Story Of An Hour And The Interlopers Comparison Essay

How important are the traits of a character, and what separates it from others? How can death, even though it seems like the end, become the beginning? Although similarities are found in the characters, suspense, and death in the short stories, “The Interlopers” (written by Saki), and “The Story of An Hour” (written by Kate Choplin), differences are also noticeable. The characters of “The Story of An Hour” and “The Interlopers” are alike, yet their differences are hardly avoidable. In “The Story of An Hour,” Mrs. Mallad who was afflicted with a heart trouble, had just received the devastating news of her husband's death. She reacted to it calmly and isolated herself, but in “The Interlopers,” Ulrich von Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym, after generations of feuding over property ownership, continued to quarrel and keep up the fight. Although both characters faced trials in their life, they reacted to it in different ways. This is only one example of differences and similarities. Later on in the stories, all three characters overcome …show more content…
As is quoted from “The Story of An Hour,” “It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing.” This sets up for the rest of the story the mood of suspense. “ Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.” Here, Mrs. Mallad is contemplating her husband's death, but the author continued the feeling of suspense even through this heartbreaking moment. In “The Interlopers,” the woods are described by Saki as “there was movement and unrest among the creatures that were wont to sleep through the dark hours.” Automatically, the reader feels a chill from the level of suspense. As the stories draw to a close, one can easily see the reason for the apprehension. In each story, suspense is clearly visible, but for different