Literary Devises Used by Kate Chopin in The Story of an Hour and the Storm - Essay Example

?Adenike Adebisi Muriel Lange English 1102 Research Paper 7 July Literary Devises used by Kate Chopin in "The story of an Hour" and "The Storm" Introduction: Katherine O’Flaherty, a prominent author who wielded her pen to give voice to the feminist cause, was born on 8th February 1850 in Missouri, United States. She was mostly brought up in a matriarchal environment cultivated by her great grandmother, grandmother and mother. She lost male figures of her family in her early childhood and this has prevented her from being a prey of the patriarchal society that existed in that era. Marriage brought with it the name ‘Kate Chopin,’ which is how she is popularly known among people all over the world. It is true that she used her stories as a medium to communicate her feelings and thoughts like other writers, however, her writings were also a way for her to vent out her depression, which she suffered as a result of loss of her family members, especially the death of her mother and husband. Thus, the nineteenth century feminist author, Kate Chopin, uses various literary devices such as imagery, irony, metaphor, simile, symbolism etc in her works ‘The Storm’ and ‘The Story of an Hour,’ in order to achieve a perfection in the art of her storytelling as well as to guide her readers into the world of her fictional characters, and on a deeper level, to convey to the mass audience the internal strife and struggles in the minds of the women kept suppressed by themselves in the patriarchal society they lived in. The Storm and The Story of an Hour are two of Kate Chopin’s best short stories, where the former portrays the central female character Calixta taking on a ‘supposedly’ immoral role of nurturing an extra marital affair with an old friend, and the latter depicts the protagonist Mrs. Mallard’s “dramatic hour of awakening into selfhood” (Jamil 215). Chopin beautifully illustrates both the stories using various literary devices, which not only show the mastery of the art of storytelling by the author but also make it much easier for the readers to understand exactly what the author wanted to convey. Basically, among the two stories, The Story of an Hour is more popular and this is so because of not just the storyline but also how the whole story falls into place, especially with the use of palpable literary devices such as foreshadowing, irony, imagery etc. In the beginning of the story, Chopin starts with throwing a clue to the readers about her protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, suffering from “heart trouble,” which depicts the technique of foreshadowing (Evans). Had not Chopin mentioned the heart problem of Mrs. Mallard before, the story would crumble apart without any real connection and the protagonist’s death at the end cannot be justified at all. Thus, with the help of foreshadowing, the author hints her readers of an even that may happen further on in the story, as with people who suffer from heart problems, it is really difficult to say when they would get a stroke. Although Mrs. Mallard feels upset and cries at the news of her husband’s death, she soon goes to her room and locks herself up. While her sister, Josephine, thinks she is trying to make herself ill, the protagonist is actually under the trance of her new found freedom, one where she is no longer under the control of her husband. Thus, with the use of irony by way of Josephine’s concern for Louise Mallard, Chopin emphasizes more on profound joy and sense of relief that Louise now feels at the terrible news. It is this sense of freedom which enables Louise to drink a “very elixir of life” at the time, whereas both her sister and her husband’s friend, Richard, think she is in total despair and is drowned in misery due to her husband’s death (Deneau 210). So the readers first see that contrary to women’s usual reaction to their husband’s deaths, Louise does not go into denial or, as the author states, a “paralyzed inability to accept its signi?cance,” rather, she accepts it and starts weeping “at once, with sudden, wild abandonment” (Chopin 2010). Therefore this is the first irony the author introduces to the readers and the second one takes form when Louise is shown to experience “monstrous joy” once she lets her emotions take control of her or rather, once she accepts her real emotions and feelings (2010). She knows it is forbidden for her to feel that way at the passage of her husband, however, she eventually succumbs to the feeling and embraces it in all its force and intensity. The biggest irony is revealed in the end when Louise dies with the shock of seeing her husband in front of her eyes, and the doctors reason that she died of “heart disease—of joy that kills” (2010). Though the readers know that Mrs. Mallard actually died because of the overwhelming sadness that washed over her on seeing her husband, the doctors think that it was her happiness to see her husband back alive that killed her. With the way Louise’s series of feelings towards the death of her husband have been portrayed, one can understand that the doctors were wrong in their judgment as she did not die from