Im embarrassed to be writing this entry.

I’m embarrassed to be writing this entry. Yesterday evening at MIT had a fairly random pair of events: First, pro wrestling announcer Jim J.R. Ross spoke at a colloquium hosted by the Comparative Media Studies (CMS) department. Later, there was a free advance screening of Blades of Glory by the Lecture Series Committee (LSC). I hope you dont think less of me for going to a talk about professional wrestling followed by a sophomoric comedy with lots of crotch jokes. Jim Ross lecture I admit it; growing up, my brother and I watched pro wrestling. Later, we both did varsity wrestling in high school, which is a real sport and does not involve costumes or beating people with steel chairs. Regardless, when I heard that J.R. was speaking, I was quite intrigued. When I came to MIT, I knew there would be lots of famous scientists and engineers who would give guest lectures. Over my years here, there have been lots of astronauts (including Buzz Aldrin), mathematicians (like Benoit Mandelbrot), CEOs (Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Jack Welch), technologists (Steve Wozniak, Jimmy Wales) the kinds of cool people youd expect to hear talk at MIT. But there have been lots of speakers here on other topics, too. Ive seen Mira Nair, the MIT Blackjack Team, Al Gore, Ralph Nader, Thomas Friedman, Orson Scott Card, and more. Ive also missed talks by Kofi Annan, Zhu Rongji, Frank Gehry, and the Dalai Lama, among others. The talk by Jim Ross fits into the category of speakers I never thought Id see, and certainly not at MIT. Actually, there is an entire class in the CMS department this term devoted to pro wrestling: CMS.602 Topics in Comparative Media Studies. The class is taught by Sam Ford, who is also a licensed professional wrestling manager and performs for Universal Championship Wrestling in Kentucky. Courses in CMS frequently take an academic look at topics in popular culture. For example, this term the course CMS.922 Media Industries Systems, looks at video games. It is taught by Chris Weaver, the founder of Bethesda Softworks the company that invented the original John Madden Football and created the hit RPG The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. As for Jim Ross talk itself, I came away thinking about the concept of storytelling. What does it mean to tell a story well? What makes a good story? How do you create a story that a broad audience can relate to? There was also an interesting thread of discussion about the role of gender roles and sexuality in pro wrestling, and how characters, both male and female, are developed. Of course, we also talked about the legitimacy of pro wrestling: is it fake, performance art, sport, spectacle? (This discussion being done with everyone having an appropriate understanding of how pro wrestling actually works) Blades of Glory sneak preview After the Colloquium, I ran over to Annas Taqueria with my friends Dan Jeff for a quick burrito dinner, then we headed over to room 26-100 to get in line for a sneak preview of the new Will Ferrell movie, Blades of Glory. Blades of Glory isnt due out in theaters until March 30. Sneaks are a fairly regular event for LSC. A few of the sneaks from recent years include 8 Mile, Corpse Bride, I (Heart) Huckabees, School of Rock, and Harold Kumar Go To White Castle. There will be another free sneak preview in a couple weeks (just before CPW): Disturbia, which appears to be a bad remake of Rear Window. One of the best things about watching a sneak at LSC is the crowd. The night starts with trailers for upcoming LSC movies. Before each trailer, there is an LSC slide informing the crowd when the movie will show, for example, Next Friday and Sunday. The entire crowd, in unison, then responds, Next Friday and Sunday IN STEREO! Its pretty cool to see the whole crowd shout it at the screen. The related LSC tradition is that if the movie audio or visual should fail during the film, one audience members shouts LSC! and the rest of the crowd replies Sucks! You can try this at any movie theater near a large concentration of MIT alums (Boston, Silicon Valley, Manhattan, etc.) at a movie that might draw a large MIT crowd. At a screening of Star Wars Episode 1 in Los Angeles on opening night, at the appropriate moment I yelled LSC! and got a reply from somewhere in the large crowd; it was pretty cool. The crowd at the Blades sneak was particularly vocal. There was no LSC sucks! moment, but the crowd laughed quite heavily at just about every laugh line. Maybe its because Spring Break is almost here. As for the movie itself, it was funny, probably worth paying to see in a movie theater, if you like this sort of movie. It wasnt as good as, say, Anchorman or Old School, but still pretty good. Ice skating fans with a sense of humor will particularly enjoy it (lots of cameos; the one from Sasha Cohen is the best). Anyway, that was my Thursday evening.

