Form and Structure in 'The Story of an Hour'

Form and Structure in 'The Story of an Hour'

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In this lesson, we will look at the structure of 'The Story of an Hour' and think about the effect of Kate Chopin's use of dramatic irony to help her create the story's final twist.

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7 Questions

Q1.
If someone or something is 'liberated', what are they?
Correct answer: Free
Happy
Trapped
Upset
Q2.
Why does Mrs. Mallard's sister, Josephine, beg Mrs. Mallard to open the door?
She worries Mrs. Mallard cannot cope with her grief.
She worries Mrs. Mallard will be lonely.
She worries Mrs. Mallard will break something in the room.
Correct answer: She worries Mrs. Mallard will make herself ill.
Q3.
Mrs. Mallard is compared to a goddess of what?
Jubilation
Liberation
Triumph
Correct answer: Victory
Q4.
Who walks through the door at the end of the story?
A doctor
Correct answer: Brently Mallard
Josephine Mallard
Richards
Q5.
What are the two 'big ideas' that Kate Chopin explores in 'The Story of an Hour'?
Affliction and heartbreak
Anger and resentment
Excitement and surprise
Correct answer: Love and liberation
Q6.
What does the term 'affliction' mean?
A cause of annoyance and anger
A cause of grief and regret
A cause of joy and happiness
Correct answer: A cause of pain and suffering
Q7.
What happens to Mrs. Mallard at the end of the story?
She kills her husband.
She runs away from her husband.
She runs into her husband's arms.
Correct answer: The shock of seeing her husband kills her.

5 Questions

Q1.
What is the purpose of a twist at the end of a story?
To annoy a reader
To be mean to a reader
Correct answer: To surprise a reader
Q2.
What are the two 'big ideas' that Kate Chopin explores in 'The Story of an Hour'?
Affliction and heartbreak
Anger and resentment
Excitement and surprise
Correct answer: Love and liberation
Q3.
If someone or something is 'liberated', what are they?
Correct answer: Free
Happy
Trapped
Upset
Q4.
What is meant by the term 'structure'?
A story that builds up to a final twist
A term for what happens in a story
Correct answer: How a text has been put together by a writer
The language choices made by a writer
Q5.
What is dramatic irony?
When a reader knows something about a situation in a story that the writer does not.
When the characters in a story know something about a situation that the reader does not.
Correct answer: When the reader knows something about a situation in a story that the characters do not.
When the writer knows something about a situation in a story that a reader does not.

Lesson appears in

UnitEnglish / Contemporary Short Stories (1/2): The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

English