Essay 1

Craig Ortiz Composition & Literature
EN 110-41 Essay 1
Although The story of the hour (by Kate Chopin) and The necklace (by Guy De Maupassant) are two different stories, both have many similarities. The intention of this essay is to illustrate the differences and similarities in the two stories. I also would like to touch on the authors and their different yet similar points of view. In reading these stories both can find many similarities. In The necklace and the story of an hour both main characters are woman in the 19th century. This is a time in history where woman were repressed an expected to play their roles like the characters in the story. Unfortunately because of this both woman were very unhappy and unsatisfied in their marriages. Even though the husbands in the story were portrayed to be good men. Unfortunately both stories ended in tragedy but made for great literature and were captivating storytelling. The woman in each story seemed to be selfish in a way that was taboo in the 19th century. Even in the 21st century these two stories can still be relatable to woman an men also. While reading both The necklace and Story of an hour you’ll notice the themes of the stories irony and symbolism are both very similar. Each story was told in the third person. In the necklace you feel remorse or almost pity the husband. However in the story of an hour you wonder what kind of husband the main character had because of statements like “Sometimes I love my husband.” It is interesting that even though both stories are similar the gender of the authors were different making each story from different perspectives. The story of an hour is written by a woman therefore told in a female of the 19thcenturies perspective. Also the characters in the story of an hour were American based. In contrast The Necklace was written by a male. Not only was the author of French descent French but so was his characters. As though the characters in the necklace were formal and pretentious while the story of an hour had a more liberal tone.

Although these stories took place centuries ago we still can see some of these same situations today. Judging from The necklace (which was written by a male) it had a negative cogitation of a woman as being selfish and deserved punishment. However in The story of an hour the author (which was female) seemed to explore the feelings of a woman in an unhappy marriage however in both stories you can feel the difference in perception. Women have come a long way in history, before woman stayed home and took care of their husbands. In today’s time woman have careers and are heads of households which would have been unheard of in the time period these stories were written. Yet there are still repressed woman who are still and practicing these traditional roles and some are completely opposite. Stories like The necklace and the story of an hour illustrate where we are socially now and how far we have come.