Poverty and Charity in Jane Eyre Essay - 1141 Words

Poverty and Charity in Jane Eyre When Jane Eyre resided at Gateshead Hall, under the care of her aunt, Mrs. Reed, she yearned for a change. The treatment that she received at Gateshead Hall was cruel, unjust, and most importantly, lacked nurture. Jane wanted to escape Gateshead Hall and enter into a school. The school that was imposed upon Jane was Lowood Institution. Through her eight year stay at Lowood, Jane learned how to control her frustrations and how to submit to authority. After leaving Lowood Institution and taking the occupation as governess at Thornfield Hall, Jane realized that her experiences at Gateshead Hall and Lowood Institution had deeply rooted themselves into her personality. After departing Thornfield Hall, Jane†¦show more content†¦In one instance, finding that Jane had borrowed one of Johns books, he physically and mentally torments her: You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, mamma says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not live here with gentlemans children like us, and eat the same meals we do, and wear clothes at our mammas expense. Now, Ill teach you to rummage my book-shelves. (43; ch. 1) After yelling at Jane, John Reed threw the book at her and caused her head to bleed. The entire outcome of this incident was blamed on Jane; not because she borrowed a book, but because she was considered less than a servant and a wicked child by everyone who resided at Gateshead Hall, including the servants (44; ch. 2). It was hard for Jane, who at the time was ten years old, to understand why she was treated so harshly. She questioned herself as to why she deserved such ill-treatment: Why was I always suffering, always browbeaten, always accused, and forever condemned? (46; ch. 2). The only answer she could come up was that she was a discord in Gateshead Hall and that she had nothing in harmony with Mrs. Reed or her children (47; ch. 2). Jane did not even consider the Reeds as part of her family. I am unhappy -- very unhappy . . . For one thing, I have no father or mother, brothers or sisters (56; ch. 3). Jane longed for a complete change . . . an entrance into a new life . . .Show MoreRelatedJane Eyre, By Charlotte Bronte1143 Words   |  5 PagesDerek Chao Ms.Roberts AP Literature November 18 2015 Awesome Essay Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontà «, illustrates a British society that depicts an uneven distribution of wealth among people in the Victorian Era, creating this gap between the rich and poor. Social class in British society was made of the lower, middle, and upper class. Brontà « implemented characters like Mr.Brocklehurst and the Reeds to show that characters that were high in class and supported the social hierarchy were notRead MoreReview Of Charlotte Bronte s Jane Eyre 933 Words   |  4 PagesTitle: Jane Eyre Author: Charlotte Bronte Main Characters (Protagonist/Antagonist), Title, Traits: Jane Eyre (Protagonist): main character, lost, alone, devastated Rochester (Protagonist): master of Thornfield, loves Jane, secretive, caring St. John (Protagonist): missionary loves Jane, cold, reserved, controlling Mrs. Reed (Antagonist): Jane’s aunt, cruel, resent Mr. Brocklehurst (Antagonist): principal, cruel, hypocritical Setting: England in the 19th century. Gateshead, Lowood InstituteRead MoreFemale Characters in Jane Eyre Essay908 Words   |  4 Pages The development of Charlotte Brontes character, Jane Eyre, becomes vital to her novel Jane Eyre, and the other characters in which she is involved. She is an intelligent, plain featured, honest young girl whose reaction to her situations brings more depth to her personality. She is forced to deal with oppression, discrimination, and at times poverty, which disrupt her strong will, dignity, and desire for freedom. At the beginning, Jane possesses a passion for pride and the idea of freedom andRead More Jane’s Path to Prosperity Essay2444 Words   |  10 Pagesto Prosperity In The beginning of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte introduces Jane as an orphan girl who is residing at Gateshead with Mrs. Reed and her children. Bronte walks us through the episodes of Jane’s life as she moves to Lowood, Thronfield, Moor House, and finally to Ferndean. Throughout these stages, Bronte will show how charity was depicted through the interactions that Jane had. Through these perspectives we will see that the results of how charity was regarded, based on the nineteenthRead MoreIntroduction. Jane Eyre Written By Charlotte Bronte Is2043 Words   |  9 PagesIntroduction Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Bronte is a novel that talks of Jane as a lonely orphaned child who has no sense of belonging to her kinship. She lived at Gateshead with Mrs Reed and her husband and children. Jane was harassed by her cousin John. If she could resist the harassment, she was punished. Mrs Reed sent her to Lowood Institute. There she made many