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Essay on Compare and Contrast

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Comparing and Contrasting “The Story of an Hour” and “How I Met My Husband”. Lora Cruse Ashford University ENG125 11/20/2014

In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting two great short stories. One being “The Story of

an Hour” written by Kate Chopin in 1854 and the other being “How I Met my Husband” written by

Alice Munro in 1974. The two short stories share the theme of gender roles/marriage. That being said,,

I will be going over plot, point of view and tone. Sometimes women feel like they are

trapped in their marriage, and sometimes women cannot wait to become married.

Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour represents a negative view of marriage. Every …show more content…

The fact that she dies at the end of a simple heart disease

shows that her misery stem from internally oppose to external emotions, The freedom that she nearly

could've tasted was gone. “For one climactic hour of her life, Louise does truly taste joy. For one hour

of emotion, Louise does glimpse meaning and fulfillment.” (Jamil,2009).

The story “How I Met my Husband” is about a young girl named Edie who is hired help for Dr.

Peebles and his family. One afternoon, while the family is away in town, she meets Chris Watters, a

pilot who travels from town to town giving rides in his plane for a fee. Edie falls in love with him but

soon learns that he is engaged to another woman, Alice Kelling. Alice is crazy and has been following

Chris everywhere in hopes of sex. One day while Alice, Mrs. Peebles, and the children were away on a

picnic, Edie goes to Chris's campsite to talk to him. He reveals to her his plans on leaving, but

promises to write her. They kiss and he leaves town. When the other women are told by the local

gossip, Loretta Bird that Chris has left, Alice Kelling verbally abuses Edie under the mistaken

impression that Edie and Chris had sex. Mrs. Peebles protects Edie and Alice leaves too. Edie waits

day after day at the mailbox for Chris's letter, which never comes. Eventually, Edie realizes Chris will

never write and marries the mailman, who believes that she waited by the

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