This story, especially the twist at the end when Mrs. Mallard dies instead of her husband, was very ironic and interesting. As Kate Chopin states, of Mrs. Mallard's initial reaction to the news of her husband's death:

She did not hear the story as many women have heard

the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its

significance. She wept at once, with sudden wild

abandonment in her sister's arms. When the storm of

grief had spent itself she went away to her room

alone. She would have no one follow her.

But then, instead of breaking down into extreme sadness and grief, Mrs. Mallard instead

Bettelheim states that the Jews who perished in World War II at Hitler's hands did not die for any higher cause, as true martyrs do, but because they had no choice in their fate.

Within this essay, Amy Tan states that in the past she has described her mother's English as "broken," "fractured" or "limited", but she dislikes all of those terms, because they make it sound like there is something wrong with her mother's English, or that the importance of what her mother has to say is diminished by the way she says it, as a Chinese immigrant speaking English as a second language.

We are more honest and more correct in admitting that the events of the World War II atrocities against the Jews were simply unfathomable, rather than trying to give them inappropriate names that basically trivialize their significance. This essay caused me to reflect on how uncomfortable it is not to be able to name or define an experience or a feeling, but then as soon as it is named, it becomes somehow shrunken in significance. This, Bettelheim argues, and I agree, does not do justice to something as huge and incomprehensible, in its evil, as what we commonly call the Holocaust.

starts to see some benefits from being a widow. It is easy to identify with and understand the idea of her freedom suddenly, unexpectedly being granted, after she has been so restricted by marriage. For example, she will have more independence and she will be able to do more of what she likes, without the responsibilities of marriage. then finding at the end of that hour that he is still alive.

The more unfair we are to the memory of the millions

What is needed is a move beyond tradition -- nothing

What Mrs. Mallard is actually experiencing behind the closed door, rather than the uncontrollable grief it seems like to her sister, is a feeling of liberation from the restraints of being married: As Chopin states:

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2227
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)