Analysis of Kate Chopin’s Short Story "The Storm"

Kate Chopin was an American author who I discovered by accident one day on the desk at my workplace. Kate Chopin short story "The Storm" was a very interesting read as I spent my time working at a help-desk for 8 hours. It caused me to want to learn more about older American literature. Even though I take long time to read English because I cannot process, I always enjoy romance. The story itself could be retold in today times, and most people would end up liking it. It displayed a case of adventure and excitement from the very start, but it transitions too lustful romance between two married people. The drastic transition of tone and events really goes hand in hands with the title. The storm was rough and intense to start with but slowly faded and resulting in a happy ending for everyone.

The tone of the story starts serious yet comforting. A man and his young son are confronted by a storm brewing. This storm hits the young man and boy while the tone remains calm. The tone reflects the calmness of the father but only at the beginning. The calm tone gives a hint that resolution might turn out ok. Little did I know that the story would take drastic shift in direction in tone, plot, and imagery.

A bombshell is dropped in the second half of the story. The tone transitions drastically. Instead of the warm tone in the beginning, we are met with a passionate and loving tone. This is because the man's wife is having an affair. While the father is dealing with a storm out in the field, there is a storm brewing at his own house. The only difference is that it is in the bedroom. A literal and figurative storm has started. Because the tone started off so comforting and exciting, I mistook the story. I expected a short thriller but was met with something completely different.

The imagery of the story was quite detailed. The storm was broadcast as very intense because of the imagery used. The pounding of the wind against the establishment that the father of the boy was in could be felt through the pages. Meanwhile, the sex scene imagery was fuzzy. It was tough for me to understand what was going on so I had to reread what just happened. The passion between Calixta and her lover is worded very peculiar. Calixta's description is very descriptive. She is described as a very beautiful housewife that stays at home. The male lead character is not described as much because he is not the focus of the story. The main focus of the story is focused around the literal and figurative storm.

The way that the story is told is very fluent and gets everyone’s persona and thoughts across. The main character, Calixta, was caught in a moment of passion and slipped up in her marriage. While cheating is not justified it is accepted. It is a part of life that probably continue to happen. It is more acknowledgement of the fact that it happenings. Feelings happen and slipups happen. This story definitely requires a unique lens and mindset in order to analyze.

"The Storm" can be taken literally but it is important to analyze it very thoroughly. A lot of themes and points can be missed because of the unique way that it is told in third person. A re read was necessary for me. Maybe it was because I was caught so off guard with what happened toward the end of the story. The imagery, narration style, and tone gave me an idea about the themes and points of the story. But even with these points I feel like there is still more for me to learn from this story.