Comparing A & P And Story Of An Hour
BrEaking the Norm
John Updike’s “A & P” and Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” resemble each other in the sense that both want to break out of the social standard that they have been molded into. When a chance to go beyond their usual limitations is presented, both Sammy and Mrs. Mallard realize they are able to walk towards the freedom they long for. Despite the difference in situation...Both Sammy and Mrs. Mallard struggle within themselves to cope with social norms set for them. In the brief moment they are given a chance to escape the norm and live a life of freedom they long for, both characters act upon that chance.
It is true that in breaking out of their norms they still acted within the "normal" border. Sammy breaks out of his norm because he doesn't want the girls to think he’s like Stokesie and Lengel. Mrs. Mallard fights the feeling of joy …show more content…
that is overcoming her because she knows that it is not the "right" way a woman should act in such situation. However in their own way, it was a liberation from societies handcuffs and for once, they were able to walk beyond their limitation. Bored of the usual routine he is conformed to, Queenie and the two girls give Sammy a taste of freedom since they do not conform to the usual clientele the grocery store is used to. Upon seeing the girls, he goes into elaborate detail on the way they are dressed and what direction they walk to contrast the usual “sheep pushing their carts down the aisle” (Updike 143). Mrs. Mallard on the other hand reacts to her husband’s death with "sudden, wild abandonment” the “accepted” way a woman should. Given the time this story takes place, women did not have much say in their marriage or their personal life at all. Any hopes or dreams a woman had was put aside and forgotten and the life they now had was all they knew. Mrs. Mallard expresses her oppression: “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature” (Chopin 116).
Both of the stories the characters are compelled with an overwhelming feeling of change in just a matter of minutes.
“Story of an Hour” is structured short and very detailed to portray the emotional journey and realization Mrs. Mallard goes through while in her room. Kate Chopin illustrates the transition Mrs. Mallard undergoes as she stares out the window and observes the "new spring life, a delicious breath of spring rain is in the air, the clouds are parting to show patches of blue sky, and there are even the birds singing the bees" (115). In this moment Mrs. Mallard feels liberated from the chains society expects from her. Realizing she no longer has to love her husband and live her life next to him, she remembers that she is “young, with fair calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (115). As with Sammy, watching the girls break the rules releases his true feelings about his life. He realizes that there exists a life outside of the normal sheep he sees walking in the same direction down the aisle everyday. The thirst for a life that is unknown to them both excites
them.
However, when she is leaving the room and going downstairs, this predicts her loss of freedom. It proves that something unexpected is about to happen, because Mrs. Mallard is now coming back to reality, the reality that she is no longer going to be able to live the life she had now vanished Mrs. Mallard is misunderstood because of her reaction to her husband's death. Even the medical professional misapprehends her collapse. This indicates that the conventional view of female devotion is sometimes misunderstood and that Mrs. Mallard was not the only nor the first woman whose behavior has been misread (107).
Most would argue that Sammy’s actions classify him as immature since he finds a certain interest watching the girls as they naively break all the rules he is required to follow. This is purely a sign of interest to the disruption in his boring life.
John Updike’s “A & P” and Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” resemble each other in the sense that both want to break out of the social standard that they have been molded into. When a chance to go beyond their usual limitations is presented, both Sammy and Mrs. Mallard realize they are able to walk towards the freedom they long for. Despite the difference in situation...Both Sammy and Mrs. Mallard struggle within themselves to cope with social norms set for them. In the brief moment they are given a chance to escape the norm and live a life of freedom they long for, both characters act upon that chance.
It is true that in breaking out of their norms they still acted within the "normal" border. Sammy breaks out of his norm because he doesn't want the girls to think he’s like Stokesie and Lengel. Mrs. Mallard fights the feeling of joy …show more content…
that is overcoming her because she knows that it is not the "right" way a woman should act in such situation. However in their own way, it was a liberation from societies handcuffs and for once, they were able to walk beyond their limitation. Bored of the usual routine he is conformed to, Queenie and the two girls give Sammy a taste of freedom since they do not conform to the usual clientele the grocery store is used to. Upon seeing the girls, he goes into elaborate detail on the way they are dressed and what direction they walk to contrast the usual “sheep pushing their carts down the aisle” (Updike 143). Mrs. Mallard on the other hand reacts to her husband’s death with "sudden, wild abandonment” the “accepted” way a woman should. Given the time this story takes place, women did not have much say in their marriage or their personal life at all. Any hopes or dreams a woman had was put aside and forgotten and the life they now had was all they knew. Mrs. Mallard expresses her oppression: “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature” (Chopin 116).
Both of the stories the characters are compelled with an overwhelming feeling of change in just a matter of minutes.
“Story of an Hour” is structured short and very detailed to portray the emotional journey and realization Mrs. Mallard goes through while in her room. Kate Chopin illustrates the transition Mrs. Mallard undergoes as she stares out the window and observes the "new spring life, a delicious breath of spring rain is in the air, the clouds are parting to show patches of blue sky, and there are even the birds singing the bees" (115). In this moment Mrs. Mallard feels liberated from the chains society expects from her. Realizing she no longer has to love her husband and live her life next to him, she remembers that she is “young, with fair calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength” (115). As with Sammy, watching the girls break the rules releases his true feelings about his life. He realizes that there exists a life outside of the normal sheep he sees walking in the same direction down the aisle everyday. The thirst for a life that is unknown to them both excites
them.
However, when she is leaving the room and going downstairs, this predicts her loss of freedom. It proves that something unexpected is about to happen, because Mrs. Mallard is now coming back to reality, the reality that she is no longer going to be able to live the life she had now vanished Mrs. Mallard is misunderstood because of her reaction to her husband's death. Even the medical professional misapprehends her collapse. This indicates that the conventional view of female devotion is sometimes misunderstood and that Mrs. Mallard was not the only nor the first woman whose behavior has been misread (107).
Most would argue that Sammy’s actions classify him as immature since he finds a certain interest watching the girls as they naively break all the rules he is required to follow. This is purely a sign of interest to the disruption in his boring life.