Plot-and-Irony-Analysis-of-the-story-of-an-hour

1、Plot and Irony Analysis of the story of an hour Abstract: Kate Chopin is the most important woman writer in America during 19 century. A story of an hour is the high-quality one among her short story. The most important writing skill in the story is irony. In this paper, through analysis the irony s

2、kill in the story to resolute how the author expression the ignore to the value of woman and bound of the freedom of woman by the means of artistic expression of irony and so on.Key words: irony self-awareness an story of an hourOutline: part 1:what is the irony Part 2: Plot analysis of the story Pa

3、rt 3: irony analysis of the story Part 4: setting and characterization analysis of the story What is irony?Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions. There

4、is presently no accepted method for textually indicating irony, though an irony (punctuation) mark has been proposed. In the 1580s Henry Denham introduced a rhetorical question mark or percontation point which looks like a reversed question mark. This mark was also proposed by the French poet Marcel

5、 Bernhardt at the end of the 19th century to indicate irony or sarcasm.Ironic statements (verbal irony) are statements that imply a meaning in opposition to their literal meaning. A situation is often said to be ironic (situational irony) if the actions taken have an effect exactly opposite from wha

6、t was intended. The discordance of verbal irony may be deliberately created as a means of communication (as in art or rhetoric). Descriptions or depictions of situational irony, whether in fiction or in non-fiction, serves the communicative function of sharpening or highlighting certain discordant f

7、eatures of reality. Verbal and situational irony are often used for emphasis in the assertion of a truth. The ironic form of simile, used in sarcasm, and some forms of litotes emphasize ones meaning by the deliberate use of language which states the opposite of the truth or drastically and obviously

8、 understates a factual connection. Plot of the storyThe short story describes the series of emotions Louise Mallard endures after hearing of the death of her husband, who was believed to have died in a railroad disaster. Mrs. Mallard suffers from heart problems and therefore her sister attempts to i

9、nform her of the horrific news in a gentle way. Mrs. Mallard locks herself in her room to immediately mourn the loss of her husband. However, she begins to feel an unexpected sense of exhilaration. Free! Body and soul free! is what she believes is a benefit of his death. At the end of the story, it

10、is made known that her husband was not involved in the railroad disaster and upon his return home Mrs. Mallard suddenly dies. The cause of her death is ambiguous and left for analysis as it can range from her known heart problems to psychological factors. We can ask ourselves if the real reason for

11、the death was knowing that she wouldnt be free after she sees that her husband isnt really dead. Initial SituationMrs. Mallard has a weak heartThis is the setup we need to know for all the events to come, as well as being a piece of characterization. The fact that Mrs. Mallard has a weak heart chang

12、es the way everybody has to behave to her. She has to be handled gently so that her heart doesnt get a shock. Just in case we forget, should she get a shock at any point, she could die. This results in instant and constant dramatic tension.ConflictMr. Mallard dies and Mrs. Mallards friends have to b

13、reak the news to her gently.Not only has her husband died, Mrs. Mallard could very well die too upon hearing the news. His death puts them both in danger. Mrs. Mallards friends have to take special care in letting her know what happened so that she doesnt die also.ComplicationMrs. Mallard mourns and

14、 tries to deal with her unusual feelings.In the case of this story, the complication stage itself embodies the idea of complicated. Well explain: Mrs. Mallard complicates the traditional or expected reaction of a widow to a husbands death by reacting in a totally unusual way. Instead of refusing to

15、believe the news or take it in, she instantly grasps it and cries her eyes out, before going off to be alone. All this is meant to show us that shes an unusual widow, and it prepares us for the climax to follow.ClimaxMrs. Mallard declares that she is free.Mrs. Mallard struggles with her grief, and t

16、hen also struggles with a piece of new knowledge coming at her. She tries to avoid it, but cant completely push it off. Finally, she succumbs to the realization that she is free, and that shes glad. After the tragedy of hearing such bad news, and managing such changing emotions of grief and abandonm

17、ent, Mrs. Mallard is so overwhelmed by her feeling of freedom that she can barely whisper.SuspenseMrs. Mallard comes out of her room, meets her sister, and starts to go down the stairs. Mrs. Mallard floats out of her room on the crest of Victory, feeling like shes conquered her sadness, her non-sadn

18、ess, and her new desire for freedom. She sweeps out of her room like a new person, stronger for her grief, and excited about her life ahead. Shes almost high with all the emotion and adrenaline floating about her as she keeps fixating on the idea that shes free at last.Denouement(Resolution)Mrs. Mal