joy but from sadness or the feeling of captivity which she had been experiencing throughout her life after marriage. With the death of her husband, she realizes that she no longer has to live for him or do things according to his will, however, soon her short lived joy and sense of awakening are lost under the shock of seeing her husband alive. Thus, it transpires that Louise Mallard died out of the opposite cause as to the diagnosis of the doctors, which indeed proves to be the best example in this story. Therefore, with the use of irony the author tries to put more emphasis on the facts she wants to present, as telling the opposite of things helps make comparisons and also the readers start to think in a deeper way. Chopin further uses literary devices such as simile, metaphor and imagery in order to provide more vivid descriptions for the readers so that they can picture the scenes in their minds. Examples of such devices are seen when the protagonist looks out her window and watches the spring scene, that is, “the tops of trees… facing her window” (Chopin 2010). Here, the author deftly showcases the technique of imagery talking about the clouds and patches of blue sky and she provides not only visual insight into the scene but also kindles the sense of hearing of the readers when she states the twittering of sparrows and also the sound of someone singing. The phrase the “delicious breath of rain” is an example of metaphor and also personification, and on the whole, the spring scene is a total contrast to what Louise is feeling, thus the pure irony behind these lines is palpable (2010). Furthermore, the author describes Louise’s sense of awakening as “too subtle and elusive” and that it was “creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her,” thus again rendering the quality of personification to her sense of freedom (2010). Kate Chopin thus establishes sync with the feelings and emotions of females of her time, as they all suppressed their desires and wants so that they could devote their lives to their husbands. While the love they had for their husbands might have encouraged them to do so, the fact still remains that they were greatly forced to give up and forget their wants for the sake of their husbands. Kate Chopin’s The Storm is an exceptional short story that portrays the saga of a woman who comes to terms with her desire when a storm takes place. The storm is not only the title of the story but is also the basic concept on which the whole narrative is built. One of the outstanding literary devices Chopin uses in this story is the ‘storm,’ as it is both physical, but apart from that, it reflects the inner conflict that Calixta faces. It is a metaphor that takes form of Calixta’s internal struggles and emotional crisis between which she is torn apart. A prominent American writer, Judy Brady, discusses in her essay ‘Why I Want a Wife,’ that a wife is not supposed to have any extra martial affairs and that she is supposed to be faithful to her husband at all times, however, the husband can keep relation with other women if he likes and can leave his wife for them if he wants. This is exactly what echoed in the patriarchal society that Kate Chopin lived in and it is this issue that she challenges in The Storm. She portrays the main character, Calixta, not only having an extra marital affair, but also getting away with it. After that particular incident where Calixta spends time with her old friend, Alcee, both of their behaviors and states of mind change for the better, and further they start loving and respecting their respective families more than before. The story ends with everyone being happy and the metaphorical storm passing away. Chopin adorns this story with her descriptive diction not only for the beauty or success of the story but further to help the readers visualize things as they take place in her mind. This is seen when she personifies the storm saying that “it shook the wooden store,” her description of sweat on Calixta’s face - “perspiration gathered in beads” and also the imagery she presents in describing Calixta as in the eyes of Alcee -“her blue eyes …her ears and temples” (Chopin 2013). Chopin uses simile when she writes “her lips were as red and moist as pomegranate seed,” “her firm, elastic flesh… like a creamy lily,” “her passion…was like a white flame” and “his heart beating like a hammer upon her.” The author deftly illustrates the use of metaphor in “her mouth was a fountain of delight,” “green world into a palace of gems,” “embodiment of serious solicitude” etc (2013). Chopin further personifies the rain and lightning when she says the “rain was coming down in sheets… and enveloping the distant wood in a gray mist” and the “playing of the lightning was incessant” (2013). Therefore, the author uses various literary devices in the story to pique the interest of the readers and also provide them a better sense of the events taking place in the narrative. Comparing both the short stories, a lot of critics and common readers alike may believe that The Story of an Hour dominates The Storm due to its absolute unexpected twists and turn of events, however, I believe that both stories have their own qualities