Comparison of “The Story of an Hour” & “A&P”

There are two short stories that readers can compare the characters, which are “The Story of an Hour” and “A&P”. The comparison of both stories is quite unique. There stories have a surprise ending that grabs the readers attention. At the end of the stories the reader is left in wonder on what happened next or what will happen next. The main characters in both these stories are motivated by unhappiness.
“The Story of an Hour” is about a woman named Mrs. Mallard who finds out that her husband was killed in a train accident. In paragraph three it states that Mrs. Mallard “wept with sudden abandonment”. Some other characters in this story are Brantley Mallard, Mrs. Mallard’s supposedly dead husband, and Josephine, who told Mrs. Mallard of her husbands death and who is also Mrs. Mallard’s sister. In this story, the characters do not know everything the reader knows. For instance, the family thinks Mrs. Mallard is crying from pain, when the reader knows the whole time that Mrs. Mallard is crying out of joy instead. In addition, the characters think she died from “the joy that kills” but the reader knows she died from the despair of her husband’s return. It is ironic that Mrs. Mallard wanted her husband to die and when she thought he did she was finally happy, then when Mr. Mallard returned home, Mrs. Mallard died of despair.
“A&P” is a story that is coming of age, meaning that when a person grows up he or she must take on responsibilities. There are many characters in “A&P”. The main character is Sammy. Sammy works in the A&P grocery store as a cashier. Mr. Lengal is the store manager, and the last characters are the three girls whom Sammy quits his job. “A&P” is about a guy who is attracted to these three rich girls who walk into the store. The reader believes the girls are from a rich community because they are looking for a jar of Fancy Herring snacks. The three girls leave when Mr. Lengal tells them to be... [continues]

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