friends, and there was no harassment. After staying in Lowland for six years as student and two years as a teacher, she moves ThornfieldRead More A Comparison of the Ideals of Bronte in Jane Eyre and Voltaire in Candide2672 Words   |  11 PagesThe Ideals of Bronte in Jane Eyre and Voltaire in Candide      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Subjective novelists tend to use personal attitudes to shape their characters. Whether it be an interjection of opinion here, or an allusion to personal experience there, the beauty of a story lies in the clever disclosure of the authors personality. Charlotte Bronte and Voltaire are no exceptions. Their most notable leading characters, Jane Eyre and Candide, represent direct expressions of the respective authors emotions andRead More What Makes Jane Eyre An Unusual Woman For Her Time? Essay2994 Words   |  12 PagesWhat Makes Jane Eyre An Unusual Woman For Her Time? Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre in the mid nineteenth century. At this time women were treated as inferior and believed to be less capable then men. In the Victorian age this belief was widely accepted and most women would marry and have children. Women were generally expected to serve men; this meant many ladies were both emotionally and financially dependent on their husbands. The fact that most women abided by these traditional valuesRead MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte And The Language Of Flowers2810 Words   |  12 PagesJane Eyre by Charlotte Brontà « and The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh are two novels, which, despite the secular time difference, share similar characters and events. Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Jane Eyre, and Diffenbaugh’s Victoria Jones face the difficulties of growing into adulthood after a childhood as orphans, however they respond differently to the events that occur in their lives. Both novels express the importance of having love, a home and family, and be forgiving. The authors have unique ways ofRead More How do Jane’s experiences at Lowood contribute to her development?1756 Words   |  8 PagesHow do Jane’s experiences at Lowood contribute to her development? Before arriving at Lowood Jane lived at Gateshead, with her aunt and three cousins. She was unloved and treated badly, and had already developed a determination to stand up for herself and fight for her independence. The young Jane had baffled Mrs Reed, who could obviously not understand â€Å"how for nine years you could be patient and quiescent under any treatment, and in the tenth break out all fire and violence†. At Gateshead

Mens Control in William Shakespeares The Merchant of...

Mens Control in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the scene opens to reveal a society controlled by men. Men, who live in the foreground of Venetian society, wield their power in business, government, and family life. In the background, women conduct their lives quietly. They are subservient to their husbands and fathers and are regarded as helpless and in need of male guidance in areas of decision making. Though in Shakespeare’s time such a societal structure was largely acceptable, the modern reader views the subjugation of women with aversion, and the ways in which Shakespeare presents the female characters in this play perhaps show that he too was not entirely comfortable†¦show more content†¦Her father, in imposing the system by which she gains a husband, and Bassanio, by having the ability to approach her as a suitor and choose her as his wife, hold a great degree of power over her. Portia laments her inability to act according to her own volition, saying, â€Å"O me, the word choose! I may neither / Choose who I would nor refuse who I dislike, so is / The will of a living daughter curbed by the will of / A dead father† (1.2.22). The extent of male dominance in Venetian society is evidenced by the high degree of authority that Portia’s father continues to hold over her life even after he is dead. Choosing a spouse is one of the most life-altering decisions a person can make, but Portia has no say in the matter. Instead, she must entrust her destiny to a system of boxes and riddles, and for the most part, she is a willing societal minion, but only when dressed as a woman. Once Portia slips into male garb, her behavior is shockingly different. The audience sees not a restricted, powerless Portia, agonizing over the possible misfortunes of being wed to ill-complexioned braggarts, but a confident, even cunning Portia. Disguised as a male lawyer, Portia becomes an entirely new character, intelligent and well versed in the law, about which the reader is previously unaware that she knows anything. In the courtroom, the tables are turned and gender roles are reversed. No longer is Portia under the thumb of the men whoShow MoreRelatedShakespeare s Theatrical Device : The Benefits Of Mistaken Identity Essay1683 Words   |  7 Pages