new things without the thought of her husband controlling her and being overpowering towards her. She is now saying "Free! Body and soul free!", which shows us how excited she is about her husband's death. The new widow can do things she could never do when she had a husband, such as get out of the house and have fun with her friends or family. She exclaims how free she is by saying "free, free, free!" over and over again as she comes to the realization. Mrs. Mallard can now live life with a new meaning and live with a whole new perspective without worrying about an overpowering husband. By showing how joyful and happy she is without her husband, it shows us that she did not enjoy the relationship, but now she can live with a lot of joy every day.
John Guerrero
DeleteGavin, I like your interpretation of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard's relationship in the short story "The Story of an Hour". You captured the portrayal of Mrs. Mallard by explaining her transition of feelings from grief to joy thoroughly whilst explaining why you used your quotations to back up your claim.
Nathaniel Rodriguez
DeleteI agree with your claim on the characters in this story. It is shown in your response that you know the personalities of characters. You were able to show the change of attitude of the wife and you were able to show why. You made a clear claim and you supported it with good evidence. It shows how well you were able to depict these characters.
Darlene Rodriguez
DeleteI liked how you explained the relationship between Mr.mallard and Louise mallard to show how louise took her husband sudden death. You used very good evidence that show her feelings and thoughts towards her husband not beign there anymore, for example "free, free, free!. Whihch shows a relieve from Louise after Mr.mallard death.
John Guerrero
ReplyDeleteIn the text "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, a claim that I can make about Louise Mallard and Mr. Mallard is that even though death can bring grief, it can sometimes bring relief and joy to the one that mourns. In this short story, Louise Mallard goes through an emotional change upon learning the fact that her husband, Mr. Mallard, has suddenly passed away. As initially expected, she mourns from the news that was revealed by Josephine, "who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing." However, whilst she was in her room grieving over her husband, an ominous feeling crept towards her, giving her a “subtle and elusive” emotion that she could not pinpoint. She was soon met with overwhelming joy that was brought by the "patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds". Even though she was depressed over the fact that she had lost her significant other, it quickly vanished once she realized that with her passing of her husband came with the feeling of freedom, when she “saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely”. She celebrated her husband’s death, contemplating how controlling her husband has been their whole marriage and taking in the fact that she no longer has to live being held back by the possessiveness of Mr. Mallard. When she finally exited her room, she was basking in the freedom that she has attained, with “a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory.” Now, Ms. Mallard is able to enjoy a free life without her husband overpowering and controlling her.
Jeily Antigua
DeleteJohn, I enjoyed how you consistently backed up your claim of death having the power to bring relief and joy to those who mourn and I do find myself agreeing that there is more than one side to death. As portrayed in the passage, there is more than one side to a story and while many expected Mrs.Mallard to be deeply conflicted at the death of her husband, behind closed doors she was actually quite giddy with what she describes as a “monstrous joy”. Despite your great response and the fact that it is plausible for your claim of Mrs. Mallard being beside herself with the thought of being rid of Mr. Mallard due to his possessiveness given how many women were treated in the 19th century, I do find myself conflicted with how you perceived Mr. Mallard as a possessive husband based on the contrary evidence presented in the text. As it is throughout the passage that Mrs. Mallard presents her late husband as someone who “never looked save with love upon her” instead of him being someone cruel and discourteous.
Shon Mack Jr
DeleteI agree with the way you described the claim of the two character's attitude in this time. You used evidence as well as give background information on why you responded in that specific way. Not only this but you give relevant evidence and is able to make valid conclusions about the characters. Good Job
Gavin Seebalack
DeleteJohn I like your claim of the characters in the story because I had a claim similar to this. Throughout your blog, you always supported your claim with evidence from the story. Also in your blog, you show both sides of the story by saying how Mr.Mallard is overpowering and how bad he treated his wife. After stating how happy she was after his husbands death, you supported how much joy she had with several peices of evidence.
Shon Mack Jr
ReplyDeleteI agree with the way you described the claim of the two character's attitude in this time. You used evidence as well as give background information on why you responded in that specific way. Not only this but you give relevant evidence and is able to make valid conclusions about the characters. Good Job
Darlene Rodriguez
ReplyDeleteIn the story "The story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin Shows how Louise Mallard has many different change of emotions throughout the story due to her husband sudden death. It seems like Louise and her husband didn't have a very good relationship based on her feelings after his death. Throughout the story Louise expresses her emotions towards her husband in part of the story she feels guilt but after she feels relief and free about the memory of her husband. In the story it says, "But now that he has passed she able to be "free, free, free!". This shows how how Louise doesn't feel guilty anymore and her soul is free. Another example is, "patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds". This shows that even though her husband passed away and she had to feel sad about it she also felt freedom that he was gone.
