Last Thursday, we had an insightful conversation about Kate Chopin's provocative short story, "The Story of an Hour." In a comment to this post, please reflect on what you heard on Thursday, either from our presenters or from the group at large. In your comment, please be specific about what ideas resonated with you and how they expanded your own understanding of the story. Don't forget to give credit where credit is due by naming names.
Please end your comment by finishing this sentence:
"Next time I write a one-pager, I will...(be concrete and specific here--not I will try hard, but rather something along the lines of "I will make connections between the passage in the story and character development.")
Due by 7pm Wednesday December 1st
Some ideas that I kept hearing was that a lot of people kept thinking that Mrs Mallard didn't love her husband or that she disliked him very much. I had similar ideas to that extent also. Because right after her husband died she said "free, free, free" so it really did seem that she had disliked him overall. But as other people joined in the conversation it made me realize that she never really disliked her husband per say but just didn't like the whole notion of marriage and all the rules that went along with it.
ReplyDeleteOne of the ideas that really resonated with me was when Jess had looked up the meaning of the sparrow flying into the house which meant death, and that to the story overall it had a foreshadowing effect on the husband death as well as Mrs. Mallards own death. Also that the bird flying could have signified her freedom from coverature since her husband had just died.
Next time I write a one pager, I will try and look deeper into the text and look up things that may not seem to be important at first but reveal a hidden meaning within itself.
Ideas that I kept on hearing where that Mrs. Mallard was freed after her Husband died. I also wrote about this but I did not think that Mrs. Mallard did not love her husband. Like Terry said Mrs. Mallard stated that she loved him sometimes. She also was married with him even though at this time that did nit matter much because the marriages were mostly arranged. I also thought that Jess's sparrow idea stuck with me. It was the idea that stuck out that people were trying to get at but just could not find it.
ReplyDeleteThe next time I write my one pager I will try and pick one point and focus around that. I will also do more research on the topic and the background information on the paper.
In our discussion about "The Story of an Hour", much of the same idea was traveling across the room that Mrs. Mallard hated husband and that she died on site of seeing him walk in when she believed he was dead. I don't think that she hated him, nor do I think that she died on sight of seeing her husband alive. I also heard from some that they thought Mrs. Mallard was an elderly woman, but in the text it states that she is young but troubled with a heart condition. Instead of dying of a heart attack by seeing Mr. Mallard, I believe that she died from the overwhelming sense of freedom she felt, now that she was left on her own to live her life. Because she had a heart condition means that even by the slightest excitement could have caused her to have a heart attack and die, and by her description of her new found freedom was enough to convince me that her one last joy in life could be her death.
ReplyDeleteI think that Jess made a good note about the sparrow and it's significance in the story, it's something I wouldn't have picked up on until a little more reading. Her analysis made me see that the entire story is like a glimpse of the what was to come because of the sparrow's appearance. The fact that it symbolizes death already speaks of Mr and Mrs. Mallard,but it also makes you notice that Mrs. Mallard was not the only thing that died- but the grip of male control over her as a woman, too. Since husbands had more authority in the community they could do as they wish and even beat their wives as long as it didn't cause any serious harm. For a woman to clean and cook but not be allowed to explore her own individuality is like killing her soul, you feel like less of a person when you can't live for yourself. Hopefully on the next one pager, I will be able to take even the smallest of details and see if they hold any significance in the story. Seeing as the sparrow was key for "The Story of an Hour", the slightest image in the other stories we read could also prove to be significant in the development of the characters and the plot line. I will also try to see if I can make other connections with the content in the stories to what we learn in class, it may also help with the format of writing the one pager.
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ReplyDeleteA few ideas resonated with me. I found Jess's analysis of the sparrow to be very interesting. Her interpretation of how the sparrow is a symbol of how the story bounces between good and bad was clever and notable. In addition, I found Adam's point about how time can build a connection between people to be interesting as well. His explanation on time causing Mrs. Mallard's initial grief but then turning to joy was enlightening. Also, Ryan's mention of the window symbolizing looking into a future as a widow further showed me Mrs. Mallard's situation. To emphasize, I noticed that mostly everyone mentioned how trapped Mrs. Mallard was feeling. Because of the collective comments mentioned during the discussion, I now understand that marriage was the antagonist in this story.
