The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin and The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf can be compared and contrasted in only a few ways, I believe. Although short stories, both dive deep into the big questions of life. More importantly, they both question the significance of life itself. While The Death of the Moth is showing, at first, the playful and less significant side of life, being swept away by forces much greater than the moth which comes off almost as pathetic. The Story of an Hour starts off by showing the impact that death has on those still living their lives. I would like to compare and contrast between these two stories the significance of life, how perspective plays a part in life, and how inescapable death is.
The Story of an Hour …show more content…
The moth does not know that its life is insignificant, exactly like Mrs. Mallards husband Brently does not realize how insignificant his life is to Louise. The narrator watches the moth, completely captivated by how utterly powerless it is in comparison to everything else. At the same time, realizes the moths power as it flutters around the room from corner to …show more content…
Then it focuses on the moth for longer and realizes its true power. “It was as if someone had taken a tiny bead of pure life and decking it as lightly as possible with down and feathers, had set it dancing and zig zagging to show us the true nature of life.” The more the narrator sees the moth go about without hesitation the more it resembles all of life's power and its endless potential. This is exactly like when Mrs Mallard realizes her potential now that she has been freed.
As the moth flies around the room, it is unaware of its death. It flows with nature and is uninterrupted in its life. As soon as it starts to struggle, it is moving closer to death without it being able to escape it. This is not at all like Mrs. Mallard, her death was abrupt and possibly unavoidable if she had not taken the perspective she had about her husband. Had she not taken that perspective, seeing him walk through the door would have been more of a relief than a shock. When the narrator watched the moth, it was not a shock at all to see the moth eventually die after is long struggle from the window sill. As for Mrs. Mallard and the moth, neither death was inescapable given a long enough timeline.
In conclusion, the moth and Mrs. Mallard had similarities because each had discovered a significance in life that was found from the right perspective. Although neither could escape death. Both stories understood the perspective of
The Story of an Hour …show more content…
The moth does not know that its life is insignificant, exactly like Mrs. Mallards husband Brently does not realize how insignificant his life is to Louise. The narrator watches the moth, completely captivated by how utterly powerless it is in comparison to everything else. At the same time, realizes the moths power as it flutters around the room from corner to …show more content…
Then it focuses on the moth for longer and realizes its true power. “It was as if someone had taken a tiny bead of pure life and decking it as lightly as possible with down and feathers, had set it dancing and zig zagging to show us the true nature of life.” The more the narrator sees the moth go about without hesitation the more it resembles all of life's power and its endless potential. This is exactly like when Mrs Mallard realizes her potential now that she has been freed.
As the moth flies around the room, it is unaware of its death. It flows with nature and is uninterrupted in its life. As soon as it starts to struggle, it is moving closer to death without it being able to escape it. This is not at all like Mrs. Mallard, her death was abrupt and possibly unavoidable if she had not taken the perspective she had about her husband. Had she not taken that perspective, seeing him walk through the door would have been more of a relief than a shock. When the narrator watched the moth, it was not a shock at all to see the moth eventually die after is long struggle from the window sill. As for Mrs. Mallard and the moth, neither death was inescapable given a long enough timeline.
In conclusion, the moth and Mrs. Mallard had similarities because each had discovered a significance in life that was found from the right perspective. Although neither could escape death. Both stories understood the perspective of