and that both are powerful in their own characteristic way. Where the former is filled with irony and unpredictable experiences, the latter is a conscious effort to bring to surface the stowed away feelings and desires that women may hold in their hearts. Both the stories raise a voice towards the feminist cause and try to challenge the patriarchal role the society played during that era. The common use of literary device in both the stories may be the metaphorical use of storm, as one story basically revolves around the storm, whereas the other one also speaks of a similar metaphor which is seen through the phrase “the storm of grief” (Shen 118). She uses this term in order to portray the emotional state of mind in which her characters are, and as it transpires, one can see that she has been successful in reaching out to the hearts of her readers through the usage of such literary devices. Conclusion: The paper at hand first gives a short biography about the nineteenth century feminist writer Kate Chopin and explains why she started writing. The main purpose of the paper is to analyze Kate Chopin’s short stories The Story of an Hour and The Storm, and discuss the various literary devices employed by the author in both the stories and why she uses them. Thus, it transpires that she uses the devices not only to add beauty to her writing but also to make the readers understand her narrative better. Furthermore, Chopin wishes to bring across her characters as more prominent and understandable, and this she achieves through the use of irony, simile, metaphor etc. The paper further provides an interpretation of both stories along with comparing both stories in terms of their literary context. It explores the characteristics of both the stories individually and explains why each story is powerful and how it worked towards surfacing the situations experienced by women under the patriarchal society of that era. Therefore, on analysis of the stories, it becomes clear that Kate Chopin utilizes different literary devices in her stories to not only make her narratives more appealing but also to render a better perspective to the readers and help them understand the characters on a deeper level. Annotated Bibliography Chopin, Kate. "The Storm." Reading Literature and Writing Argument. Ed. Missy James and Alan P Merickel.5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2013. 395-98. Print. The book discusses different writings by numerous authors among which is Kate Chopin. It contains works such as poems, fictions and non fictions. Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour."Literature: An introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Giona. 6th Compact ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 316-18. Print. The book discusses different writings by numerous authors among which is Kate Chopin. It contains works such as poems, fictions and non fictions. Deneau, Daniel P. "Chopin's THE STORY OF AN HOUR."Explicator 61.4 (2003): 210-213. Academic Search Complete.Web. 8 July 2013. The article analyzes and debates on the short story "The Story of an Hour," by KateChopin. As well as attempts to account for the direct cause of the awakening of character Louise Mallard which is the criticism on the story. Evans, Robert C. "Literary Contexts In Short Stories: Kate Chopin's "The Story Of An Hour." Literary Contexts In Short Stories: Kate Chopin's 'The Story Of An Hour' (2006): 1. Literary Reference Center.Web. 8 July 2013. The literary criticism essay provides a plot summary of the novel and contextualizes the content through an exploration of historical, religious, scientific & technological advances, such as the train and telegraph, societal and biographical information. As well as the societal advances, such as urbanization and the emancipation of women. Jamil, S. Selina. "Emotions In The Story Of An Hour." Explicator 67.3 (2009): 215-220. Academic Search Complete.Web. 8 July 2013. The article presents a literary criticism of the short story "The Story of an Hour. Details are given outlining the various ways in which emotions play a central role in the story. The revelatory change which happens to the story's main character Mrs. Mallard is analyzed, pointing out its instigation by the victory of emotions over rationality. Shen, Dan. "Non-Ironic Turning Ironic Contextually: Multiple Context-Determined Irony In “The Story Of An Hour”." Journal Of Literary Semantics 38.2 (2009): 115-130. Academic Search Complete.Web. 8 July 2013. This article defines and discusses context-determined irony and how it generates more tension in the co-existence of the conventionally positive meaning and the contextually determined ironic meaning. Trail, George Y. "Woman's Work—Where The Rhetoric Meets The Road: Reader Response To “Why I Want A Wife” At 30." Journal Of American Culture 26.3 (2003): 356-360. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 July 2013. This article explores the feminist work of Judy Brady ‘Why I Want a Wife,’ and explains about the various rhetorical devices used. The paper makes a reference to this work in the context of the patriarchal society Kate Chopin worked in, thus this source proves to be relevant. Read More