popular literature

1. PREPARED BY: MS. GLADYS
RAMOS
POPULAR
LITERATURE
STORIES

2. KATE CHOPIN
One of the pioneers of the
American feminist writing
Her works focus on the
discrepancies between
women and men

3. THE STORY
OF AN HOUR

4. Louise Mallard has heart trouble, so she must be
informed carefully about her husband’s death.
Her sister, Josephine, tells her the news. Louise’s
husband’s friend, Richards, learned about a
railroad disaster when he was in the newspaper
office and saw Louise’s husband, Brently, on the
list of those killed. Louise begins sobbing when
Josephine tells her of Brently’s death and goes
upstairs to be alone in her room.

5. Louise sits down and looks out an open window. She
sees trees, smells approaching rain, and hears a
peddler yelling out what he’s selling. She hears
someone singing as well as the sounds of sparrows,
and there are fluffy white clouds in the sky. She is
young, with lines around her eyes. Still crying, she
gazes into the distance. She feels apprehensive and
tries to suppress the building emotions within her, but
can’t. She begins repeating the word Free! to herself
over and over again. Her heart beats quickly, and she
feels very warm.

6. Louise knows she’ll cry again when she sees
Brently’s corpse. His hands were tender, and he
always looked at her lovingly. But then she
imagines the years ahead, which belong only to
her now, and spreads her arms out joyfully with
anticipation. She will be free, on her own without
anyone to oppress her. She thinks that all women
and men oppress one another even if they do it
out of kindness.

7. Louise knows that she often felt love for Brently but tells
herself that none of that matters anymore. She feels
ecstatic with her newfound sense of independence.
Josephine comes to her door, begging Louise to come
out, warning her that she’ll get sick if she doesn’t. Louise
tells her to go away. She fantasizes about all the days and
years ahead and hopes that she lives a long life. Then she
opens the door, and she and Josephine start walking
down the stairs, where Richards is waiting.

8. The front door unexpectedly opens, and
Brently comes in. He hadn’t been in the train
accident or even aware that one had
happened. Josephine screams, and Richards
tries unsuccessfully to block Louise from
seeing him. Doctors arrive and pronounce
that Louise died of a heart attack brought on
by happiness.

9. PLOT
ANALYSI
S

10. "The Story of an Hour"
Characters
•Louise Mallard
•Josephine
•Richards
•Brently Mallard
•The doctor(s)

11. “The Story of an Hour” Symbolism
and Motifs
In “The Story of an Hour,”
symbolism is everywhere, but the
symbols present in the story are:
• The heart
•The house and the outdoors
•Joy and sorrow

12. Freedom And Repression:
Here, we see how the thoughts, feelings, or desire of a person are subdued. It is quite
apparent from the story that Louise Mallard is a victim of repression imposed on her by
society. She does not feel free until she hears about her husband’s demise.
Marriage:
The marriage between Louise and Brently shows a reality of American life in the 1890s. It
was only a mean of social control. In “The Story of an Hour”, we see that Mallard’s
marriage has very little love. Louise sees her marriage as a life-long bond where she
feels captive. At one point, she describes how she finds it unfair that her life is dictated by
the will of her husband.
THEMES

13. Foundational Questions of Feminist Criticism
•Does the text refer to, uphold, or resist any of these stereotypes? How?
•What roles have been assigned to the men and women in the text? Are
the roles stereotypical? Do gender roles conflict with personal desires?
•Does the text paint a picture of gender relations? If so, how would you
describe gender relations in the text? On what are they based? What
sustains them? What causes conflict between men and women?
•Are gender relations in the text celebrated? Denigrated? Mocked?
Mystified? If so, how?

14. Carlos Bulosan was born in the village of
Mangusmana in the Philippines on November 24,
1913. A novelist, poet, and activist, Bulosan
emigrated to the United States when he was
seventeen.
He is known most widely for America Is In the
Heart (Harcourt, Brace and Co. Inc., 1946) his semi-
autobiographical novel, though he authored multiple
plays, short stories, poems, and novels,
including The Laughter of My Father (Harcourt,
Brace, 1944) and The Cry and the
Dedication (Temple University Press, 1995), which
was published posthumously.

20. PLOT
ANALYSI
S

21. CHARACTERS
 YOUNG NARRATOR- (ONE OF THE CHILDREN OF THE POOR
FATHER)
 FATHER- NARRATOR’S FATHER
 RICH MAN- WHO FILED A COMPLAINT TO THE FATHER
STATING THAT THEY’VE BEEN STEALING THE SPIRIT OF
THEIR WEALTH AND FOOD
 RICH MAN’S CHILDREN- WHO BECAME THIN AND ANEMIC

22. SETTINGS
 IN THE SMALL ISLAND OF
LUZON
 AT THE COURT

23. THEME
POVERTY
SOCIAL STATUS

24. 1. How are the conflicts in the work connected to the struggle
between
**the haves and the have nots
** Owners and workers
** The rich and the poor
2. How does the work suggest that life in the burgeois society is
empty
**The pursuit of wealth and power is meaningless
** Money does not buy happiness
3. What are the values of each social class in work?
** Look at the characters that have high social status- what do they
appear to believe about the value of life, money, work, love
** Look at the characters that have a low social status and ask the
same questions