ReplyDeleteNext time I write a one-pager, I will take a closer look at all imagery in the story to find a trend or connection.
After hearing some of the other ideas from the one-pager, I especially found Jess's analysis of the sparrow very different. I never would have noticed that a sparrow symbolizes good and bad luck because to me, whenever I think/see a sparrow I just think that something so bad is going to happen. I liked how she mentioned that the sparrow flying into the home through the open window foreshadows Mrs. Mallard's death. Another point that I found pretty interesting was how the open window symbolizes looking into the future without her husband. I also wrote about the open window being a look into her new life; a bright future where she is free from her husband's abuse.
ReplyDeleteNext time I write a one-pager, I will focus more on the depth of the quotes. I need to work on analyzing the quotes further than just the surface of it because there is always more meaning to it than you think.
I liked when someone used the analogy of the elixir of life. I think that truly shows the way Louise was looking at her new life.An elixir sweetens up medicine almost like the way her new life feels like...sweet.
ReplyDeleteNext time i write a one pager i need to stay more focused on one little thing i am still kinda being to broad with my analysis.
As most people said, the point that sticks out most to me in the story was Mrs. Mallard’s hatred towards, not necessarily her husband, but to her marriage. I wrote my one-pager mostly about this. The marriage law of coverture at this time made it difficult for women to aspire individually. Although Mrs. Mallard was upset when she was told of her husband’s death she was relieved that she was freed from the binding contract that made her “civilly dead.”
ReplyDeleteI also found Jess’ idea of the sparrow having deeper meaning very interesting. I was really impressed that such a small aspect of could be opened up to foreshadow the most important part of the story. Her research proved that the sparrow signified death which ended up appearing in two places throughout the story. I was really impressed with Jess’ paper!
Next time I write a one-pager I will try to look closer at the story and find a “hidden” message. I will try to zero in and analyze a specific piece of the text.
I was not able to participate in the class discussion because I had to turn in the assignment late. Therefore, I cannot share what I enjoyed about the dicussion, nor can I say what stuck with me.
ReplyDeleteHowever, after writing my one-pager I did realize that I seem to jump around a lot from topic-to-topic. Also, I think I should have done a bit more research about the exact things that women had to deal with back then. I had a general idea that things were bad, but I think I could have put in a little more effort researching.
Next time I write a one-pager, I will try to find a deeoer meaning in the text, I will try to stick with one topic, rather than jumping around, and also I'd like to do a bit more research around the time frame in which the story takes place.
During the discussion, the idea I felt was most interesting was Jess's. The way she used the sparrow to contradict the good and bad throughout the story really made a lot of sense. I never really thought about how a bird would represent a huge symbol of the story. I was blind to see that little descriptions in a story can represent a huge meaning behind it. The class also reflected a lot on the symbol of a window-which I also wrote my one-pager on.
ReplyDeleteNext time I write my one-pager, I will pay closer attention to the small details, because one of them could potentially give great meaning to the story.
I agree with what Andrea has to say. I thought that hers was very good and she backed up what she had to say with research. She said that she listened to what someone had to say that weeka nd she got what that person got and then kind of copied what she had to say. She went beyond what she needed to do and she went home and researched what the word meant. She did a real good job and she said that she found a bunch of words that didn't make sense to her and she went home and researched what they meant back in the 1800's.
ReplyDeleteNext time I write a one pager I will take better notes. I will circle words together that do not make any sense. Probaly find quotes that make more sense and are bigger.
I agree with every one above that Jess's sparrow revalation was quite spectacular. She actually looked up what a sparrow symbolized and found that it is a soul catcher or a sign of death. It inspired me to go deeper into my own analysis.
ReplyDeleteRyan who also presented, surprised me. He used the same image as me, but interpreted it in a similar but different way. He and I both saw the window in Ms. Mallard's room as a symbol of looking into the future. Ryan also went into the idea that the author wanted the readers to see that men's control on women is deadly from Ms. Mallard's death. Adam's idea also overlapped with mine when he said that blue skies were symbolizing freedom. Lastly, Jackie took the window in a different way than I did. She said that the window being open was a sign of the wife being open to new ideas.
