Main characters: Calixta (“The Storm”) and Louise (“The Story of an Hour”)
A thesis you might want to use: Calixta’s and Louise’s reactions to their marriages
Another possible thesis: Calixta and Louise: similar, yet so different
Essay 3 is a COMPARISON-CONTRAST exercise on two stories by Kate Chopin, “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour.” I suggest you focus on the two main female characters in the stories, Calixta and Louise. Keep in mind, your essay will reflect SIMILARITIES and DIFFERENCES between the two characters (or the stories if you decide to go that way). As a first step towards your Essay 3, Comparison-Contrast between Calixta (“The Storm”) and Louise (“The Story of an Hour”), write your Title and Introduction with Thesis and Body Paragraph 1. Use MLA style format. Your intro paragraph must have a decent hook, transition sentences and a thesis with or without points listed. Your Body Paragraph 1 must have a good topic sentence that relates to the thesis.
CALIXTA LOUISE
DIFFERENCES SIMILARITIES DIFFERENCES
Of Spanish (Cuban) descent Both lived in Louisiana during the second half of the 19th century Not clear ancestry/ethnicity, probably White
Attractive, good looking Both are frustrated women who apparently married the wrong partners No physical description given, only that she is young.
Hot tempered Both their husbands love them, in their own ways Mild manners
Apparently healthy Both are young women Has a heart condition that kills her at the end of the story
Not very well educated Both escape their situation
briefly and find joy Apparently well educated
Has one child Dependent on their husbands No children
Low social class, rural Not honest about their feelings Middle class, urban
In love with Alcee, as part of a love triangle, adulterous, though she stays with Bobinot. Both feel a certain degree of affection for their husbands Not in love with Brently, but she doesn’t have any other lover
She is apparently happy, but must be frustrated inside She is definitely unhappy
CALIXTA
LOUISE Individual characteristics (differences) SIMILARITIES Individual characteristics (differences)
She is a mother. They are both unhappy, frustrated women. There are no children mentioned in the story.
She is apparently in good health. Neither can end their relationship by way of divorce. She has a heart condition.
She is the wife of a working-class man. They are late 19th c. Louisiana women. She apparently a middle-class woman.
She lives in a rural setting. They are both dependent on their respective husbands. She lives an urban setting.
She is involved in an extramarital affair. They are both young women. No other lover is mentioned in the story.
She enjoys the freedom to be with another man. Their husbands love them. She enjoys being alone and have a coming life for herself.
She is cheerful and a reinvigorated woman. They are both housewives. She learns of her husband’s death.
She is described as blue eyes and “flaxen hair”. They both have the dramatic irony. She is described as young, clam face and intelligent women.
She is associated as white. They both contain light and darkness. She is more self-reliant.
She is ambitious. They both show the viewpoints of women’s restriction in marriage. She is not an ambitious wife.
CALIXTA
LOUISE Individual characteristics (differences) SIMILARITIES Individual characteristics (differences)
She is a mother. They are both unhappy, frustrated women. There are no children mentioned in the story.
She is apparently in good health. Neither can end their relationship by way of divorce. She has a heart condition.
She is the wife of a working-class man. They are late 19th c. Louisiana women. She apparently a middle-class woman.
She lives in a rural setting. They are both dependent on their respective husbands. She lives an urban setting.
She is involved in an extramarital affair. They are both young women. No other lover is mentioned in the story.
She enjoys the freedom to be with another man. Their husbands love them. She enjoys being alone and have a coming life for herself.
She is cheerful and a reinvigorated woman. They are both housewives. She learns of her husband’s death.
She is described as blue eyes and “flaxen hair”. They both have the dramatic irony. She is described as young, clam face and intelligent women.
She is associated as white. They both contain light and darkness. She is more self-reliant.
She is ambitious. They both show the viewpoints of women’s restriction in marriage. She is not an ambitious wife.
