Preview

“The Story of An Hour” , “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
697 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
“The Story of An Hour” , “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
“The Story of An Hour” written by Kate Chopin and “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce tells us how some people react for certain circumstances. Those stories are different but have something in common. Both of the main characters of the stories had a tragedy in their life but with different circumstances. The end of those stories has something in common which are twisted and unexpected.
In the scenario of “The Story of An Hour” it is very sad news; this very overwhelming scene could very easily knock every one down. The main character, Mrs. Mallard started to react on the news unusually; her husband died in the railroad accident. In the story of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” brings us also sad news about a man who is hanging of the bridge after a being tricked into sabotaging. The main character Peyton Farquhar while the execution is going on, he sees himself escaping. Every one of us has its own story which brings us down but by reading those stories we should learn how to be in control of our emotions and actions. We should never be affectionate before we can be totally convinced that whether good or bad thing took place.
Mrs. Mallard in the story of “The Story of An Hour” suddenly lost her connection with our real world by finding out what occurred to her husband. This is an example how weak some people could be. At one moment our feet are attached to the ground and on the other hand our spirit would be flying somewhere above us and connect with free, peaceful and quiet environment. At this phase some of the people turn off their hearing abilities of real world and they are seeking for a quiet piece of mind where they could totally be left alone without any interference.
Peyton Farquhar in the story of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is also losing his connection with real world by dying hanged on a bridge but his moment when his feet was not attached to the ground was real and his spirit was flying somewhere. He saw himself

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Ambrose Bierce weaves a tale of intrigue and captivation, by using shifts of voice and time in the story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. In the first four paragraphs, Bierce begins the story using third person, and in this point of view, he creates reality. We can view the situation and all aspects while it is written in third person; we know precisely what is going on, we know it is real. Near the end of the fourth paragraph, the author shifts cleverly from third person to limited omniscient. After having us view the story in third person, Bierce transfers from reality, to the main characters' thought processes, having us view Peyton's thoughts and dreams also as reality. "He looked a moment at his "unsteadfast footing," then let his gaze wander to the swirling water of the stream racing madly beneath his feet." (P.67) it is here where Bierce shifts and starts to mislead us, by using Peyton Farquhar's thought processes as a filter. It is a clever shift, because in this moment, we are getting closer to the time of Farquhar's death, and we have previously read reality.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Are men and women today more liberated then they were a century ago? While reading a critical essay about women authors and in particularly the author of “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin, it described the struggles Chopin faced getting people to read her feminist stories “Chopin seems less atypical in her censure of scribbling women” (Thomas) thus concluding that women were less liberated back then than they are currently. My group and I unanimously believe that yes, men and women are much more liberated than they were a century ago. This is true because men and women have more opportunities. Men and women can also fill non-traditional roles. Women can now have jobs instead of being the typical housewife. Also, men are now not required to work, and can be the spouse that stays at home. Most of the boundaries that were in place a century ago no longer apply to either gender. Some examples from “The Story of an Hour” that support the idea that men and women are currently more liberated is when Louis Mallardwas yelled “Free! Body and soul free!” This statement by Louis shows two things. The first one is that when she was married she felt trapped and controlled by her husband. The second one is now that her husband is dead, she realizes how confined she was, and now she feels completely liberated. “Few other stories say so much in so few words” (Berkove). Another example of this from “The Story of an Hour” is when Louis Mallardwas said “No; She was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.” Again, this quote shows that Louis’s husband’s death has released her, and this window is used to symbolize that. Often in literature when a person is looking through a closed window it typically means that the person is, or feels like a spectator to the real world. Oppositely, when Louis is looking through an open window, it shows that she is no longer an observer of the real world, and is now a part of it. In the…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," Ambrose Bierce recreates a few brief seconds of time for a man being executed whose cognition of these seconds is perceived as the better part of a full day. "All that day he traveled…" . "In "The Story of an Hour," Kate Chopin relates a meaning, yet unusual hour of time as the last one lived for a woman who has been given the news of her husband's death in a "railroad disaster". "She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment…" . Both stories are centered on the emotions that occur within the minds of the characters as they live out the last moments of their lives. The narrators reveal the most thoughts of each character.…

