Literary Appreciation
Hong Kong Baptist University
College of International Education
Associate Degree Program
3rd Semester 2012/13
Literary Appreciation (RCS 0031)
Term Essay
Student name: | Chan Shuk Ying | Student number: | 11638745 | Section: | 64 | Lecturer name: | Dr. Monica Chen | Date of submission: | 13th December, 2012 |
Why those short stories are sadness? Is it related to the author background? In this essay, I would like to analysis two stories of Kate Chopin. I would like to analysis these through several ways: Characteristic, theme and symbols. These two stories are “The Story of an Hour” and “Désirée’s baby”
American author Kate Chopin (1850–1904) wrote two published novels and about a hundred short stories in the 1890s. Actually, she got a very sad childhood. Her sister died in infancy. Her brothers died while she had not twenty-five. And her father died when she only was three. Thus, she just only developed the life with her mother, grandmother, and her great-grandmother. Luckily, she had a good relationship between them. She started to write short stories. Most of her works those theme were feminist, regional local color. Some of the time she was a nonexistent author.
In “The story of an hour”, the background period should be late 19th century. In this period, everyone was tried to promote women’s independence. Since the role of women in this should be husband’s belonging, a symbol of the husband’s status and wealth etc. and the “Désirée’s baby” is American Civil War which also 19th century. The problem of slavery was very serious. For the women, besides domesticity, women were also expected to be pious, pure, and submissive to men. Even they were able to gain a voice that proof they were republican motherhood.
Characters are defined according to the way the author describes what they think, do and say. The characters of these two stories have difference characteristic: | The story of an hour | Désirée’s baby | Characteristic | Mrs.
College of International Education
Associate Degree Program
3rd Semester 2012/13
Literary Appreciation (RCS 0031)
Term Essay
Student name: | Chan Shuk Ying | Student number: | 11638745 | Section: | 64 | Lecturer name: | Dr. Monica Chen | Date of submission: | 13th December, 2012 |
Why those short stories are sadness? Is it related to the author background? In this essay, I would like to analysis two stories of Kate Chopin. I would like to analysis these through several ways: Characteristic, theme and symbols. These two stories are “The Story of an Hour” and “Désirée’s baby”
American author Kate Chopin (1850–1904) wrote two published novels and about a hundred short stories in the 1890s. Actually, she got a very sad childhood. Her sister died in infancy. Her brothers died while she had not twenty-five. And her father died when she only was three. Thus, she just only developed the life with her mother, grandmother, and her great-grandmother. Luckily, she had a good relationship between them. She started to write short stories. Most of her works those theme were feminist, regional local color. Some of the time she was a nonexistent author.
In “The story of an hour”, the background period should be late 19th century. In this period, everyone was tried to promote women’s independence. Since the role of women in this should be husband’s belonging, a symbol of the husband’s status and wealth etc. and the “Désirée’s baby” is American Civil War which also 19th century. The problem of slavery was very serious. For the women, besides domesticity, women were also expected to be pious, pure, and submissive to men. Even they were able to gain a voice that proof they were republican motherhood.
Characters are defined according to the way the author describes what they think, do and say. The characters of these two stories have difference characteristic: | The story of an hour | Désirée’s baby | Characteristic | Mrs.