The Story of an Hour and A Pair of Silk Stockings Essay example

Realism is a combination of literary technique used to create the text. In Realism, everything is real, meaning it only focuses on the cold, hard truths of life. Realism is very detailed, and everything in the story, for example, events, places, and characters are common place. I believe Realism could be the cruelest form of writing because of the way it focuses on the mind and its reaction and its abnormalities.

Kate Chopin was a fearless and bold author because her work are famous for her open-minded representation of female characters. She lived in a time period where society did not allow women to really have a say in anything and were not allowed to be independent. Chopin was an American author of short stories and novels and her well-known works are The Awakening, “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour”. Chopin is considered as a role model to women who were faced with society’s restrictions and just wanted to be free. The Awakening by Kate Chopin was about the character Edna trying to find her independence but society restrictions would get in the way.

Often fact and fiction intermix in stories because writer’s base their stories of real life experiences and feelings. Kate Chopin largely based her stories off of her own life. Kate Chopin spent her childhood years in an alternative and matriarchal Louisiana town with a family that was unconventional. She challenged her nineteenth century sexist society and used her own life to put strength and feminism into her stories like “The Storm”, “Desiree’s Baby” and of course “The Story of an Hour”. She lived with her mother, grandmother and great grandmother who were all widows. She was one of three sisters but the other two died very young. Her father Thomas O’Flaherty was killed in a train wreck in 1855. She was married by June 1870 to Oscar Chopin but in 1882 he died unexpectedly from a fever. Then 15 years later her mother dies as well (According to Jasdomin Rolento, Pace University, May 5, 2008). She had been around death for a large sum of her life and this largely impacted her stories like “The Story of an Hour”, “The Storm” and “Desiree’s Baby”.

Realism can be defined as view in which the author tries to depict life as truthfully and accurately as possible. The use of realistic or lifelike settings described by the author or narrated by a character, add a layer of realism to the story, even if the story itself is fictitious. The characters themselves are often portrayed as believable as possible, to the point that the character being described could actually exist; they are often depicted as very average people, void of extreme wealth, influence, or astounding abilities. The reason characters and settings are often

Realism is the art of exposing the hardcore truth in a form of literature while keeping it creative in its fashion. Realism, in itself is a type of literature I am the fondest of because although the truth hurts sometimes, it will always be better than a sweet lie. Most of the literary realism I have experienced has worked hand in hand with romantics as it exposes the truth behind marriages in the 18th and 19th centuries. Two stories I have read that stood out the most to me on the grounds of literary realism are: Editha by William Dean Howells and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

The reader can almost know her on a personal level just by reading her stories and this paper. Kate Chopin most certainly has her own pattern and style to writing her stories. Kate Chopin’s story Desiree’s baby shows some of society’s problems today such as racism for example. The world still experiences problems with race. One can make many connections to this story, her style, and today’s society. A reader will also notice lots of irony and today many people observe ironic situations such as our presidential situation. A president is supposed to be someone who the nation looks to got guidance, but a lot of the country hates our president instead of falling in behind him in world

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first” (Mark Twain). Realism is a faithful representation of reality that isn’t swayed by unconscious bias or idealistic aims. Realism arose in literature from the period of the civil war where authors showed more truthiness in their writings (Campbell). Jack London and Mark Twain convey the theme that humans have faults through their different styles of writing in their works, “To Build a Fire” and “The Lowest Animal”.

Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, tells the reactions of a woman who believes she is now widowed. Although the reader would expect Mrs. Louise Mallard to experience only grief and despair, the author hints to the idea that Mrs. Mallard now feels free. Unlike the many other women who have heard the same story, Mrs. Mallard did not react to the news about the death of her husband “with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance.” (15). However, Mrs. Mallard’s grief overtook causing her to weep immediately. Weeping is a reoccurring motif throughout the short story. The motif can be interpreted as either a sense of grief for the death of a spouse, or a sense of relief that Mrs. Mallard is finally free of a binding marriage.

