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The Similarities Between “the Story of an Hour”

Decent 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. In “The Story of an Hour” light and darkness are portrayed in the description of the surroundings. “There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met piled one above the other in the west facing her window” (Chopin 104). The patches of blue sky that…show more content…
It is ironic that Montresor was without doubt about achieving revenge in the beginning of the story yet almost seemed to regret it in the end. Death is the ultimate presence of evil. In “The Story of an Hour” it comes quickly but it is not the presence of evil used, life is. Mrs. Mallard experienced a roller coaster of emotions, first repression, then grief, joy, freedom, and back to repression. In the last hour of her life, emotionally, she lived more than what seemed her entire life. It was these feelings that led to her death. To dangle freedom in front of a repressed person to only snatch it away, as shown in the story, can be devastating. Death appears in “The Cask of Amontillado” but again it is not the presence of evil used, life is. Fortunato’s quest for life, symbolized by the wine, led to his untimely death. His passion and love for wine allowed Montresor to lure him into the catacombs and to the location that would be his final resting place. In “The Story of an Hour” Mrs. Mallard goes through life’s journey in the last hour of her being. Her entire life of being the proper wife to Brently Mallard and living up to everyone else’s expectations was not meant for her. Mrs. Mallard had an uninhibited spirit and wanted to live her life for only herself and no one else. Consequently in her last moments that is exactly what she did. She went to her room to soak up her newly
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