19、lard walks in, far from dead, shocking everyone.Suddenly, a totally unexpected thing happens: Mr. Mallard comes home. Everyones shocked, except Mr. Mallard, who has no idea of whats been going on. Even though Josephine and Richards are surprised too, they try to keep Mrs. Mallard from receiving the

20、shock. But they cant. As if getting a shock wouldnt be hard enough on her heart, shes got all these emotions and excitement about freedom running through her body.ConclusionMrs. Mallard died of joy.We readers have to piece together the fact that Mrs. Mallard has died based on what we know about her

21、(the weak heart), her shock on seeing Mr. Mallard, and the narrators dry statement that Richards couldnt prevent her new shock. Between that and the doctors explanation for her death, we realize that Mrs. Mallard has passed away. Unlike her husbands death in the train accident, theres no room for er

22、ror or miscommunication there. She cant return. The events foreshadowed in the Initial Situation have come true.Irony Analysis of the storyDark irony plays a major role in The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin.In the Story, there are many moments when Chopinscraftof writing feeds the irony of the stor

23、y. One perfect example, assure himself of its truth by a secondtelegram (772). This sentence subdued me into believing that Mrs. Mallards husband was dead, when in fact, we learn that he never died. In addition, Mrs. Mallard is a woman with a strong sense of passion and detest. In the end, she dies

24、by the nature of story.Chopin brings a style of writing that has irony. In the beginning of the story, Chopins introduces you to the heart trouble that afflicts Mrs. Mallard. Her condition is significant later because thisailmentdrives the story. However, the notion of thisheart conditioncan be over

25、looked as being meaningless. Many readers could argue that thisheart conditionforeshadowed the climax of the story instantaneously but it does not. In the end of the story, we realize the significance of her sickness. It was a clever way to secretly introduce the weakness that ends Mrs. Mallards lif

26、e. Another, well deceptive measure used by Chopins was to suggest that Mr. Mallard had died. In paragraph 2, Mr. Mallards friend, Richards, confirmed twice that such allegations were in fact true (772). At that moment, I conceived that Mr. Mallard was dead. There was no other clue to believe otherwi

27、se and it was one of the strongest signs delivered in the story, because it left you unprepared for what was to come in the end.When Chopin wrote, She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sisters arms, I felt her sense of passion and emotional attachment to her husband (772).Mrs. Mall

28、ard also opposed her husband as much as she cared for him. For a women being ill, and just being notified of her husband death, its awkward to read how she describes the surroundings while in her room. She describes the tops of trees being, all aquiver with the new spring life, and the air being fil

29、led with, delicious breath of rain (772). What all this symbolizes is a new beginning for Mrs. Mallard. At this particular moment in the story, it is a little elusive to make that judgment, however, in paragraph 11 it is very easy to ascertain. When Mrs. Mallard says, Free, free, free!, it is very c

30、lear that Mrs. Mallard has come to an understanding that shes free from herunhappy marriage(772); But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome. (772-773).There is also evidence

31、provided in the text that tells us Mrs. Mallard was living a Victorian life giving me a reason to understand why she did not remorse like I would expect. There would be no powerful will bending hers in thatblindpersistence. (773). IntheVictorian era, women were seen as weak, helpless and incapable o

32、f making decision. Their focus was to tend to the house andcare for the children. Mrs. Mallard was living that lifestyle which was the cause of her negative outlook on life and her joy for her husbands death.Sadly, Mrs. Mallard was destined to die. Throughout the story, Mrs. Mallard resentment for l

33、ife is made clear. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long and And yet she had loved him-sometimes. Often she had not. (773). All of this attest to the conclusion that Mrs. Mallard dreaded her life. She did not love her husband and she look down on the possibilit

34、y of a long life. Itall moviesthe bad guy never comes out victorious and Chopins was not going to let that happen in this story. Mrs. Mallards death only made sense.What is amusing about this story is what is stated in the last line of the story, When the doctors came they said she had died of heart

35、 disease-of joy that kills (773). Mrs. Mallard, who was joyful of being liberated, has a heart attack after theshockingrealization that her husband was alive. Mrs. Mallards death was inevitable by the course of the story but its ironic knowing that her enjoyment of her husbands death lead to the fatal reaction to him being alive.Setting and characterization analysis of the storySetting is the time and place that a story takes place. This story takes place in the 1900s in Mrs. Mallards house with Louise, Josephine and Richard. T