Shakespeare’s Theatrical Device: The Benefits of Mistaken Identity Can someone pretend to be another person and come back being the same person as before? In many of William Shakespeare’s plays, the change of identity has been a success for many primary characters. Most notably, in comical plays, female characters have had the intention of changing not only their identity but their gender for a temporary period. The ploy of mistaken identity is a useful plot device that Shakespeare uses becauseRead MoreThe Change Of Identity Has Been A Success For Many Primary Characters Essay1687 Words   |  7 Pages Can someone pretend to be another person and come back being the same person as before? In many of William Shakespeare’s plays, the change of identity has been a success for many primary characters. Most notably, in comical plays, female characters have had the intention of changing not only their identity but their gender for a temporary period. The ploy of mistaken identity is a useful plot device that Shakespeare has used because it is a good way to get the audience humoured and have them thinkingRead More Portias Power in Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice Essay2452 Words   |  10 PagesPortias Power in Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice exemplifies a principle that is as unfortunately true in our time as it was in his - he who has money also has love, sex, and above all, power. In this case, the use of he is deliberate; she, in the Elizabethan era, rarely had either financial independence or much control over the course of her life. Portia, the deceitful heroine of the play, is a major exception. To put it bluntly, Portia is enormouslyRead MoreEssay about Comparing Shakespeare’s Women in Disguise2920 Words   |  12 PagesEngland at this time, cross-dressing was looked at as a dramaturgical motif, a theatrical practice, and a social phenomenon. â€Å"In Shakespeare’s day, a cross-dressed heroine, like any female character also involved a gender switch in the world of the playhouse, for women’s roles were normally assigned to young male apprentices called play-boys† (Shapiro, 1). In each of Shakespeare’s five plays involving a cross-dressing her oine, he tried something different. He cleverly varied each motif in which each play

Baroque Style of Period Free Essays

It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself. -Johann Sebastian Bach Well, yes, it’s easy to play any musical instrument, but unfortunately for most, it IS hard finding the â€Å"right key’ and putting your finger, or mouth, or bow on the â€Å"right time† is almost impossible. But Bach always found the right time to play, and it wasn’t during the right second or on the right beat. We will write a custom essay sample on Baroque Style of Period or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was the right century. 600 officially began the Baroque period, and I mention Bach because it seems this period ended tit his death in 1750. Stay tuned (all puns intended) to learn what was going on, who else had the magic touch, and the characteristics of the Baroque time. Several events took place in the one hundred and fifty year span of the Baroque period. Presumably the most influential was that the Age of Enlightenment began. That meant you had an increased chance not to be killed for being different, which was great for entertainers trying to make a name for themselves. Great philosophers and writers flourished in this time, including Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, John Milton, Jonathan Swift, William Shakespeare, and John Donned. All of which high school students are forced- ERM encouraged to read about. Science was also explored, and from it, gravity- the enemy of all women standing on a scale- was discovered. Sir Isaac Newton developed laws of physics, including the Laws of Motion and, as noted above, gravity. The first opera, Eurydice, and opera house, Theater San Casino, opened in 1600 and 1637, respectively. King James Version of the Bible, the most widely distributed version today, was published and reduced in 1611, and probably the greatest moment for you and me, the pilgrims landed here in America in 1620. Go Thanksgiving! So needless to say, none of the great composers of this time came from America, and consequently, have rather difficult names for the average American to pronounce. Such as Archangel Cornell, Claudio Monteverdi, Jean-Philippe Rammer, Alexandra and Domenici Scarlatti, and Heimlich Scouts (You should see how many red squiggly lines Word has up for those). There are less complicated ones, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel, Henry Purcell, and Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldi†¦ I love Vivaldi; his works are outstanding and seem to fit every occasion. Most commercial companies have realized this as well, regrettably, and overuse his masterpiece, The Four Seasons. Some of the other more notable works were Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach, The Messiah by Handel, Marcher Royals by Lully, and Coracle’s trio sonatas such as Sonata for Violin and Lute. Speaking of trio sonatas, they were a popular form of the Baroque period, as were concertos, concerto grosses, suites (a set of instrumental compositions to be played in succession or a set of selected pieces from an opera or musical, arranged to be laded as one instrumental work), oratorios, cantatas, operas, fugues (a contrapuntal composition in which a short melody or phrase is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts), and toccatas (a musical composition for a keyboard instrument designed to exhibit the performer’s touch and technique). While some of these forms may have been used in periods before them, the Baroque period definitively had its definitive characteristics that made it unique and created things that made it memorable. In general, the music was a bit like â€Å"how it feels to chew 5 gum†. Lying on a bed of vibrating metal balls, suspended from wires hit with a hammer, while shooting way up into the air all combined into one. The music had complicated rhythms and expansive movements; it was heavy and thick with texture, including singers and instruments in polyphonic heaven. Sounds were echoed and imitated, creating a very elaborate piece without any crescendos or diminuendos to make it dynamically different. It did have dependable meters though, usually two, three, four, or six main beats. In Just a century and a half, more than two dozen people made artistic history. The Baroque period was a great time of advancement in several areas, especially music. Numerous composers, such as Bach, Handel, Scouts, Vivaldi, Cornell, and Lully, and their work, like The Messiah, and The Four Seasons, survive to this day. The Baroque area has its own defining characteristics, such as complicated rhythms, elaborate melodies, pieces thick with harmony, and syrupy textures. It was also during a time of great change and many new discoveries, such as gravity, the first opera and opera house, and the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment. Hopefully this essay did some justice to the Baroque era. That’s all folks. How to cite Baroque Style of Period, Papers

Like a Feather Bringing Kingdoms to Their Knees. free essay sample

This line from a song I heard in Breaking Dawn Part 1 made its way to the Google search bar and Just then I knew what the title of such a lovely piece Is. Oh, all the feels! Isnt it more pleasing to hear a traditional cheesy line with all the Images, and figures of speech in it? I wish to post only my favorite lines In the song, but then as I read through it, every word matters: Sleeping At Last Ive waited a hundred years. But Id Walt a million more for you. Nothing prepared me forWhat the privilege of being yours would do. If I had only felt the warmth within your touch, If I had only seen how you smile when you blush, Or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough, I would have known what I was living for all along. What Ive been living for. We will write a custom essay sample on Like a Feather Bringing Kingdoms to Their Knees. or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Your love is my turning page, Where only the sweetest words remain. Every kiss is a cursive line, Every touch is a redefining phrase. I surrender who Ive been for who you are, For nothing makes me stronger than your fragile heart.If I had only felt how it feels to be yours, Well, I would have known what Ive been living for all along. What Ive been living for. Though were tethered to the story we must tell, When I saw you, well, I knew wed tell It well. With a whisper, we will tame the vicious seas. Like a feather bringing kingdoms to their knees. Now, the kiss being compared to a cursive line How Is a reader supposed to feel? Well, as we could Imagine, a cursive Is composed of strokes and curls and every adjective that brings you this unexplainable light feeling.Mm-hem? Right now I could Imagine how the speakers world slows down as his lips touches the others and all the emotions are being suspended in that very moment. Sense of excitement. Given that every touch means a new definition, the line appears to me as a firework display which brings me to awe with every color that would fill the sky. The last two lines of the song are certainly not the least! I love how the words whisper, tame, and vicious are put in one sentence.The contrast illuminates the power that the speakers ardor brings. And the last line Its still quite unclear to me how the kingdoms are supposed to mean. But, instead of this line giving me a definition, it is rather giving me a feeling of tranquility. The feathers, although the color is not specified, portrays an image of weightlessness Free from burdens. See how these little words, having their own distinct flavors, when put together produces a whole new dramatic taste. Poetry is purely amazing like that.

