Responds
The readings are here:
https://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/ENL216/TEXTS/The%20Storm%20Chopin.pdf
https://my.hrw.com/support/hos/hostpdf/host_text_219.pdf
1/ Please respond to these two comments in one paragraph each (which is about the reading) informal and direct way (like saying: I agree with you…. , that is a good answer but I have different opinion than yours which is I think …., what do you mean by …., or any think )
First comment:
In “The Storm”, it is difficult to say whether Kate Chopin is even trying to “say” anything to the readers. The story simply describes a rekindling of two former lovers who are overcome with their respective loves, lusts, and dreams in the heat of a moment. Since they had a relationship in the past, there is obviously going to be some feelings between the two that are always present. Although, Alcee does seem to resist entering the house at first, he eventually enters only because the storm begins to worsen and shows no signs of letting up. I would consider Alcee a good man, much like Bobinot, who just got caught up in a sudden urge when trying to comfort a worrying mother. Calixta also is initially standoffish against Alcee, but is soon too overwhelmed with her own passion. Clarixta may be perceived as a tramp, but I think her and Alcee are one in the same. I do think what they did was wrong, since they both commited an act of infidelity against their very respectable spouses. This is a simple sequence of events where it is difficult to identify a message from the author. If there is a message, I think it is probably that no matter how good of a person you are, like Bobinot, something negative will inevitably occur in your life. Why should something like that occur to a good man who is likely committed to his spouse? In any case, the whole story can be summarized as a tale of sexual desire, with no real ramifications afterward, except for the aforementioned acts against the good Bobinot and Clarisse.
Second comment:
I don’t know what the author was “trying to say,” and I’m not convinced she was necessarily “trying to say” anything. The story itself is interesting without a “message” or “moral” for the reader.
What does it do to the story to have a main character commit an act of infidelity against a man who seems to be pretty decent? I think the story clearly establishes the following themes in the paragraphs leading up to and following the adultery:
pursuit of happiness: “So the storm passed and everyone was happy.” This sentence seems to ask the question: Is it wrong to do something that leads to everyone being happy?
freedom: Calixta and Alcee feel trapped in their relationships and remind each other of a time when they could/did do what they wanted.
gender roles: We see into Calixta’s and Alcee’s minds and feel the difference in their attitudes. They express the roles they are written into. Also, what does it say that this question prompt is phrased pointedly towards Calixta when Alcee is guilty of the same crime?
All of this contributes to the moral ambiguity that generates debate about what we think of Calixta. This is an English class, not an Ethics class: the language that establishes these themes is more interesting to me than going back and forth about whether something is right or wrong.
Thank you
