Story of an Hour was written and published by Kate Chopin in 1894.

During this time, a lot of changes has

happened in the American society. Technological advancements and improvements on industrialization opened more
jobs for the people. Despite all these, there is a little change with the roles of women and men in the society. Women
who worked for a living during the 1890s are judged cruelly and expected to take the stereotypical role of being a
homemaker rather helping their husbands to earn for a living. Using this as a backdrop of her story, Louise Mallard, the
main character from the story embodied the repression that women were experiencing during that time.

Louise Mallard had conflicting emotions upon hearing the news that her husband died from a railroad disaster.
Kate Chopin wrote these lines, “She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she
was striving to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she
abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath:
"free, free, free!"” (please insert page number here), depicting Louise’s confused feelings. Here she is, a wife whose
husband just died, she must be grieving and yet she cannot contain her relief she’s feeling knowing that she is going to
be FREE. She is conflicted with how she feels as an individual and as a wife. Kate Chopin emphasized the societal conflict
depicted in this line, ”She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to
accept its significance.”(Please insert page number here). She provided readers a peak of what kind of marriage Louise
and Brently Mallard had. She is trapped, not in a loveless marriage, but what the society dictates on the role of the
married couples. We cannot say that it is a marriage without love, as what Chopin wrote in this line, “And yet she had
loved him--sometimes.”(please insert page number here). Louise had been longing to be free from their sad union that
when she heard the news of her husband’s death, she started to visualize what it is to live freely as she gazed out of her
window. The visual imagery written by Chopin in these lines, “She could see in the open square before her house the
tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below
a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and
countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves” (please write the page number here), describes her moment of rebirth.

The society in America during the 1890s is not kind to women who thinks differently. Women are just expected
to stay at home, do household chores, and take care of the family. Like in the story, Louise is confined inside the house
because of her “heart condition” which is a symbolism for repression for she thinks and feels that her marriage is a
burden to her as a woman. With the death of her husband, she is expected to grieve and weep because that is what a
wife is supposed to do. But she did not. Instead, she felt joy and liberated. That is why Louise had to keep the feelings of
joy to herself, locked in a room, because no one would understand her. She would be judged harshly. Inside the room,
she was able to give in to her feelings and lift the burden of repression from their marriage.
 The first sentence from the short story “reunion”, the narrator recounts the events of the last time he spent
time with his father. He opened the story like an eager son waiting to meet his father and spend time with him, even it is
just for a short one. However, as Charlie, the narrator went on with his story, a lot of disappointing events happened. In
the end, he said “And that was the last time I saw my father” (insert page number here), which explains that Charlie and
his father went separate ways and never met again. Though the first and last sentences were written as if it is the same,
the first one is more optimistic in its tone. Charlie is excited to meet his father after three years. The last sentence left a
bitter taste of disappointment. It is as if Charlie already closed the chapter of his father in his life.

In this story, it mirrors similar experiences of other children who have divorced parents. One parent becomes
stranger with them as time goes by. Just like Charlie, he knew in his heart that this is his father, but he also knew that he
is now a different man, and he is still technically a stranger. Three years is such a long time, and a lot of things has
change between them. As they go inside different restaurants outside the station, Charlie got a glimpsed of what his
father was. He would describe him as someone that is boisterous and rude. Multiple times, he was just silent and
observing. He did not write much of his thoughts whenever his father would call out waiters in the restaurant. It also
showed a side of him that whenever things do not go his way, he would leave right away, without any second thoughts.
Just like what his father would always say, there’s other options for him to go. This symbolizes how his father treated his
marriage with his mother. He now saw that when things get hard or difficult for his father, he would leave.

When Charlie got to his train, he made up his mind to close his doors for his father. In the line “Goodbye, daddy”
(insert page number here), he is not just saying goodbye to his father for he was leaving but also saying goodbye for the
father he thought he knew. He still acknowledges him as his father, but he does not want to be part of his life anymore
after what happened.

Charlie thinks of his father as his doom and future for two things: If he is going to be like him when the time
comes that he is going to have his own family, he might have the same fate with his parents. He might not have a
complete family. He is scared that he might turn out like his father in the future. But he also cannot take away the fact
that he is his father, and nothing could change that. Even if he chose to cut his father from his life, which does not
change the fact that they are family, and it will always be.
 Alice Walker introduced three generations of character in the persona of Dee, Maggie, and Mama (the narrator).
Mama lived through and still upholds her heritage up to the present. Even though she has learned to accept the changes
that is personified by her daughter Dee, she did not forget her cultural legacy that is symbolized by the other daughter,
Maggie. Dee, who had access to education, makes Mama feel inferior with her daughter’s intellect cited from these
lines, “She washed us in a river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn’t necessarily need to know.
Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away, like dimwits, at just the moment we seemed about to
understand.” (Please insert page number here). While Mama is proud of Dee’s success, she dislikes her egoistic attitude
and ignorance or abandonment of their heritage. She has also embraced another culture, leaving and disrespecting her
actual heritage. She has changed her name to Wangero, changed how she dressed, got a boyfriend where she might
have adapted her new culture. Mama did not pay attention to her boyfriend or her flashy clothes, but she asked her
about her name. Dee’s name is also a symbolism of her heritage.

Maggie, on the other hand, carried the tradition from her grand ancestors. Though she was not as a fortunate as
her sister, she knows her heritage and history as well, that even Mama seem to forget which is evident in the following
lines, ““‘Aunt Dee’s first husband whittled the dash,’ said Maggie so low you almost couldn’t hear her.   ‘His name was
Henry, but they called him Stash’” (please insert page number here).

When Dee visited her home, she saw a lot of things that she wants to bring with her and use it as a decoration,
totally disregarding that these items are part of their heritage. She sees these items as just mere ornaments, nothing
else. Dee also wanted to have the quilts. Now, these quilts not only symbolize heritage, but also a memory of Mama, Big
Dee, and Grandma Dee. Now, the tone has changed when Alice Walker used the name “Dee (Wangero)” to address the
daughter. Mama intends to give the quilts to Maggie when she marries John Thomas. She offers Dee to take other quilts
that were stitched using a machine, but the latter insists on taking the hand-made quilts. Maggie, willing to just give up
the quilts, said that her sister can take it and she still can honor her grandmother even without it.

The differences of two sisters are now evident on how they are planning to use the quilts. Dee, the superior one,
would like to take the quilt, not to be reminded of her heritage, but as a symbol of her success. That she is way above
from their ancestors and she was able to build something differently from them. On the other hand, Maggie would like
to keep the quilts to give honor to her culture.

I believe that Mama did the right decision to award the quilts to Maggie as she knows that her younger
daughter’s intention is pure and that is to preserve their legacy. She knows that Maggie will keep it not as a decoration
but a memory of their family and culture. She saw through Dee that she only wanted it for superficial reasons and
nothing at all. I believe that Maggie should rightfully own the quilts.