With enough short stories and the like available today some are bound to have similarities between them. Such an example of this can be seen in the short stories Barn Burning by William Faulkner and Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. In both stories the protagonists lose something very important to them. Loss is a large factor that plays a big role in these stories. While there are similarities, there are, of course, differences. while something important is lost that does not necessarily mean that they are undergoing the same conflict. To a certain extent, the conflict and plot are similar.
Conflict
When it comes to Barn Burning, the main type of conflict is a Man vs. Man type. The conflict does not stay continuously on the initial man. While it does not change the type the other man changes. The story begins with a court case between Mr. Snopes and Mr. Harris. Snopes has been accused of burning down Harris’s barn after Mr. Harris found Snopes’s hog on his farm. Them man sent to reclaim the hog left a threatening message with Harris. Later on, when Snopes’s family starts working for de Spain, Snopes ruins a very expensive carpet and is expected to pay for it after the cleaning process ruined it further. In response to this and the court case that followed, Snopes burns down the barn.
During the short events of Story of an Hour, the conflict of Woman vs. Self takes place. Many times through the lines does Mrs. Mallard try to calm herself. She keeps trying to reason with herself. With news of Mr. Mallard’s death, Mrs. Mallard tries to make the best of a sad situation, she tries to keep a strong composure,”She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death.” but a mental hit like this could not be fixed so easily.
Snopes is constantly in a fight with his employers. Even when his son tried to calm him down, Snopes would get angry with him,” ‘ Lennie. Take hold of him. I want to see you do it.’ “Mrs. Mallard would fight with her emotions to try and keep composure. Right before the end, Mrs. Mallard would give in to her emotions and nearly quit fighting. These conflicts both emerged from losing something/ someone.
Characterization
During the events of Barn Burning, Snopes is portrayed as very forceful man. He did not like when he was wrong or was opposed. He stayed this way until he met his end. Mr. Snopes was stubborn until the bitter end,” knowing it was too late yet still running even after he heard the shot and, an instant later, two shots. Mr. Snopes’s actions were shown to be violent, but we were never explicitly told by the story what kind of man he was; we were left to infer what exactly his character was. He was indirectly characterized.
Mrs. Mallard was very emotional through her time in the story. But this does not make her a direct characterization. Rather, her emotions were expressed through symbolism, “There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.” (1 Kate Chopin) In the same case as Barn Burning, her emotions are never blatantly stated making her character indirect.
While on her travels, Michelle Fishburne encountered someone who’s company’s motto was, “Embrace the uncomfortable and walk with purpose.” This quote relates to Mrs. Mallard’s actions. She was trying to work with what she could muster up. She was trying to be resistant in the face of despair. On the other had, Mr Snopes was much the opposite. He was a very arrogant man who did not aim to resolve problems.
Plot
When Mr. Snopes, in Barn Burning, is brought to court about the possibility of setting the barn on fire, he is found to be innocent due to not having enough proof. Although he won the legal battle, he still had to pay in some way. It was suggested to him that him and his family should leave town as soon as possible,” ‘ take your wagon and get out of this country before dark. case dismissed. ‘ “because of this, he and his family loose their home and jobs and have to move somewhere else to find a place to live and work. They lost their livelihood.
When news had reached Mrs. Mallard that her husband had died, she did not know how to take it. Understandably she had a rough time trying to not be depressing,” “Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering.” She was unable to hold her feelings back as she had just lost someone very close and important to her. Without Mr. Mallard she would not have a way to provide for things, as the story implies that she did not have a job. In essence, her entire life was crumbling.
In the talk, Nora McInerny says that, “not categorizing feelings as good or bad…But it also makes some feelings less appealing and therefore, quote-unquote, less valuable than others.” When Sartoris sees his father get shot, he runs away. He is scared. When Mrs. Mallard hears of her husband’s death, she tries to hide from her emotions. They both dealt with death in similar ways but different situations