Preview

Similarities And Differences Between Harrison Bergeron And The Story Of An Hour

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
814 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Similarities And Differences Between Harrison Bergeron And The Story Of An Hour
The two stories that I chose for this first assignment were Harrison Bergeron (pg.198-202) written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.and The Story of an Hour (pg.279-280) written by Kate Chopin. Both stories that I read had 2 very different time periods from each other.
The Story of an Hour was set in 1894 and it was about a woman that has heart problems and had just received news that her husband was dead. She went up into her room and started crying and was called by Josephine, her husband’s friend, to come out or else she would get sick. Louise was crying out that she was free and was thinking about what her future would like now. When she came out she went down the stairs when the door opened and there stood her husband. She had died of heart disease
…show more content…
When looking both the stories there were more similarities than differences. One of the differences was that there was total equality in everything that everyone does and in the other there isn’t. If everyone is equal I believe that there wouldn’t be people with heart diseases in the public and they would be taken away from there home and that would most likely be the case for Louise. A similarity that was in both was the death or disappearance of someone and the reactions after it happened. Harrison was taken from his home and Brently was presumed dead and when this happened the family acted the same. The Bergeron’s cried for their son but quickly forgot the reason and Louise cried but then thought about the freedom that she had now. The problem that occured in The Story of an Hour was set in 1984 but I believe that this could be a case in any time period. Sometimes when someone goes through tough or very joyous occasions and is weak hearted can experience a stroke. They feel overwhelmed with feelings and they can’t control it. The Harrison Bergeron story which is set in 2081 seems to be too far of a stretch. The story was written in 1961 and to them was it was probably a hope they had for the future since around this time many wars had stopped and some were only beginning. If I went back in time to when this was written I would have believed that this could happen. The world would gain peace but even if it did there would always be something that we have given up such as creativity. I do, however, believe that more people like Harrison would try to reverse it and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    “The Story of an Hour,” written by Kate Chopin is a short story that uses the protagonist to show how it was for women of the nineteenth century. While using the oppression of marriage, gender inequality and societal fear of independence, Chopin addresses in her short story the stratification of females in the nineteenth century. Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition where everyone in her family perceives her as weak and feeble. She is told, very carefully, that her husband has been killed in a railroad disaster. She then goes off to be alone in a room to grieve and to think about the information she had just learned.…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “ Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” (Arthur C. Clarke). “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and Anthem by Ayn Rand are both two attempted societies striving for equality and fairness for all. Failing to complete this achievement the two protagonists of these stories revolt against their societies and fight for what’s right. Although “ Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut , Jr. and Anthem by Ayn Rand are both pieces of dystopian literature, their portrayal of technology differs greatly.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Story of an Hour” is structured short and very detailed to portray the emotional journey and realization Mrs. Mallard goes through while in her room. Kate Chopin illustrates the transition Mrs. Mallard undergoes as she stares out the window and observes the "new spring life, a delicious breath of spring rain is in the air, the clouds are parting to show patches of blue sky, and there are even the birds singing the bees" (115). In this moment Mrs. Mallard feels liberated from the chains society expects from her. Realizing she no longer has to love her husband and live her life next to him, she remembers that she is “young, with fair calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (115). As with Sammy, watching the girls break the rules releases his true feelings about his life. He realizes that there exists a life outside of the normal sheep he sees walking in the same direction down the aisle everyday. The thirst for a life that is unknown to them both excites…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The major theme in “Harrison Bergeron” is true equality is not achievable. In the story all the talented characters with an above average intelligence have to put handicaps on in order to make them function in a similar way to the average characters. The intent of this is to make all the characters equal, however, it only makes them stronger and rebel or makes them weaker than average. One instance where the character is made stronger is with Harrison. A prime example of his strength is when “Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper” (Vonnegut, 4). After he rips the harness of he continues to rip the rest of his handicaps off. Even before he does this, he puts himself above all other characters. When the tv announcer…

    • 205 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    ’The Story of an Hour’. 1894. The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers. Ed. Stephen Reid. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson, 2008. Print.…

