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The Unexpected

Short Story Analysis by Jazmin Houston

In todays world, things in life are unpredictable. We expect one thing and the
opposites happens instead. Something big effects our lives only to find out that at
the end of the day, we were wrong. In The Story of an Hour, it shows just that.
Tone, conflict, and situational irony are key elements that help support the theme of
how some things are unexpected.

The tone of the story starts as melancholy as the character, Mrs. Mallard is told that
her husband was in a train accident and was presumed dead. This continues as she
heads to her room to think of what to do next. This is when the tone shifts to relief
when Mrs. Mallard realizes that she can now make her own choices . . . feverish
triumph . . . (Chopin, pg. 552) The tone helps convey the theme because when we
were expecting a somewhat happy ending, the tone shifts once more when her
husband is discovered to be alive. Another key element is conflict.

The conflict of the story is internal as Mrs. Mallard feels several different emotions
after hearing the news of her husbands death. At one point, she feels relieved
about her newfound life and independence There would be no one to live for
her . . . she would live for herself. (Chopin, pg. 552) At another point, she begins to
feel guilty about those feelings and was striving to beat it back with her will
(Chopin, pg. 552). This shows how Mrs. Mallard feels about her husbands death and
how it came as a shock that he was alive. This brings us to the irony of the situation.

Situational irony is a big element in the Story of an Hour. At the beginning of the
story, everyone thought Mr. Mallard had died in the train accident, yet at the end,
he walked through the door It was Brent who entered, a little train-stained,
composedly carrying his gripsack and umbrella (Chopin, pg. 552). After seeing that
her husband was alive and well, Mrs. Mallard had died of heart disease of joy that
kills (Chopin, pg. 552). Irony ties into the theme well because it was expected that
the husband was dead but it was Mrs. Mallard who died instead.

Again, some things are just unexpected and the elements tone, conflict, and
situational irony shows just that. After being told of husbands death, Mrs. Mallard
slowly begins to feel hope for her new life, only to die at the end when it was
discovered that her husband still lives. The Story of an Hour, written by Kate
Chopin, really reflects how some things in life are just unpredictable.
Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. The American Experience. Simon & Schuster.
1989 Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 552-552.

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