The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin (1894)

Transcription

1 English I CP Final Exam Study Guide Part I: Critical Reading and Analysis The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin (1894) Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death. It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message. She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her. There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul. 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. There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window. She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams. She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought. There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air. Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. 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 1

2 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!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body. She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome. There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination. And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of selfassertion, which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being! "Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering. Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door--you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door." "Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window. Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom. Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife. When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills. 2

3 What is a possible theme for this story? Why? What meaning could heart trouble have in the first sentence? What kind of woman is Mrs. Louise Mallard? In the fourth paragraph is a reference to an open window, out of which Mrs. Mallard watches the world around her. In what way or ways does this window serve as a symbol? What is the supreme irony at the end of the story? This story was published in 1894, about nine years before the author, Kate Chopin, died. Based on what you know about U.S. history, what do you think the average reader thought about the story? 3

4 Part II: Literary Terms Be able to define, and recognize the proper usage of, the following literary terms. You have come across these terms during the past school year, so this Study Guide can help you refresh your memory. ALLEGORY: A literary work in which all or most of the characters, settings, and events stand for ideas, qualities, or figures beyond themselves. In other words, the work contains both a surface story and a story hidden underneath. ALLITERATION: The repetition of an initial consonant sound in a series of words. EXAMPLE: The stealthy serpent slithered silently. ALLUSION: The mention of an event, place, idea, or character from history, literature, religion, culture, or some other source with which both the writer and the reader are assumed to be familiar. Their shared understanding of the subject is essential in grasping the full meaning of the allusion. EXAMPLE: My boyfriend, Lewis, is such a Romeo. (The writer is alluding to the character, Romeo, from Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet.) ANTITHESIS: The technique of putting opposite ideas side by side in order to point out their differences. ARCHETYPE: A symbol, experience, character, idea, or phenomenon that appears in a wide range of literary works or settings. Archetypes are so commonly encountered that they seem to be basic to all humanity and to have almost universal meaning. EXAMPLE: The wise leader and the damsel in distress are both examples of character archetypes. AUTOBIOGRAPHY: A person s written, nonfiction account of his or her entire life. An autobiography uses first-person point of view. BIOGRAPHY: A nonfiction account of a person s life written by another person. CHARACTERIZATION: The means by which an author makes a person, animal, or thing seem real and alive to the reader. INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION: is when, the author portrays either the actions and words of the character or the attitude of others toward it. EXAMPLES: In response to his question, she grunted unintelligibly and looked away. (Indirect characterization) CLIMAX: The high point of a story: It is the point to which the plot builds and is the moment of highest tension, or the most important moment. CONFLICT: The struggle between opposing forces in a story. EXTERNAL CONFLICT: a character struggles against an outside force, such as another person, nature, or society. INTERNAL CONFLICT: a struggle that takes place within the mind of a character who is torn between opposing feelings or goals. CONSONANCE: the repetition of consonant sounds, typically within or at the end of words that do not rhyme and preceded by different vowel sounds. Example: cool, hall, soul. 4

5 DIALOGUE: Conversation between characters. EXAMPLE: I love you, he whispered. END RHYME: a rhyme that occurs at the end of a line of poetry. Example: I heard him say, I am a bear! I tried to act bravely, like I didn t care. EPIC: a long narrative poem that recounts, in formal language, the exploits of a heroic figure. The story beginning of an epic usually is written in formal language that sets the stage for a long and grand story. The epic hero typically struggles against natural and supernatural forces. ESSAY: a short work of nonfiction covering a single subject. FICTION: This is a type of writing about imagined events or characters. FLASHBACK: A device by which a writer interrupts the chronological flow of a narrative to portray an event that occurred at an earlier time. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: writing or speech meant to be understood imaginatively, instead of literally. Examples are similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification. FOIL: A character whose actions and beliefs are opposite to those of another character. A foil is often used to highlight distinct traits of the contrasting character. EXAMPLE: Joe seemed all the more sinister and worldly when I read about his interaction with Brandon, whose naiveté and innocence made him the perfect foil for Joe. FREE VERSE: Poetry that has no fixed pattern of meter, rhyme, or line length. HERO: The main character in a literary work, typically a character whose admirable qualities of noble deeds attract admiration. HYPERBOLE: an exaggeration of rhetorical effect. Example: I m so hungry I could eat a horse. IMAGERY: The use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas in an effort to put images in a reader s mind. The five senses are important here. IRONY: Using inconsistency or contradiction to give different meaning to seemingly clear statements or situations. VERBAL IRONY: When a person says one thing but means the opposite. EXAMPLE: Great! he cried in frustration. That s just great! DRAMATIC IRONY: When the reader s knowledge differs from what the character understands. EXAMPLE: You re watching the beginning of the movie Titanic; you know that the ship is going to sink, but the characters don t know yet. SITUATIONAL IRONY: When something unexpected happens that is outside human control. EXAMPLE: A man steps aside to avoid getting sprinkled by a wet dog; as he steps aside, he falls into a swimming pool. 5