Malikiya Richards-
ReplyDeleteIn this writer’s story “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, the story documents the complicated reaction of Louise Mallard upon learning of her fake husbands death throughout the rapidly changing emotions of devastation, unexpected relief, and lastly acceptance, readers are able to observe the claim of freedom, no matter the circumstance, being a natural given right that humans will crave even when negated that. The protagonist, Louise Mallard, hears that her husband is dead, and when she discovers that he is alive after all Louise seems to be glad that her husband has died. The story mentions the emotional state Ms. Louise Mallard went through, “She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.”She thinks of Brently's "kind, tender hands" and "the face that had never looked save with love upon her," and she recognizes that she has not finished weeping for him”. Louise may have felt happy of the news of her husbands death but she felt guilt and loves her husband even if it is sometimes the memories and his face brought back the memories which brought guilt towards her. TO summarize everything if t wasn't for the news ms. mallard wouldn't understand the feeling of independence but also not to regret what you have in your life.
Nailiya johnson
ReplyDeleteIn the story “ The story of an hour " by Kate Chopin, the claim that can be made about both characters Mrs Mallard and her husband Mr Brently roles in this story is although death of an love one may cause you grief at first, it the can change into depression and acceptance as well as some happiness. Throughout the story readers are able to analyze the change of emotions from Mrs Mallard as well as see how they are being broken down and transitioned. In the beginning of the story Mrs mallard was brought devastating news about her husband death. Line (9) “with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance” reveals that she has gone into the emotion of disbelief that her husband has been in a railroad accident. Afterwards Mrs Mallard changes into the emotion of grief & loneliness line 12 “ when the storm of grief had spent itself, she would have no one to follow her” she is sad about the fact that she is lonely her husband is no longer going to be behind her or along with her. Then there’s an transition in the story where Mrs Mallard now Realize that her husband isn’t coming back, it’s just her now. Line (44) “There would be no one to live for her” as well as line (45)“ she would live for herself" along with "Free!body soul free!" she’s now able to live for herself before she wasn’t she was living for her husband and she felt that was the only thing she could do while he was alive. In the end she tries to make the time she has now without her husband worth it. Second to last paragraph “ her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her “ although she thought time would go fast but then she falls into depression with the acknowledge that time is going to go by slower than she thought and each day became longer and longer . On the other hand Mr Brently had no awareness of what’s has been going on since he’s been gone. Last paragraph “He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not know there was one” when Mr Brently arrives back home he has no idea that his wife thought he was gone forever as well as with no clue of how Mrs Mallared really felt about him. Given the author showing us how Mrs Mallared really felt in her marriage gives us readers an deeper understanding of the changes in her emoticons as well as explain her happiness.
I liked how you made clearly that death can cause grief at first but it can eventually change into depression and happiness , like Louise mallard was showing throughout the story where her mood and feelings changed rapidly more into the story. Also good job at Pointy out the stanza numbers and being organized with your evidence.
DeleteJalen Jones
DeleteI agree with Nailiya's depiction of Kate Chopin’s “A Story Of An Hour”. Her understanding of the text to make a feasible claim for Mrs.Mallard newly found freedom shows how keen she is when dealing with a text of this nature. I like how you included how the author’s depiction of Mrs. Mallard gives the reader an understanding of her happiness. You said “Given the author showing us how Mrs. Mallard really felt in her marriage gives us readers a deeper understanding of the changes in her emoticons as well as explain her happiness.” This shows how you were able to look beyond the literal meaning of this shift in behavior in order to come to a valid conclusion.
Jadal Rivera
ReplyDeleteIn this writer’s story “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, the story documents the complicated reaction of Louise Mallard upon learning of her fake husbands death throughout the rapidly changing emotions of devastation, unexpected relief, and lastly acceptance, readers are able to observe the claim of freedom, no matter the circumstance, being a natural given right that humans will crave even when negated that. The protagonist, Louise Mallard, hears that her husband is dead, and when she discovers that he is alive after all Louise seems to be glad that her husband has died. The story mentions the emotional state Ms. Louise Mallard went through, “She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.”She thinks of Brently's "kind, tender hands" and "the face that had never looked save with love upon her," and she recognizes that she has not finished weeping for him”. Louise may have felt happy of the news of her husbands death but she felt guilt and loves her husband even if it is sometimes the memories and his face brought back the memories which brought guilt towards her. TO summarize everything if t wasn't for the news ms. mallard wouldn't understand the feeling of independence but also not to regret what you have in your life.
Aaliyah Benaine
ReplyDeleteIn Kate Chopins' "The Story of An Hour" the authur dives into how louise Mallard copes after the news of her husbands death. With her emotions confused Mrs Mallard goes through multiple stages before being at peace.At first louise is heart broken after losing the love of her life then she goes through a stage of joy which was mostly portrayed in this story. She is a person who believes that the years ahead of her "belongs" to her therefore a sense of releave eventually arises from her spouses death. Based on the story a claim that can be made is that louise essentially accepts the norms of society and lives her life accordingly and Chopin also successfully portrays this claim of acceptance and freedom as being an essential thing matter the situation.