    • 2044 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Raven” written by Edgar Allan Poe during the 1800’s which was considered the Romantic Era of writing. This story tells of a man mourning over his lost love, Lenore. He was sitting reading to get his mind off his love, but there was a sound from the chamber door. When he goes to check there is nothing. He then discovers the Raven above his door.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    story of an hour poem

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cited: Kate Chopin . “ The Story of an Hour”. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. X. J. Kennedy, Dana Gioia. 12th ed. N.D, 2005.2082-2099. Print…

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Louise Mallard

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Page

    The “Story of an Hour” is based on a woman, Louise Mallard, who suffers from a heart condition. Richard, who is the one who initially found out about the train “incident” at the newspaper office, told Josephine who then broke the news to her sister. Being that Mrs. Mallard has a disability, Josephine was extremely cautious as to how she would break the news to her. After delicately breaking the news to Mrs. Mallard, she immediately requested to be alone. She was filled with so many different emotions, she was indeed sad of the passing of her husband because she did love him. But in the same breath, she didn’t know how to contain her excitement for this new found freedom.…

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Story of an Hour shows an obvious theme, situational irony and symbolism. It all starts when Josephine and Richard tell Louise that her husband has passed away in a terrible train accident, Richard claims to have waited to confirm the death of his friend with a second telegram. Then at the end of the story Bentley is alive and Louise is the one who has passed on.…

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Story of an hour pulls the reader into the mind of a woman realizing her spirit and potential and she can now be what she wants to be- free and independent from her husband. The story is about a women finding out of her husbands death in a train crash. She at first is saddened and then is joyous when she realizes she is now free and may do as she wishes. But at the end her husbands returns, the accounts of his death were not accurate and he returns…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The Story of an Hour” is falsely displayed as an incredibly sad loss of a husband to a good house wife named Mrs. Mallard whose first name is not important enough to become known. Unfortunately, there is more than one side to Mrs. Mallard and the relationship she has with her husband, Bentley Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard supposedly lost her husband she was brainstorming the possibilities of life after the death of her abusive and controlling husband just to be disappointed by the return of her so called, late husband. The return of her husband kills her and leads her to the destructive nature of thinking that she could never be happy unless her husband is buried six feet below the ground. Mrs. Mallard did not have it easy through this emotionally…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    "The Story of an Hour" is about a young woman, Mrs. Mallard, who is trapped in a marriage with a man that she is not in love with because it is what is expected of her. Back then women could not divorce their husbands and were married for life. When Mrs. Mallard was told of the death of her husband she immediately mourned his death, but quickly began to feel happy at the thought of her new life. Mrs. Mallard dreaded that she would be living her entire life for her husband. Women in the nineteenth century put all their time and energy into pleasing their husbands, therefore their dreams and ambitions were pushed aside in order to take of their families. Women also could not get remarried if their husbands passed away. In Mrs. Mallard's case, this was a wonderful thing because she could finally live her life the way she wanted because she no longer had to dote on her husband. Mrs. Mallard loved her husband, but only as a friend. Many marriages in the nineteenth century were arranged for convienence or social status and not for love.…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Many events can happen within an hour whether they be good or bad. However, nothing compares to the hour in which Louise Mallard experienced in Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of An Hour.” Chopin begins her story explaining that Mrs. Mallard suffers from a heart condition; this information, later on, becomes very significant. The news of Brently Mallard’s death comes as a shock to Louise, and she is immediately overcome with sorrow and pain as she mourns her husband’s death. The majority of Chopin’s nineteenth-century short story takes place in the upstairs bedroom that Brently and Louise Mallard shared as a married couple.…

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The beginning of The Story of an Hour introduces a woman named Mrs. Mallard finding out her husband has died in a terrible train crash. She instantly started crying but once got ahold of herself, she walked up to her room alone. “She was beginning to recognize this thing that…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Literature, two short stories that may not seem similar on the surface can be if a deeper look is taken. A comparison can unlock hidden similarities that cannot be seen the first time one reads them. Such similarities have been found in the two short stories “The Story of an Hour” and “The Cask of Amontillado”. Both of these stories contain a parallel use of light and darkness, deceit and trickery, form of irony, presence of evil, and life’s journey.…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays