There are clear differences between a flat and round character. One of them is, flat characters, such as Mr. Mallard in "The Story of an Hour," are mostly static characters. Flat characters do not change throughout the story, and, thus, they would not be fit to be a protagonist. The protagonist must be able to resolve the conflict of a story. It can be observed that Mr. Mallard is a clat character through the fact that Mr. Mallard does not have a line in the story, and the reader learns nothing about him. While, round characters, such as Mrs. Mallard in "The Story of an Hour," are mostly dynamic characters. This can be seen in the fact that Mrs. Mallard changes throughout the story. Round characters change throughout the story and would be
There are many types of characters in a story. Some are easy to spot while other may be a little harder. Round, flat, static, dynamic and stock are all different types of characters. Round characters are the characters we learn the most about. We learn how they live and every aspect between including their thoughts and what makes them keep going. Flat characters are the ones we learn much of nothing about. This could be the lawn person to the cousin that drops in. These characters help fill in gaps so we can learn more about the round characters. Dynamic characters are usually the ones who experience some type of change in the story. They appear a certain way at the beginning and by the end they have made some type of change in their life good or bad. This change can be a little change such as realizing something was not what they thought to a big change such as a change in their career or marriage. Static characters are those who end with the same attitude and perspective they had at the beginning. These are the ones who show no change and learn nothing during the story.
Written in 1894, “The Story of an Hour” is a story of a woman who, through the erroneously reported death of her husband, experienced true freedom. Both tragic and ironic, the story deals with the boundaries imposed on women by society in the nineteenth century. The author Kate Chopin, like the character in her story, had first-hand experience with the male-dominated society of that time and had experienced the death of her husband at a young age (Internet). The similarity between Kate Chopin and her heroine can only leave us to wonder how much of this story is fiction and how much is personal experience.
Mrs. Mallard and Mrs. Sommers have a fair share of intemperance. Mrs. Mallard has come to the realization that the death of her husband is not only a tragic occurrence, but also a beneficial cutting of her previously binding marital ties. The crisis of her grief has given her new insight on her life, and Mrs. Mallard understands that her marriage has limited her independence and freedom. Due to this realization she immediately forgets about the accident and starts to think about her freedom: ““Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering” (paragraph 14). It is only an hour after Mrs. Mallard has received the bitter news of her husband’s death. Considering that her husband is gone, instead of mourning, she is overwhelmed with the freedom she
An example of a flat character is Carlson because he is a ranch-hand. Carlson complains about Candy’s smelly, old dog and takes the dog out it’s misery. Later George uses his gun to shoot Lennie. He really doesn’t have a big part in Of Mice and Men, causing him to be a flat character.
Candace would be considered a round character. Candace begins the story as a scorned woman who has lost her role in the church, and is making her point by singing over Alma, the one who has taken her place. Her reasons for doing this are given through the span of the work, and when it ends, she has changed and requests for Alma to sing to her before she dies. A flat character does not change, nor do they have much depth.
In Foster’s novel, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, he explains that there are alway two different classifications of characters. The first type of character Foster writes about are flat characters. In definition, flat characters are characters that “lack full development....[,] are more two-dimensional”, are the same throughout the story, and are“static”(Foster 84). Foster’s main claim states that flat characters are implemented to assist the development of the story. The second type of character that Foster writes about is round characters. These characters are typically the center of attention, “three dimensional” (Foster 84), and very complex. Foster attempts to help the reader understand that round characters are
I would say the Homeless Man is a flat character in the story because he is only given one or two trait in the story. He yells out stupid things and sleeps under a mailbox.
Every relationship is not the best relationship because sometimes it is like your trapped and isolated so that makes it harder to adjust and bond. In the story “ The Story Of An Hour” Mrs. Mallard was in an overbearing relationship to where she felt trapped. However, her luck would soon change when she gets terrible news about her husband’s death. Meanwhile, the freedom that she thinks she has at that moment will soon be no more because her husband will not be dead. Furthermore, she will soon lose it once the news is broken to her about Mr. Mallard’s status of health. However, just from that, she will begin losing her sanity and herself all at once. And in the end, will die of a joy that kills or sadness that kills. This relationship can be good or bad because it is not always what the spouse wants (Chopin 720) “The Story Of An Hour” relationships are not for everyone simply because it is a commitment until death and some people aren’t as committed.
Oppression is mental pressure or distress and there is women, men, and racial oppression. At a point in someone’s life, the feeling of being trapped or stuck arise. In The Story of an Hour, a woman gives her own thoughts on marriages and life. She has heart issues and the thought of her husband’s death causes her to trap herself in her room. Now in “Sympathy” , a male figure has his thoughts and similar feelings to a caged bird. In both the story and poem they show oppression in some way. Though these two stories and characters are completely different, they share the same mindset, feeling trapped but one is mentally and the other is physically.
In, “The Story of an hour” by Kate Chopin is about the protagonist achieving her freedom as she has aspirations to become independent; which is her freedom. Through this short story, the protagonist Mrs. Mallard was confined by gender relations through marriage (Lucas). As noted in this short story there is gender inequality presented by both male and female in marriage, as both “believe(d) they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature” (Chopin 204). Furthermore, the quote as mentioned illustrates the gender inequality present in marriage as either male or female enforce their other partner to follow orders and obligations. Thus, because of the inequality in gender relations, confinement is felt by the other partner. Consequently, leading to a lack of aspirations and a feeling of imprisonment felt by the other partner.
In "The story of an Hour," Kate Chopin reveals the complex character, Mrs. Mallard, In a most unusual manner. THe reader is led to believe that her husband has been killed in a railway accident. The other characters in the story are worried about how to break the news to her; they know whe suffers from a heart condition, and they fear for her health. On the surface, the story appears to be about how Mrs. Mallard deals with the news of the death of her husband. On a deeper level, however, the story is about the feeling of intense joy that Mrs. Mallard experiences when she realizes that she is free from the influences of her husband and the consequences of
“The Story of An Hour” focuses on sixty minutes in the life of a young nineteenth-century woman, Mrs. Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard experiences an epiphany about her future without a husband. Her life, due to heart problems, suddenly ends after she unexpectedly finds out her husband is actually alive. Mrs. Mallard’s actions cause the reader to cogitate a hidden meaning weaved into Kate‘s short story. Chopin had an idea that women felt confined in their marriages, and the idea is brought out through the protagonist’s initial reaction, excessive joy, and new perspective of the world following the upsetting news.
What literary device would best be used to describe immense sorrow and grief? The Story of an Hour is a short story about a wife who has heart problems that was grieving for her dead husband and finds out he is not dead and dies from happiness. In the short story The Story of an Hour, The author uses the three literary devices; imagery, metaphor, and personifications to illustrate the wife’s grieving and her happiness.
In the short story, “The Story of an Hour,” author Kate Chopin presents the character of Mrs. Louis Mallard. She is an unhappy woman trapped in her discontented marriage. Unable to assert herself or extricate herself from the relationship, she endures it. The news of the presumed death of her husband comes as a great relief to her, and for a brief moment she experiences the joys of a liberated life from the repressed relationship with her husband. The relief, however, is short lived. The shock of seeing him alive is too much for her bear and she dies. The meaning of life and death take on opposite meaning for Mrs. Mallard in her marriage because she lacked the courage to stand up for herself.
Write a critical analysis of any aspect of "The Story of an Hour" which you found of interest and significance.