Story of an Hour
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After reading the two interestingly ironic stories of “The Necklace” and “The Story of an Hour”, Ive notices the comparison between the two stories in many ways. Both of the stories have similar plot structure and characters roles. It is this why I have chosen to break down and analyze the ironic and noticeable similarities and also explain my choice of stories.
My first time reading “The Necklace” I was kind of shocked at the ending of how the woman spent years working and slaving herself all to hide the truth that she lost her friends expensive necklace, so she thought. Also within reading “The Story an of Hour” you find irony in the fact that after spending only a short amount of time mourning and grieving of her husbands death, shes goes back to a moment of happiness and relief after realizing that this is her moment of freedom, to start anew, only to find out that her husband is still alive causing her such shock that she dies. The ironic ending of these stories leave the reader intrigued as to what happens to the characters next if there were more to the story.
After reading both the stories, I took a minute at the end to think about the main characters and how they reacted toward certain events that occurred. In “The Necklace” the woman acts ungrateful towards the act of her husband giving her tickets to an extravagant ball all because she doesnt feel she has something to wear that is presentable enough for the upper class. In the story it says “She suffered intensely, feeling herself born for every delicacy and every luxury. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the worn walls, the abraded chairs, the ugliness of the stuffs. All these things, which another woman of her caste would not even have noticed, tortured her and made her indignant.”(Maupassant 202) I dont think the woman was entirely wrong for her actions because I feel as though she is not alone. Any woman, or human being, wants to feel like they belong and sometimes as though they are worth more, even if its only for one night. Her way of going about it was just blunt but as her husband it should be expected and he should be more understanding, especially for someone who comes from nothing. In “The Story of an Hour” the woman grieves for only a short amount of time after learning of her husband death and feels a sense of freedom now that she thinks she is a widow. Sometime down the line, she was going to start thinking of life alone and without her husband. Was she wrong for turning the other cheek so quickly? I think she was wrong but not completely, because if you loved someone and cared for them, how could you think of life without that significant other thats been with you for so many years. But also after a certain age, some start to feel that their life isnt much longer so why cry now when you can cry later. They both