"The Story of an Hour" and "Young Goodman Brown" Analytical Essay by Nicky
"The Story of an Hour" and "Young Goodman Brown"
An analysis of the themes and symbolism in "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin and "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
# 149222
| 843 words
| 2 sources
| MLA
| 2011
| 
Published
on Nov 30, 2011
in
Literature
(American)
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Description:
The paper looks at how in "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin and "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, both authors demonstrate how things are never what they appear to be with powerful symbolism. The paper describes how in "The Story of an Hour," Louise is confronted with the wonderful opportunity of her husband's death, and in "Young Goodman Brown," Goodman is confronted with a notion of what he will find in the forest. The paper discusses, however, how Louise and Goodman become their own victims because they are too intent on fulfilling their desires and they do not consider that things are never what they appear to be.
From the Paper:
"In "The Story of an Hour," Louise is confronted with a painful fact that quickly becomes a wonderful opportunity. After the shock of her husband's death wears away, she begins to see her future and it is not empty and full of loneliness, it is presenting her with an opportunity to taste freedom. She begins to understand that she can have the kind of fulfilling life she has dreamed of and this excites her. She looks out the bedroom window and drinks in the "elixir of life through that open window" (635) and she feels the "delicious breath of rain" (635) that was in the air. She sees "spring days, and summer days" (635). These emotions prevent her from experiencing any real sorrow for her husband because she sees the hope in her future. The thought of her dead husband does not make her cry; instead, she opens her arms and welcomes what her future holds. We read that her "pulse beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body" (636). She is a woman transformed by what she has heard."In "Young Goodman Brown," Goodman is confronted with a notion of what he will find in the forest. What he actually discovers there is something that he did not expect and cannot handle. What he discovers in the forest was worse than anything he might have imagined. Unlike Louise, his discovery is frightening for the people he had faith in are the ones spending time with the devil."
Sample of Sources Used:
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. New York: W. W. Norton and Company. 1981.
- Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Lauter, Paul, ed. Lexington: D. C. Heath and Company. 1990.
Cite this Analytical Essay:
APA Format
"The Story of an Hour" and "Young Goodman Brown" (2011, November 30)
Retrieved September 26, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/the-story-of-an-hour-and-young-goodman-brown-149222/
MLA Format
""The Story of an Hour" and "Young Goodman Brown"" 30 November 2011.
Web. 26 September. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/the-story-of-an-hour-and-young-goodman-brown-149222/>