6 MEMOIR: Nonfiction writing in which an author presents his/ her personal experiences of an event or a period of his/ her life. A memoir covers a piece of the writer s life; in comparison, an autobiography covers the person s entire life. METAPHOR Comparisons between two unlike actions, ideas, or things. They do not use the words like or as, instead referring directly to one object with terms that normally apply to another. EXAMPLES: His hair is a mop. MOOD: The emotional quality of a literary work, such as tense, comical, eerie, happy, etc. MORAL: a story that offers a practical lesson about right and wrong conduct. In fables, the moral is stated directly. MOTIF: a significant word, phrase, image, description, idea, or other element that is repeated throughout a literary work and is related to the theme. MOTIVATION: The stated or implied reason a character acts, thinks, or feels a certain way. When analyzing motivation, a reader should look for an internal conflict, moral, or emotional impulse. To understand a character s motivation, a reader should evaluate supporting details. MYTH: a traditional story, such as The Feneris Wolf, that deals with goddesses, gods, heroes, and supernatural forces. Myth characteristics include (1) the placement of a hero or heroine in grave danger at some point of the story and (2) a hero or heroine exhibiting superhuman abilities. NARRATIVE: a story that describes events usually in chronological order. NARRATOR: The person who tells the story in a literary work. The narrator may be a character in the story or a person outside the story. NONFICTION: This is a type of writing about real events. Examples are biographies and newspaper news stories. NOVEL: This is a long work of fiction that is usually more than 100 pages long. PARALLELISM: The use of a series of words, phrases, or sentences possessing similar grammatical form; parallelism can show the relationship between ideas and can help emphasize thoughts. PERSONIFICATION: A literary device by which an object, idea, or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attributes. EXAMPLES: The moon smiled down on them. POINT OF VIEW: The perspective from which a story is told. FIRST-PERSON: the narrator is the main character and uses I or we THIRD-PERSON LIMITED: the narrator reveals the thoughts, feelings, and observations of only one character, referring to that character as he or she. THIRD-PERSON OMNISCIENT: this is an all-knowing viewpoint in which the narrator is not a character in the story but rather someone who stands outside the story and comments on the action. The narrator knows what numerous characters in a story are doing and thinking. 6

7 RHYME SCHEME: a pattern that end rhymes form in a poem. The rhyme scheme is designated by the assignment of a different letter of the alphabet to each new rhyme. SCIENCE FICTION: a genre of fiction that deals with the impact of science and technology on society and individuals. SEQUENCE: The order in which actions take place in time. Writers use verb tenses, or transitions such as before, earlier, that morning, and afterward, to show a sequence of events. SHORT STORY: a brief, fictional narrative usually focusing on a single event and featuring only a few characters. SIMILE: Comparisons between two unlike actions, ideas, or things. They use the words like or as, instead referring directly to one object with terms that normally apply to another. EXAMPLES: His hair is like a mop. STYLE: the way an author expresses himself/ herself. This includes the author s word choice, sentence structure, and figure of speech. SUMMARIZING: the act of relating the main ideas of a text without including a lot of details or information. SUSPENSE: a reader s feeling of curiosity, uncertainty, or even dread about what is going to happen next in a story. A writer builds suspense by making readers ask, What will happen next? THEME: The underlying principle, insight, or idea about life and people that a literary work reveals. EXAMPLE: Shakespeare s Othello deals with the theme of jealousy. TRICKSTER: a character who uses clever tricks to get his/ her way in a story. UNDERSTATEMENT: A figure of speech that adds emphasis to an idea, often humorously, by intentionally falling short of describing the full extent or magnitude of the subject. EXAMPLE: It gets a little uncomfortable in the sun on those 115-degree summer afternoons. 7

8 Part III: Short Essay There will be three short essay options. You will have to choose one of them to answer. Complete the following information for each story that we have read this year. Knowing this information will help you to complete the essay portion of the exam. Story Title: Conflict: Character 1 (briefly describe): Character 2 (briefly describe): Character 3 (briefly describe): Theme: Story Summary: ************************************************************************* Story Title: Conflict: Character 1 (briefly describe): Character 2 (briefly describe): Character 3 (briefly describe): Theme: Story Summary: 8