7 Dramatic Monologues by Greek Playwright Sophocles

7 Dramatic Monologues by Greek Playwright Sophocles Here is a collection of ancient yet profound dramatic speeches from The Oedipus Plays by Greek playwright Sophocles. Each dramatic monologue is ideal as a classical audition piece. Also, English students can use them as study resources for analyzing the characters. Antigone’s Defiant Monologue: This scene is a favorite from Antigone and is an excellent exercise for a young female performer. Antigone delivers this commanding speech, defying the laws of the king in order to follow her conscience. Shes a stubborn young woman, intent on civil disobedience in order to fulfill her family obligations and what she believes is a higher law of the gods. She will risk punishment rather than settle for a noble life without honoring her dead brother.Creon from Antigone:  At the beginning of the  play,  Creon sets up the conflict that will lead to Antigones defiance. His two nephews, Antigones brothers, died in a duel over the throne. Creon inherits the throne by default and gives one a hero’s funeral while determining the other was a traitor whose body should rot unburied. Antigone rebels against this and buries her brother, resulting in her punishment. Besides this monologue, there is another at the end of the play  that is also worth y. In the play’s finale, the antagonistic Creon realizes that his stubbornness has led to his family’s demise. That is an  intense, gut-wrenching monologue. The Chorus from Oedipus at Colonus: Greek Drama isn’t always dark and depressing. The Chorus monologue is a peaceful and poetic monologue describing the mythic beauty of Athens.Jocasta from Oedipus the King: Here, the mother/wife of Oedipus Rex offers some psychiatric advice. She tries to allay his anxiety over the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, unaware that both have already occurred. Freud must have loved this speech.Antigone’s End: Towards the end of her young life, Antigone contemplates her actions and her fate. She is sentenced to be walled up in a cave and die a slow death for her defiance of the kings edict. She maintains that she made the correct choice, yet she wonders why the gods have not yet intervened to bring justice in her situation.Ismene from Antigone: Antigone’s sister, Ismene, is often overlooked in student essays, which makes her a terrific topic to analyze. This dramatic monologue reveals the duplicitous nature o f her character. She is the beautiful, dutiful, outwardly obedient and diplomatic counter to her stubborn and defiant sister. Yet, they have lost both of their parents and their two brothers to suicide and duels. She counsels a safer course of obedience to the law, to live another day. Oedipus the King: This monologue is a classic cathartic moment. Here, Oedipus realizes the wretched truth about himself, his parents, and the terrible power of fate. He has not escaped what fate foretold, he has killed his father and married his mother. Now, his wife/mother has committed suicide and has blinded himself, determined to become an outcast until he dies.

“Story of an Hour” and “Desiree’s Baby” Essay Example

â€Å"Story of an Hour† and â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† Essay Example â€Å"Story of an Hour† and â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† Essay â€Å"Story of an Hour† and â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† Essay Kate Chopin lived a conventional life, marrying young to a wealthy businessman and from a prominent family herself.   She began writing to help support her family when she was widowed at a young age and left with 6 children to take care of and only a meager salary to live on.   She was almost an immediate success in the literary field, but almost stopped writing completely after the publication of The Awakening, which had themes of personal and sexual freedom for women and shocked her American audiences.   Despite that, her work is still considered to be a prominent figure in early feminist literature.In the time that Chopin was writing, and the time she was writing in, both women and African Americans were considered citizens of secondary class.   They did not have the same rights, freedoms, and privileges as white males.   Women were males’ subordinates, expected to live and breathe for their men and their men’s benefit.   Any woman that strayed from this male-servicing mentality was considered to be an aberrant female- not normal, unfeminine, anti-woman.   Blacks were slaves, and that was as simple as that.   They were not people, they were property, and for a white woman to have a black child, meaning that she already betrayed her family and race by having sex with a black man and out of wedlock (since they were not allowed to intermarry) was considered among the highest atrocities.   The white men could sleep with the black female slaves, however, because (a) the slaves were their property and (b) women existed to fulfill men’s needs.â€Å"Story of an Hour† is about a woman who is told that her husband has died in a train accident.   Her friends were worried that the news would cause her severe devastation, but the result was quite the opposite.   