RUNNING HEAD Pg. 1
Comparison of Two Gender Role/Marriage Themed Short Stories
Comparison of Two Gender Role/Marriage
Themed Short Stories
Pam Anderson
Eng. 125
Prof. Jessica Miner
July 15, 2014
Comparison of two stories Pg. 2
The literary theme that I decided to complete an analysis of, is within the marriage/gender role theme. A gender roll is, "the set of arrangements by which a society transforms biological sexuality into products of human activity, and in which these transformed needs are satisfied" (Reiter 1975: 159). Different religions, cultures and opinions have an effect on how people see marriage/gender roles. Every known society has a gender/sex system, although the components and workings of this system vary widely from society to society”. (wordiQ.com 2010) In the United States it is accepted that a woman can work, be a single Mom and even own her own business, but if you were to go to the middle east you would find that woman are not even allowed to show their faces in public, let alone work or have children outside of marriage.
The two stories that I am comparing is “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber in 1939, and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin in 1894. These stories both have many similarities, and also a few noticeable differences. The main similarity is that both stories describe a relationship between a husband and his wife. Though they are not written about the same subject, it is described well throughout both stories, the concern that both wives have for their husbands. These stories also depict characters who are looking for their own independence. In “The Secret life of Walter Mitty” Walter is in a relationship where his wife is very controlling. He dreams of a life where he is the one in control, which is what he daydreams about throughout this story. In “The Story of an Hour” Louise is in a marriage where her husband is in control and for a few...