Story of an Hour Literature & Language Reaction Paper

Story of an Hour: Reaction Paper
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
February 8, 2020
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is perhaps one of the most exciting stories that involve a bitter twist. It was in this story where the author showed how marriage, love, and death between two people could be entangled in such a way that it brings joy and pain. While reading the article, what I initially taught was that her work is the same ‘round-of-the-mill’ piece of literature where a widow grieves drastically upon learning the news of her husband’s death. Nonetheless, as compared to other articles that I’ve read before, what piques my attention was the detailed sensory cues that make it as if I was there, watching the main character grieve in her room. I believe that this would even be one of the reasons why people would continue reading the next paragraphs of the said story.
Then came unexpected, yet enlightening, twist in her story when she realized that her husband’s death also means her freedom. This is one of the things that any reader would not usually expect in these kinds of stories. From the time when we are born, it is as if there is a controlling norm that one should not feel joy at the death of another person. It is unethical, if not taboo. However, in this case, it is the widow herself who, after feeling grief, had felt a great exhilaration knowing that she would not have to live for anyone else anymore but solely for herself. In light of this, I realized that despite the social norms that dictate us ...