She experienced relief, and was anxiously anticipating her newfound freedom†¦until her husband walked through the front door, alive and well, causing her the â€Å"severe devastation† and resulting in her death.   â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† is about a woman named Desiree whose recently-born child shows signs of undesired genetic makeup- the child appears to be of African American descent.   Desiree, who was adopted by a prominent family, is ostracized by her husband and thrown out of her home with the child, because he assumes it is she who is of â€Å"black blood† and disgraced him and his family’s good name.   We find out at the end of the story that it is not her at all, but him, and he finds out after he had already sent Desiree and the baby away.The main character is â€Å"Story of an Hour† is Louise Mallard.   Mrs. Mallard has a heart condition, but that is not all that appears to be â€Å"weak† about her.   She seems to be a very frail woman, the sort of woman who allows life to happen to her and who is a victim of her circumstance.   She is married to a man even she admits to be a wonderful person, and she never wanted for lack of love and affection.   Her situation appears to be a rather good one: loving husband who is not restrictive of her, well taken care of financially, friends and family that care for her tremendously.   And yet she still felt trapped.   She still felt as though she did not have her freedom, her ability to exist as a separate individual apart from her husband.   Her husband seemed to be the sort of man who would allow her to do whatever she wanted without question, yet she felt that the only way she could have her freedom was with him gone.   This mentality really only signifies her own mental weakness: that she is unable to take what resources she has to be independent and free and use them to her greatest advantage, instead once again being dependent upon another person for her own independence.Mrs. Mallard reacts in a number of ways when her husband dies.   When she first receives news of his death, she first weep s uncontrollably, then goes up to her room alone where she sits in silence, completely blank.   Then it dawns on her, and first she is gripped with terror, the excitement- she is free.   She became gripped with joy, until she saw her husband, still alive.   Whatever sorrow she felt initially was completely erased by the anxious anticipation of her freedom, her assertion of self.   She still felt a little sad for her dead husband, but that small feeling of sadness couldn’t compare to the immense joy she felt on top of it.Mr. Brently Mallard is a kind man.   He is, as described by Louise herself, a kind and loving man.   The way Louise herself describes him, it appears that he was a doting husband that would do anything for his wife and would also allow her to do anything she asked.   Their relationship seemed to be one that would be very positive; he did not appear to be a controlling man and would most likely have allowed Louise to pursue whatever she wanted wit hout question.I think that the end of this story shows Kate Chopin’s flair for tragic irony; that a woman with a heart condition would die of shock (and disappointment) upon seeing her husband still alive as opposed to finding out he died is incredibly ironic, and so much more considering her friends were reluctant to tell her for that very reason.   I think also that it is ironic that a woman with a husband who is so clearly understanding and loving would truly believe that her only chance of freedom is with him dead.   To me this shows a weakness in mind of the main character, and she deserved to be so overwhelmed by her husband’s reappearance that it killed her.   Louise Mallard would be a much more sympathetic character if her husband was cruel and abusive and controlling, but he was none of those things.   Therefore, her death, though definitely heavy in irony, is kind of anticlimactic.   By that point, I no longer cared what happened to this fool of a w oman.The character of Desiree in â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† is another victim of circumstance, but in her case it is completely outside of her control.   Desiree Aubigny is a beautiful young girl, who was abandoned at birth and taken in by an affluent Louisiana family.   She married what she thought to be a wonderful man, and soon gave birth to a son that she loved dearly.   Desiree was full of joy; she loved life fully, and loved her husband and son even more.   She was so blinded by love, in fact, that as people began whispering about the color of her son’s skin, she didn’t at first notice; and she never once saw the darkness in her son’s skin for herself.   It wasn’t until her husband Armand turned his back on her because of it that she began to pay attention to it.Desiree reacts in a variety of ways to the crisis in her life.   When the rumors begin, Desiree is still blissfully oblivious, and perfectly content with her child and h er life.   Then she begins to sense that something is wrong, and this is when her husband starts to ignore her.   She is devastated by his treatment of her, but it still takes her some time to understand why.   When it finally dawns on her that her child is partially black, she is gripped with terror and confusion.   When her husband Armand accuses her ancestry as being at fault for their child’s color, she denies it, citing how white her skin is.   