Who is Kate Chopin exactly? Notably, people acknowledge Chopin for her novel “The Awakening”, in which she is vocal about women gaining independence, but society did not particularly like her vocalizing her opinion. Hence, Chopin was a feminist, who wrote short stories and some novels. “The Story of an Hour” written by Chopin is an exhibition of a woman coming into her own independence. Chopin wrote this poem around a time when women were inferior to men, although Chopin’s message is clearly heard throughout the poem. In particular, Mrs. Mallard is the main character in “The Story of an Hour”, and she is waiting for the moment that she will have the privilege as a woman. Knowingly, when Mrs. Mallard got married, she lost her identity, represented by the open window, her name, and heart trouble, which are symbols of her newfound freedom.

Kate Chopin’s early life had a great deal of trauma. She was born in 1850 and by the time she was 5, her father was killed in a railroad accident. In 1863 her beloved French-speaking great grandmother died. Kate spent the Civil War in post-bellum St. Louis, a city where residents were in support of both the Union and the Confederacy. Her half brother enlisted in the Confederate army, was captured by Union forces, and died of typhoid fever. In 1882 her beloved husband Oscar Chopin died of malaria leaving Chopin as a widow by the early age of 32. The premature death of Chopin’s husband was the catalyst for her professional writing career as she had no other means to support her family of eight. It is perhaps fair to say that premature deaths of the those close to Chopin forced her to live a life of longing which is perhaps why she can so excellently capture the feeling within her writing.

    Kate Chopin was an extraordinary writer of the nineteenth century. Despite failure to receive positive critical response, she became one of the most powerful and controversial writers of her time. She dared to write her thoughts on topics considered radical: the institution of marriage and women's desire for social, economic, and political equality. With a focus on the reality of relationships between men and women, she draws stunning and intelligent characters in a rich and bold writing style that was not accepted because it was so far ahead of its time. She risked her reputation by creating female heroines as independent women who wish to receive sexual and emotional fulfillment,

Realism, in contrast to Romanticism, represents the reality of life in America. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, America experienced enormous industrial, economic, social, and cultural change. Realism focuses on showing everyday activities and events among the middle and lower class society without romantic ideas. In the early 20th century people started to pull away from fantasy and started focusing on the reality around them. Realism emphasises on truth, class, and social commentary.

Her life, just undergoing too much loss as well as facing many difficult situations has made her become stronger and improve her thinking. “The Great Storm of 1893, which destroyed places — Grande Isle and Cheniere Caminada — that were important to Kate Chopin, might well have focused for her just those kinds of losses: the loss of places saturated in memory, the destruction of which prohibits any hope of return or recovery.” (Ewell, 4) The series of unfortunate events help her develop her own ideas and helps her becomes of the greatest American feminist movement writers. Chopin encourages people to follow their hearts and to be a free-spirited person to have a better live. Chopin married when she was very young and she did not have enough time to enjoy her life, especially with six kids. She feels tired, and also experienced that there were no equal rights for men and women, and the fact that women had to be dependent from their husbands bothered her. Chopin want to live her own life, where she can marry the person she loves and has children when she wants, and she knows many women out there willing to do the same thing. But many women are feared what society, friends and family may think of them if they were dominant and lived life in a way that describes their personal character. In reality, what if Chopin could have lived to see the end of the 20th century, there is no doubt that she would have felt happy because her effort has made a big impact the world

Realism was founded on the concept of studying life and society as accurately as possible

Kate Chopin was a famous American author of many short stories and novels. Chopin is now considered to have been a predecessor of the feminist movement and a leader of the feminist authors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kate Chopin lived a rather traditional life as a housewife until her husband’s untimely death, which significantly changed the course of her life. Chopin 's career as a writer actually began when she started facing financial struggles due to the death of her husband. Chopin’s mother persuaded her to move back to St. Louis, but unfortunately she passed away soon after, which left Chopin alone and helpless once again. Chopin was actually told by a family friend and obstetrician that writing might help her fight her state of depression as it was a good source of therapeutic healing, while at the same time it gave her a way to focus her energy on something else and provide her with a source of income. Chopin was a very talented and creative writer when it came to her short stories. Chopin’s stories were not only refreshing during a time when women were still being oppressed by the pressure of societal norms, but they were also eye-openers and challenged the gender roles of her generation.