The story by Kate, “The Story of an Hour”, is interesting yet generating fear and sense of confusion. The author uses her characters, and setting in a wise way, in which she is successful in capturing the attention of the reader. This essay critically discusses how setting, characterization and irony contribute to the theme of The Story of an Hour.
The Story of an Hour is associated with the theme of death, grief, happiness, freedom, friendship, family membership, and lack of accuracy in news reporting by the media. These themes are evident throughout The Story of an Hour. In order to support these themes, Kates tend to use different characters, setting, and irony (1).
The main characters that are used to support the theme of The Story of an Hour include Josephine, Mr. Mallard, Mrs. Mallard, and Richard. Richard is a great friend to Mr. Ballard, and therefore, after receiving the news of Mr. Ballard’s death due to the accident, he resolves to console his friend’s family. In this case, he is considered as a responsible friend; he’s also extra careful since he had to confirm his friend’s death via telegram. However, given that Mrs. Mallard has a heart problem, Josphine, who is the sister to Mrs. Mallard, is viewed as the perfect person to deliver the death message to Mrs. Mallard. The way the message is delivered shows that …show more content…
The first irony emerges when the alleged death of Mr. Mallard turns out to be the cause of Mrs. Mallard’s happiness, especially when she thinks about her freedom. The second irony emerges when media fails to report factual information. It is ironical for doctors to pronounce that Mrs. Mallard died of heart disease owing to the joy that kills. The final irony is that Mrs. Mallard freedom was never to be achieved since she died instead of her husband. In conclusion, it is evident that setting, characterization and irony contributed significantly to the theme of The Story of an
The Story of an Hour is associated with the theme of death, grief, happiness, freedom, friendship, family membership, and lack of accuracy in news reporting by the media. These themes are evident throughout The Story of an Hour. In order to support these themes, Kates tend to use different characters, setting, and irony (1).
The main characters that are used to support the theme of The Story of an Hour include Josephine, Mr. Mallard, Mrs. Mallard, and Richard. Richard is a great friend to Mr. Ballard, and therefore, after receiving the news of Mr. Ballard’s death due to the accident, he resolves to console his friend’s family. In this case, he is considered as a responsible friend; he’s also extra careful since he had to confirm his friend’s death via telegram. However, given that Mrs. Mallard has a heart problem, Josphine, who is the sister to Mrs. Mallard, is viewed as the perfect person to deliver the death message to Mrs. Mallard. The way the message is delivered shows that …show more content…
The first irony emerges when the alleged death of Mr. Mallard turns out to be the cause of Mrs. Mallard’s happiness, especially when she thinks about her freedom. The second irony emerges when media fails to report factual information. It is ironical for doctors to pronounce that Mrs. Mallard died of heart disease owing to the joy that kills. The final irony is that Mrs. Mallard freedom was never to be achieved since she died instead of her husband. In conclusion, it is evident that setting, characterization and irony contributed significantly to the theme of The Story of an