English Composition

English Composition Study Guide of 84 is gone and she is free to live “days that would be her own.” The symbolism in the scene as Louise Mallard sits before the open window contemplating her new life gives readers a genuine insight into the powerful themes of freedom and independence present in the short story. Chopin also uses irony to develop themes revolving around love and marriage in her short story. At the start of the story readers learn Louise Mallard “was afflicted with heart trouble” as everyone works to avoid upsetting her too greatly and jeopardizing her health. As hearts generally symbolize love, the irony in the heart condition is that Louise’s heart isn’t too weak to handle the sad news. In contrast, “her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.” While people are worried the news will cause her weakened heart to give out, the irony exists in that Louise’s heart beats stronger and more powerfully as she digests the end of her marriage. While Louise doesn’t describe her marriage as particularly bad, readers see that Chopin hints that marriage can be oppressive and restrictive, especially those in the late 1800s before women had similar rights and opportunities as men. Perhaps the greatest irony of all exists at the conclusion of the story when it all turns out to be a mistake as Brently Mallard walks in the door, having been far from the scene of the accident. It is in this moment that Louise sees her husband and dies instantly. Doctors later attribute her death to her heart condition, saying she died from “the joy that kills.” The assumption is that Louise was overjoyed at seeing her husband alive, while readers know through the use of dramatic irony that it was really the distress over being stuck back into the restrictive married life that caused her heart to fail. This use of irony through the heart condition at multiple points in the story further helps the reader to understand Chopin’s themes. Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” pushes readers to explore powerful themes of freedom and independence, along with the connection between love and marriage. With the use of strong symbolism as the protagonist digests the change that has just occurred in her life, and the overwhelming irony as the others in the story show great concern for a serious heart condition, readers are able to further understand and explore these themes present in the short story. Strong Response Analysis: The essay begins with a hook, bridge, and thesis. This provides the reader with some context on the topic before transitioning into the thesis statement. The thesis is strong, and clearly outlines what the body paragraphs will be about. Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence that connects back to the thesis statement. The body paragraphs each use multiple examples from the text, giving the reader plenty of support to prove the points outlined in the thesis. After each example from the short story, the writing includes two to three sentences of analysis to clearly outline for the reader how the example from the text is further proving the writer’s point. This explanation and analysis after a text example is the most important part of the essay, and the author does a good job of making sure there is more than just a sentence of analysis after each example. The last sentence of each body paragraph is a conclusion sentence, which wraps up the body paragraph. The concluding paragraph of the essay restates the main points of the thesis statement, and reiterates points outlined in the essay. It is not a copy of the first paragraph and thesis statement, but a new way to present the ideas. While the essay is only four paragraphs in length, it provides several citations from the short story within each body paragraph and has explanations that are multiple sentences long. The author provides plenty of support to prove the ideas outlined in the thesis. ©2018 Achieve Page 66