9 Story Title: Conflict: Character 1 (briefly describe): Character 2 (briefly describe): Character 3 (briefly describe): Theme: Story Summary: ************************************************************************* Story Title: Conflict: Character 1 (briefly describe): Character 2 (briefly describe): Character 3 (briefly describe): Theme: Story Summary: 9

10 Story Title: Conflict: Character 1 (briefly describe): Character 2 (briefly describe): Character 3 (briefly describe): Theme: Story Summary: ************************************************************************* Story Title: Conflict: Character 1 (briefly describe): Character 2 (briefly describe): Character 3 (briefly describe): Theme: Story Summary: 10

11 Part IV: Sentence Structure For the Final Exam you will need to recognize errors in sentences. Directions: Turn the following incomplete sentences into complete sentences. 1. Because she like ice cream. Answers will vary 2. Stood up because they wanted to leave. Answers will vary 3. Although he loved to eat pickles with his pizza. Answers will vary Directions: Fix the following sentences. 1. Essays are written in his bedroom by Jimmy. Sentence is passive voice; it should be active voice; Jimmy writes essays in his bedroom. 2. My favorite sports are: lacrosse, archery, soccer, baseball, football, and distance running. Delete the colon. 3. Some people find bird watching gatherings weird, bird watching is still my favorite activity. While some people find bird watching gatherings weird, bird watching is still my favorite activity. 4. She handed me a hotdog and quickly but in a careful way sat on the auditorium seat beside me. She handed me a hotdog and, quickly but in a careful way, sat on the auditorium seat beside me. 5. He handed me the razor, shaving cream, bucket, and another white towel. He handed me the razor, shaving cream, bucket, and white towel. 6. I will be notifying my classmates, friends, and teammates about the upcoming concert. Delete the dash. 7. My damaged car is giving me stress, costing me money, and it took away my means of transportation. My damaged car is giving me stress, costing me money, and taking away my means of transportation 8. I was asked to sit down by the teacher. (Rewrite this sentence so that it is an active, not passive, voice.) The teacher asked me to sit down. 11

12 Part V: Vocabulary Terms In preparation for the Final Exam, you should know the following vocabulary terms, all of which are from stories we have read this year. 1. Ebbed: recede; decline 2. Fruitless: unsuccessful 3. Incomprehensible: not understandable 4. Languidly: sluggishly 5. Remorseless: merciless; cruel 6. Eject: Cast out; emit; discharge 7. Knead: press, rub, squeeze; massage; 8. Titanic: strong; powerful 9. Paranoia: suspicious; delusions of persecution 10. Tremulous: trembling; quivering 11. Acquiesce: passive acceptance; compliance 12. Commemorate: to preserve the memory of 13. Extricate: to release from entanglement or difficulty; to set free 14. Impartial: not favoring one side more than another; fair 15. Perpetually: constantly; unceasingly 16. Dire: dreadful; terrible 17. Emanated: to come forth 18. Endeavors: a serious or strenuous attempt to accomplish something. 19. Fervent: having or showing great intensity of feeling; passionate 20. Novel: new and unusual 21. Cordoned: to form a protective or restrictive area around 22. Enmity: a very deep unfriendly feeling 23. Epaulettes: a decorative piece on the shoulder of a uniform 24. Hiatus: a period of time when something (such as an activity or program) is stopped 25. Jeered: to shout insulting words at someone; to laugh at or criticize someone in a loud angry way 26. Acrid: bitter and unpleasant in taste or smell 27. Clamor: a loud continuous noise (such as the noise made when many people are talking or shouting) 28. Compelled: to force (someone) to do something 29. Elephantine: very large like an elephant 30. Sniveling: to complain or cry in an annoying way 31. Chorister: a singer in a choir 32. Leviathan: something that is very large and powerful 33. Luminous: producing or seeming to produce light 34. Sinewy: having strong and lean muscles 35. Tumult: a state of noisy confusion or disorder 36. Bastion: a fortified area or position 37. Blatant: very obvious and offensive 38. Declivities: a descending slope 39. Demure: quiet and polite 40. Oppressive: very cruel or unfair 41. Fickle: given to frequent changes of thought or mood; unreliable; inconstant 42. Lamenting: to express deep sorrow 12

13 43. Lurked: to conceal oneself; to move about in a sneaky manner 44. Revived: to bring back to life; to give new strength 45. Stifle: to smother for lack of air; to prevent form developing properly 46. Adjacent: next to or close to; neighboring 47. Adversity: hardship 48. Haughty: very proud; scornful of others 49. Posterity: future generations 50. Tedious: tiresome and boring 13