Next time, I will look closer to details so I don't miss things like "sparrow" or that the window was open from last week. I need to pay more attention to all the details because some times I tune some out by accident.
I was only there for one or two peoples one pagers because I left class.
ReplyDeleteIn our class discussion, I heard a lot of repitition about how Mrs. Mallard did not love her husband and how she did not want to be with him. I wish I had heard Jess's idea because a lot of people liked her understanding.
Next time I write a one-pager, I will look much more deeply at symbolizism. I want to analyze more because you understand the story easier and clearer.
What was obvious was that Mrs. Mallard is thought of as a bad woman because she felt joy from her husband's death. Her emotions are mixed and she comes off as being a mean person.I noticed that Jess's research on a sparrow helped me understand how to see the foreshadowing. It is interesting how a sparrow can indirectly tell the whole story if the background on the bird was known. The sparrow, in this story, foreshadows Mrs. Mallard's husband's death but at the same time it signifies joy which is felt by Mrs. Mallard when she feels her freedom from the prison of jail ("free,free,free"). Also, the detail of looking outside and noticing the nature foreshadows many of the events.
ReplyDeleteNext time I write a one pager, I will pay closer attention to quotes and details that may foreshadow future events in the story. I will also try greater to figure out the character's true feelings.
One theme that kept coming up was that Mrs. Mallard didn't like or even love her husband. This was thought because talks of freedom when he's dead then dies when she finds out he alive. However i think this was a misconception because in one part she even says that she didn't dislike him, implying he was a good husband. I think that focusing on one major part of the story and skipping details that are added more subtly can change the idea of the story. This is seen when people thought the story was simply about a bad husband when really it was about coverage and how all women were treated at the time. Also Jess's analysis of the sparrow gave me a good look at how to really interpret language.
ReplyDeleteNext time i write a one-pager, I will try and pay attention to more of the subtle details and language. I will also try and find out what words really mean to see their bigger significance.
When people were presenting their ideas, I also heard a lot about how Mrs. Mallard wanted to set herself free, and how the open window and blue sky was a sign of freedom. I heard Ryan talk about the open window and blue sky refering to the future and freedom and hope later on. I also wrote my one pager on these idea, and I was glad to see someone had seen the same idea i was looking at. I also believe that Jess's idea of the sparrow was great, and I find it cool and interesting on how that one line stuck out to her, and why she chose it. She did a great job of researching the sparrows, and giving a great response to the class.
ReplyDeleteNext time I write a one-pager, I will try and look for those small lines that have a BIG potential, because a detailed response can be developed off of them.
One thing that I noticed was that many people saw the window as some sort of symbol. Ryan Goodwin said that the window was looking into the future, while jackie said that the open window meant that Mrs.Mallard was open to new ideas. I personally thought that the open window meant freedom from her married life. I also said that the patches of blue sky meant freedom, and Adam also recognized this symbolism. One thing that was looked into deeper and that I thought was interesting was Jess' analysis on the sparrow. Most people read by it as if it were just another line, but it had deep meaning to it and that really surprised me.
ReplyDeleteNext time I write a one-pager, I will try to watch the character development throughout the story to see if that helps me connect with big ideas and symbolism.
Most of the people in the class shared common ideas with me. Terry and I both agreed that Mrs. Mallard didn’t really love her husband for the most part. The text says that she even loved her husband only part time. This is significant and I am glad other people picked up on it because it was an idea I believed that resonated. Jess’s analysis of the sparrow was incredible. I don’t see how she found such a great example. I agree with her, the sparrow in the text wasn’t put there unintentionally, Chopin put it there for a reason.
ReplyDeleteNext time when I write a one pager, I will watch the smaller details even more. I will search up what things mean so that way I can find out about the symbolism.
In our discussion of Story of an Hour, what I thought was interesting was Jess's point of view on the sparrow. The way that she picked out the smallest symbol was the perfect example of how every little detail counts. I also was surprised that many people shared similiar ideas that I did. I think this was because the story was shorter, and had less text to interpret.
ReplyDeleteNext time when I write a one pager I will be more aware of the context in whichi the story is being written, because it is important in understanding the story.
*I was exempt from this post, as I read my 1 pager in class*
ReplyDeletei wasnt in class the day taht one pagers were read outloud.
ReplyDelete