She cannot accept that she is to blame for what Armand is treating as an abomination.   In despair she writes her mother, who tells her to come home to her, and in one last pathetically hopeful attempt she questions Armand as to whether or not he wanted her to leave.   He did, and she left, dead inside, walking like a statue in a daze.Armand Aubigny is man in denial.   Poor adopted Desiree had no way of knowing that the man who would fall so madly in love with her would end up betraying her, turning his back on her , and all as a result of his own heritage (and which of her own she had no way of knowing, either, as a result of being abandoned by her birth parents).   Desiree is very much a victim in this case- a victim of a cruel, fickle man, who is more interested in protecting his own interests (such as his family’s name) than he is in standing by the love of his life’s side.   He turned his back on her, assuming immediately she was of African American descent, which she could not refute having been adopted, and cast her aside.   Armand is selfish, and his moods are like the weather- sometimes sunny and beautiful, other times stormy and vicious.   Before he and Desiree married, Armand had been a cruel and exacting man.   His nature became much gentler when he fell in love and married, and he was a wonderful, doting husband to Desiree.   But when his son’s heritage became increasingly more visible Armand’s cruelty came raging back, and Desiree received the brunt of it.   He did not hit her- he just ignored her, as if she didn’t exist, which can be even more cruel.   And he remained in complete denial that he could possibly be at fault for the child’s blackness; and presumably continued to do so even after he discovered his own mother’s letter.The end of this story is another example of Chopin’s love of tragic irony, only in this story it was much more powerful.   Throughout the story the reader feels pity for this poor girl Desiree who had no way of controlling what was happening to her, no way to disprove what was being accused of her, and no way to talk sense into her boorish, pig-headed husband.   The entire story is heart-wrenching, and the reader experiences how badly Desiree suffers.   But at the end, when the audience discovers that it was Armand whose own mother was black, we realize how unjustly Desiree had been treated and just how cruel Armand really was, and all because of him.   There is much more to sympathize with here, because Desiree’s suffering was much greater, and much less controllable.Louise Mallard and Desiree Aubigny are very similar characters.   Both women had husbands who, at least initially, adored them, and who were treated very well by their husbands.   Both women were victims of circumstances beyond their control- Louise with her heart condition and the false news, Desiree with her unknown parentage and black son.   Both women are dealt cruel blows at the hand of fate- Louise dies of shock at the sight of her living husband, and Desiree is thrown out of her home with her baby by her spiteful husband.   Both women are tragic characters.But for as many similarities exist between them, there are also a number of differences.   Desiree, for one, loved her husband and loved hr life.   She was happy and full of joy, until Armand turned against her.   Louise, on the other hand, was a miserable person who wished for death, an d it was only at the thought of losing her husband that she felt excitement and joy.   Desiree did not want to lose her husband, and that was ultimately was drove her into despair.   Louise did want to lose her husband and was ecstatic when she thought she did; when she found out the contrary, it devastated her so badly it killed her.   Both are victims of circumstance, but Louise had circumstances she could change.   Whatever negative situation she believed herself to be in was of her own doing and existed primarily in her own head; her husband was not one who would try to control her or prevent her from doing anything she wanted to do, she just merely believed that to be true.   She was a victim of her own helplessness.   Desiree was in a negative situation completely outside of her control; she had no way of proving to Armand that she wasn’t black, since she had no way of knowing who her parents really were.   Thus her attempt at denial was futile, and she wa s a victim only of Armand’s cruelty.My opinion of â€Å"Story of an Hour† is that it allows the main character to be too much of a victim, without necessity.   If the readers are really supposed to feel sorry for her, then her husband probably shouldn’t be Mr. Wonderful.   â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† has a much more sympathetic main character in Desiree in that she was not able to prevent anything that happened to her from happening.   Everything that happened was as the result of other people’s doing; she had no role in any of it.   And yet she was the one who suffered the most and lost everything.   This is the ultimate cruelty.   Really, Louise Mallard simply just got what she wanted when all was said and done- before hearing about her husband’s death, she had been wishing for her own, which she got.  Ã‚   Desiree’s soul was crushed, and it was for no reason that she could control.