Transcript The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin

THE STORY OF AN HOUR
KATE CHOPIN
Marginalization in Comparison
MULTIPLE CHOICE
ANSWERS
 1) A – Rejuvenated
 Evidence – “the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.
The delicious breath of rain was in the air.”
 2) B – A state of shock
 Evidence – Her wild outburst is displayed in an over-the-top manner and as
the story progresses it becomes obvious that the news is a relief rather than a
cause for despair.
 3) A – Irony
 Evidence – Joy does not kill; she dies from the shock of seeing her husband
alive, but we know it’s because she lost her new lease on life.
 4) D – Rapidly
 Evidence – Her behavior is described as creeping up on her and her emotions
are coming upon her quickly whether she like it or not.
 5) C – Mistreatment as a result of her sex.
 Evidence – “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…Free! Body and soul free!”
CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE
QUESTIONS
 Consider the following constructed response question after you
have completed your reading of “The Story of an Hour” by Kate
Chopin.
 When answering any constructed response question, always
remember to R.A.C.E.
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Restate the question in your answer
Answer the question
Cite an example or two to justify your answer
Explain how your example proves your answer
 CR: When Mrs. Mallard enters into her room she closes the door so
her sister cannot enter, but she leaves the window open. How does
Chopin use this description of the room to further the story’s
overarching themes of freedom vs. imprisonment? Provide at least
one example to justify your answer.
CONTEXTUAL VOCAB:
MARGINALIZATION & MICROCOSM
 Marginalization Definition: The exclusion of a person from
meaningful participation in a society.
 What types of individuals have historically been victims of
marginalization?
 This concept can be seen throughout Of Mice and Men,
especially in chapter four where we see a microcosm of
multiple marginalized characters.
 Microcosm Definition: Something (such as a place or an
event) that is seen as a small version of something much
larger.
 In what way can chapter four be seen as a microcosm of the
marginalization and discrimination seen in the world during
this time period?
TITLE ANALYSIS
 What are your first impressions and
various anticipations of the story based
solely on the title and what you know
about the author’s background?
 Homophones – “Hour” and “Our.”
Significance?
 Hour signifies time; “Our” implies the
story is about an “our” or two or more
people. In this case, the “our” refers to the
Mallard’s and what happens when this
“our” is broken during this eventful “hour.”
ESSENTIAL VOCAB:
CONFLICT
 Conflict – A struggle between two forces in literature
that can be either internal or external.
 Types of Conflict:
 Man vs. Man (external)
 Man vs. Society (external and internal)
 Man vs. Nature (external)
 Man vs. Self (internal)
 What type of conflict permeates this story?
 “Man” vs. Self (in this case “Woman” or
“Protagonist”).
 Conscience and dealing with her husband’s death
VOCAB REFRESHER:
DICTION
 What are some examples in the story of the way in which
the author’s diction influences the way a concept is
interpreted by the reader?
 Possible Examples:
 Double meaning: “heart trouble”:: physical ailment and
trouble in her relationship
 Par. 5 “twittering” “aquiver with life” “Delicious breath”
“crying (double meaning) his wares” all add to the
tone. Not sadness as you would expect, but expectant,
ironic, and even giddy
 Par. 11 she feels free not hemmed in—keen and bright
almost vibrant
 Par. 12 “Monstrous Joy” bigger than life, makes you
wonder what made her life so terrible in the first place.
ESSENTIAL VOCAB:
SYMBOLISM
 What are some examples of symbols that
appear in the text? What could they
represent?
 Possible Examples:
 Weather and season: spring=life but the story
is about death (irony)
 Briefcase=gripsack: gripping on to the wife
and not letting go
 Going up she’s feeling heavy with guilt,
coming down she feels lighter as if she’s
leaving things behind
MRS. MALLARD & CURLEY’S WIFE:
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN?
 In what way can the life of Mrs. Mallard be said to
resemble Curley’s wife? What are some similarities and
differences? When answering this question, consider the
following aspects:
 Their dreams
 Their hopes
 Their relationships
 Their identities
 Their ultimate fates.
 Answer the above question using specific references
from both Of Mice and Men and “The Story of an Hour.”
 How can both characters be said to have suffered as a
result of the societies in which they were forced to live?
Explain your response in detail.
THE YELLOW
WALLPAPER
By: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
ESSENTIAL VOCAB:
CONNOTATION VS. DENOTATION
 Essential Vocab: Denotation
 Definition: The dictionary definition of a word; a word’s most
conventional meaning.
