Story Of An Hour Literary Analysis Essay

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Freedom Can Be Deadly Freedom is a gift that not many people are guarenteed today. Whether it is freedom from a job, freedom from a relationship, or freedom from a ruling power, mostly everyone aches for the ability to be free. Some have gone as far as to fight for their freedom. But most people are not given the ability to be free, thus forgetting what the overwhelming sensation of being free is like. Moreover, when freedom is given to those without it, it has the potential to become very dangerous. This is the case for the main character in the story named Louise Mallard. In “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin is expressing a theme of freedom and how freedom can be deadly. One way that Chopin expresses the theme of freedom and how deadly it can be being through characterization. The characters seem to all be surrounded by a world where freedom is not common in the society. And since freedom is not common, it means many relationships are very firm. When Louise is informed of how her husband has possibly died, Chopin introduces Louise’s sister, Josephine, to be the bearer of bad news. …show more content…

One symbol Chopin shows us is the heart problem that Louise has. The first thing that is told about Louise is that she has a heart problem, and this heart problem is what seems to make the news of Brently’s death so hard. A person with a weak heart would not deal well with such news which is why she had ultimately died when seeing Brently alive. The doctors then concluded that she had died of overwhelming joy which is ironic because it had been the loss of her freedom that killed her. Another symbol in the story is the open window Louise gazes through after receiving news of her husband’s death. The window represents the freedom and opportunities that await her after her husband has died. The descriptive view outside of the window suggests of Louise’s new life now that she is free