SSRJ#1: Chopin

My first reaction to this piece was one of sorrow. I felt bad for Mrs. Mallard and the terrible news she was given. Though I can not relate to her in any of my life experiences and can definitely see how this situation is emotionally terrible for anyone with a significant other. I definitely found that there was a tremendous focus on detail in this story. The author does a great job of describing the scene and painting a picture of exactly what is happening both in Mrs. Mallard's  head and what is happening outside of the house.

I felt that the author put a huge focus on the irony in this story. The time frame is very short, an hour according to the tittle. In this hour Mrs. Mallard goes from learning about her husbands death to being at peace with him being gone and even looking forward to the future. Realistically these feelings of being at peace with what has happened normally takes a long period of time, often years and in some situations people never end up being able to move on from what has happened. The focus point of the irony plays out at the very end of the story though when Mrs. Mallard discovers her husband to be alive and well as he walks into the house. At this point there is no sigh of relieve but rather a fatal heart attack that kills Mrs. Mallard. This final irony shows that Mrs. Mallard was fine about hearing of the death of her husband, but dies when she realizes he is alive.

What I do not understand about this story is what appears to be a flaw in the basic plot. If Brently Mallard's name was on the top of what we have to assume is a long list of people who have died, it must mean that he was one of the first people to be found dead. How is it possible that whoever made this list could have made such a tremendous mistake when Brently was actually never even near the scene of the incident?

Intro About Myself

Hello my name is Sam. I'm 19 years old and from Roseville, CA even though I am currently living in Oregon. I am taking this class because it covers a general ed. requirement for my major. I am currently a student at Oregon State University but I have taken multiple classes online at Sierra and a few over summer to help get me through some of my general ed. requirements. I have to admit that I am not really much of a bookworm. The only books that I have read consistently have been the Harry Potter books. But I also enjoy books about war and the military.