 Essential Vocab: Connotation
 Definition: The associations that a word generates within a reader.
What the word makes you think of when you read it beyond its
dictionary definition.
 Question: What are some connotations that immediately
come to mind when you think of the word “yellow?” Write
down some of your interpretations on a sheet of notebook
paper. Write your answer in complete sentences.
 What can be assumed about this story based on its title and
the fact that “yellow” features so prominently within it?
ESSENTIAL VOCAB:
POINT OF VIEW/NARRATION
 There are four types of narration styles that can be used to tell
a story, only three of these actually see significant use in
literature.
 First Person – The story is relayed by a narrator who is also a
character in the story. Narrator typical refers to him/herself using
“I,” “my,” “we,” etc.
 Second Person – Extremely rare in literature, but very common in
song. The narrator refers to the reader as “you” making “you” a
participant or character in the story.
 Third Person Limited – Narrator is outside the story. Focuses on
one character. Narrator will use third person pronouns and
proper nouns in narration.
 Third Person Omniscient – Narrator is outside the story and can
shift to multiple characters and multiple perspectives. Narrator
will use third person pronouns and proper nouns in narration.
ESSENTIAL VOCAB:
EPISTOLARY NARRATIVE
 Definition:
 A type of story that is written as a series of documents,
usually in the form of letters or diary entries.
 Derived from the word “epistle” which is commonly
associated with The Holy Bible as the name given for letters
written by the Apostle Paul.
 This form can add greater realism to the story.
 Examples:
 Dracula – Bram Stoker
 The Screwtape Letters – C.S. Lewis
 Carrie – Stephen King
 The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
 Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney
 World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War – Max
Brooks
FEMALE HYSTERIA: THE MYTH
• A common medical diagnosis made
exclusively for women in the 19th
century.
• Origins:
• An ancient Greek myth tells of the uterus
wandering through the woman’s body
strangling her as it reaches the chest,
causing women to act unpredictably.
• Symptoms:
• Faintness, nervousness, insomnia, fluid
retention, heaviness in abdomen, shortness
of breath, irritability, loss of appetite for
food or sex, and a “tendency to cause
trouble”
• Possible Treatments:
• Extreme bed rest, sex, and/or a “pelvic
massage.”
New tools created to help
facilitate effective “pelvic
massages” for women.
Considered medical at the
time.
THE INFAMOUS REST CURE
 Created by self-proclaimed “expert” S. Weir
Mitchell.
 The rest cure included: isolation, confinement to
bed, dieting, and massage.
 What problems might arise from such a cure?
 Practically imprisoned women for up to two
months
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Minimal contact with the outside world.
No engagement of the mind
No performing small activities
Hand fed
Restrained in bed
 Often, according to Mitchell’s writing on the rest
cure in his treatise Fat and Blood, by the fifth or
sixth day of treatment, most women became
“tractable,” and did not resist the imposed
monotony. This statement suggests that many
women fought this treatment during initial days
of imprisonment but ultimately gave up.
RIDDING OURSELVES OF
HYSTERIA
 By the 1920s the condition was discredited, and is no longer
acknowledged as existing.
 So, if hysteria isn’t an actual disease what was really wrong
with these women?
 Many of the women were most likely afflicted by general
depression, anxiety, stress, dissatisfaction, or postpartum
depression.
 Some women simply asserted their opinions too much and a
diagnosis of hysteria was a way for husbands to regain
control.
 Are female hysteria and the rest cure clear abusive signs of a
patriarchal culture?
INDIVIDUAL ANNOTATION:
A TASTE OF THE FAMILIAR
 Directions: Read the first two diary entries individually and
annotate as you go.
 Annotations typically manifest themselves in the following
ways:
 Selective Highlighting – In which you underline, highlight, or in
some way make note of a line or passage that seems important in
some way.
 Marginal Questioning – In which you note a line, passage, word, or
phrase and in the margins ask some sort of clarification question
relating to aspects such as: plot, theme, symbolism, etc.
 Insightful Notation – In which you rephrase or restate an
important line, word, or phrase to make it easier for you to
understand upon subsequent readings.
 Complete these annotations individually before preceding to
the second part of the activity. Place your hand on your
document when you are finished with your annotations.
COLLABORATIVE ANNOTATION:
A NEW WAY TO READ TOGETHER
 Now that you have completed your initial annotation of the first
two diary entries, you will pass your copy of the text to the
person to your left in your group.