    • 1160 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge.” This is the last sentence in the story revealing a shocking twist. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is a short story emphasizing how alive someone feels right before they die. The main character, Farquhar, is being hung and he dreams he is escaping but in reality all the sensations he is seeing, hearing, and feeling associate with being hung. In "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", we learn that the mind can be very deceiving. The author, Ambrose Bierce, deceives the reader by using imagery to describe what Farquhar sees, hears, and feels in those final moments.…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The suspense of “The Story of an Hour” is when her sister tells her in broken up sentences that her husband had passed away in a train excited. Knowing that her husband had passed away, she had felt freedom. Usually when someone's husband or love one had passed away the feel grief or pain, but for her she had felt free from her husband. The irony in the story is when she thinks that her husband had pass way and graceful to have her freedom back, only to find out 60 minutes later that her husband was still alive, taking away the freedom she had felt. I believe that is why the story is called “The Story of an Hour” the story is telling us, what had happened during the hour and what happen happened after the hour she finds out that he was a alive. She had her freedom, but soon after her freedom was taken away and she had died.…

    • 363 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Foreshadow

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Three Strangers” by Thomas Hardy, the structure of these stories paved the way for the surprises in the end to become necessary outcomes of what happened and to become essential factors…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mrs Mallard Oppression

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In The Story of an Hour, the main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard, is given terrible news as she learns her husband has died in a train accident, to which she reacts in an unexpected way; instead of being heartbroken she feels happy, free and as if she has been born again, which is contrary to what any woman should feel were they in her position. The author of the story, Kate Chopin, takes the reader from one end to another when she gives hints on the protagonist's feelings before and after her husband's death, making the clearly identifiable statement that marriage is a way of oppression for women. Though Chopin never states this directly, she implies it when describing Mrs. Mallard and her behaviour, as well as when depicting the setting.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Story of an Hour

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Story of an Hour is a story about a woman who does not grieve, but is overjoyed by having no more husband to hold her back. The author shows throughout the story the feeling and the projected path by using various literary devices such as metaphors and the way they are dictated, as well as tone. These present the story in the way the author meant to, and are present to describe certain emotions, and create different scenes.…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "The Story of an Hour" was written in 1894. From the story, what can you deduce about the role of women in late 19th century society. In your response, consider the character of Mrs. Mallard but also her sister Josephine and the behavior of male characters towards the female characters.…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Story of an Hour

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Central character: Mrs. Mallard- Mrs. Mallard is a dynamic character. She was the wife of Brently Mallard who was assumed to be killed in a train wreck. She was sad her husband was dead, but has an awakening.…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kate Chopin's The Story of the Hour tells the story of one woman's reaction to her husband's supposed death. Her friends treat her as if she is very fragile and will fall apart at the news of her husband's death. However, in private, she is joyful at the opportunity to live her life without him. Her husband though, is not really dead. This realization causes her death. The tone of this story is bittersweet, yet uplifting. Chopin demonstrates this through her use of irony in description, Louise's reaction to her husband's death, and the final line of the story.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Story of an Hour

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Dramatic irony is also used in "The Story of an Hour" through Mrs. Mallard's realization that she is free from her husband and with her death. While Mrs. Mallard was alone in her room she realized that she would no longer be bound to her husband but rather free to do whatever she should choose. However, no one else in the story knew this; they all believed that she was very sad and depressed. Josephine, a woman in the house, even thought Mrs. Mallard was making herself sick. She said, "I beg; open the door—you will make yourself ill” (40) However, Mrs. Mallard was doing quite the opposite by “drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window”…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Story of an Hour Response

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Kate Chopin’s short story titled “The Story of An Hour” focuses on the life-changing events that transpire within an hour in the life of a certain Louise Mallard, before ultimately leading to her demise. The story begins as the news of her husband’s death is broken to Mrs. Mallard, with utmost care, as apparently she suffers from a heart disease.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’ by Ambrose Bierce and ‘The Red Convertible’ by Louise Erdrich both recount sorrowful tales of men during times of war. The stories differ in that ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’ is a story written in reverse, where the readers do not truly know the plot until the end- whereas ‘The Red Convertible’ is just a man recounting the story of his long lost brother. However despite their differences, both of the stories continue to build up hope in the reader only to find nothing but a sorrowful story at the end.…

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” which is a very short story is infused with an immense amount of irony and foreshadowing that somehow hints to the ending of the story before you even get to the first paragraphs end. The main character Mrs. Mallard has a deeply inflicted heart of being the oppressed subject of her husband’s wrath that ironically takes her life at the end of the story.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays