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Assignment Commentary:

Sasha

English, Martha Close

2001

We were supposed to write an essay on a short story we had read in class.

Excerpt:

Short Story Essay Imagery, Symbolism, and Fate in The Story of an Hour

Written by: Sasha Volkov, 9th IB

Imagery, symbolism of nature, and emotions can foreshadow what will happen in the near future In The Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin, imagery from nature, Mrs. Mallards' emotions and fate predicted her new outlook on life, her newly found liberty and freedom, and even her sudden death. Mrs. Mallards' own thoughts were prophesied by the images given to the reader, and therefore let the reader have an idea of what was to come. So, although Mrs. Mallard seems as though she was a caring wife for her husband, her true, deep-set thoughts were portrayed through symbolism and fate. In The Story of an Hour, nature plays an important role through symbolism, which is shown in the form of birds Mrs. Mallard sees through her window, along with music, trees, and clouds in the sky. These all symbolize the freedom which is now within her grasp, something she has never had before.

The notes of a distant song which someone was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves. (p.7)

The distant song and the birds which she hears represents her freedom calling out to her, beckoning for her to come out into the nature, which is where true freedom lies, outside of the house where she has been kept prisoner for years. Mrs. Mallard sees the free birds, how all of nature outside her window is free, and that there is nothing to hold them back. She then realizes that she too is now free, like the birds in the sky who call to her, and that true happiness, which for her is found through freedom, is to be found outside. And, seeing as how she has stayed inside for so long, she has therefore been kept from having freedom for too long.