The story of an hour uses imagery to describe the world outside mrs. mallard's bedroom window: "the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life" and "patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds". what do you think the outside world might symbolize in mrs. mallard's life?

a) these descriptions of nature symbolize freedom and possibility in mrs. mallard's life and perhaps an "awakening" from her grief or her repressed life as a married woman. these images also suggest that mrs. mallard's yearning for freedom is something natural.

b) these descriptions of nature symbolize that mr. mallard kept mrs. mallard locked in her room.

c) these descriptions of nature symbolize mr. mallard’s love for mrs. mallard.

d) these descriptions of nature symbolize mrs. mallard’s love for her children.

The correct answer is: a) These descriptions of nature symbolize freedom and possibility in Mrs. Mallard's life and perhaps an "awakening" from her grief or her repressed life as a married woman. These images also suggest that Mrs. Mallard's yearning for freedom is something natural.

Indeed, the description mentions the “tree tops aquiver with new life”. This is a beautiful example of the pathetic fallacy, since the blossoming of nature in spring is associated with Mrs. Mallard’s awakened emotions before the possibilities of freedom. She is also quivering due to the emotional turmoil associated to her realization. The fact that spring is traditionally associated with the renewal of life after the death of winter means that the symbolism here is used to express the fact that a new life awaits Mrs. Mallard.

Furthermore, the sky is more of less gray with several “patches of blue”. This of course brings attention to the fact that her life is momentarily gray with the death of her husband but that it is gradually opening up to sunnier, blue skies of personal freedom.

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)

your blank of voice often reflects your feelings emotion and thoughts