 Your new task is to read over the annotations and notes made
by the person whose paper you now possess and then make
your own annotations of their notes.
 If they asked a question, attempt to answer it. If they made a
statement you agree or disagree with, note it.
 Follow this pattern for the handouts of each of your group
members.
 Once the process is finished, each person should then have a
copy of notes made by each member of his/her group.
IN ANALYSIS OF INSANITY:
INDIVIDUAL TASK
1) The narrator speculates at the beginning of the story of the various
ways that her room may have been used in the past (a nursery and a
boy’s playroom, for example). What does the author imply that the
room was actually used for beforehand? Provide at least one example
to justify your answer.
2) Near the beginning of the second journal entry the narrator states
that her husband called her a “blessed little goose” when she
expressed her concerns about the wallpaper. Using your
understanding of the text and the characters, explain what the
husband’s use of these terms like “blessed little goose” implies about
the couple’s relationship and his attitude towards his wife. Provide at
least one example to justify your answer.
3) As the narrator becomes increasingly more fascinated with the
wallpaper, she begins to perceive the shape of a woman trying to
escape from behind its restraints. In what way does the struggle of
this shadow woman resemble the struggles that this character faces
throughout the story? Provide at least one example to justify your
answer.
4) Who is Jane? Provide at least one example to justify your answer.
IN ANALYSIS OF INSANITY:
GROUP TASK
 Small Group
 Within your groups, discuss your responses with each other and
write down points of consensus and dissention within the group
on their individual sheets of paper (all group members must have
copy of this).
 You must write down the textual evidence used by each of your
group members to justify his/her response to each question. This
will allow you to determine the areas where you agree or disagree
and evaluate the strengths and weakness in each other’s
arguments.
 You must also provide a parenthetical reference for the evidence
you compile during this activity.
 Whole Group
 Share out your group consensuses in regards to your answer to
each question as well as the evidence you believe is best to
support your response.
IN ANALYSIS OF INSANITY:
WHAT’S THE REAL ISSUE?
 While it is evident that the narrator’s diagnosis of hysteria was
erroneous, it can be seen that her condition, whatever it was, was
only worsened by her treatment at the hands of her husband.
 Did the narrator have any legitimate medical disorder, and if so what
was it? If not, how do you know that she didn’t? If so, what could it
have been? Justify your answer with evidence from the text as well
as your knowledge of psychological disorders.
 Note: “She was crazy” or “she was insane” is not a diagnosis.
 Things to look for:
 Her behavior throughout the story
 Her general health and wellness throughout (both from the
perspective of others and herself)
 Her relationships with certain characters (or lack thereof)
IN CONSIDERATION OF PURPOSE
 Based on your understanding of the story’s plot and the
period in which is was written, what do you think
Gilman’s purpose was in writing this text and what is
the overall theme of the story?
 Justify and support your answer by finding three
examples from the text. Explain how these examples
support your claim.
 Read the brief article included on the back of your copy
of the story.
 What was Gilman’s real reason for writing the story?
How does this compare to your interpretation?
CONCLUDING WITH CONTINUUMS:
A GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION
 Consider the three characters discussed heretofore (Curley’s Wife,
Mrs. Mallard, the Narrator) and place them on continuums in
relation to the following concepts:
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Marginalization (Least to Most Marginalized)
Quality of Relationship (Least to Most Fulfilled)
Wealth (Least to Most Wealthy)
Dreams and Desires (Least to Most Dreamy)
 You must provide specific textual evidence to justify your placement
of various characters on the continuum.
 You will draw your continuums on a piece of poster board or
bulletin board paper.
 After this, use all of the above factors to determine which of the
three characters is in the worst position in regards to her quality of
life or overall happiness. Explain your response using details from
the texts and your group-generated continuums.
CONNECTING WITH
CONTEMPORARY CULTURE
 Read the following article recently posted in The Huffington
Post, annotate the text, and answer the following questions:
 What was the name of the organization from which the
counselors offering advice in these columns originated?
 According to the advice sampled in this article, who is
generally considered to be more responsible for the
problems that occur in a marriage?
 What does the advice sampled in this article encourage
women to do generally? How are women supposed to
behave?
 What aspects of marginalization and discrimination
exhibited in these three stories and this article can still be
seen in contemporary society? Explain using specific details
from all four texts and your personal experience.