Comparison of Repression.

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Shewanda Farris

English 101

Essay

Comparison of Repression

  1. Intro:

In the month of March, 2004, our English class read three stories.  

We read: (1) “The Story of An Hour”, (2) “The Sky is Gray”, and

(3) “The Man Who Was Almost A Man”.  The three stories were not

only interesting, but had a common theme.  All the stories showed

different examples of repression.  Repression was shown by the focal

character in each story, the families and society.  

  1. Body

First, there was repression of these characters by themselves. In “The Sky Is Gray”, James has suffered with a prolonged toothache.  He does not want to worry his mother because he knows they have little money.  He exhibits a form of self-repression by not sharing this information with his mother.  In “The Man Who Was Almost A Man”, we see a male youth who is old enough to work but not allowed to manage any of the earned money.  He tries to find a way he can show people and himself that he is a “man”.  He buys a gun and discharges it irresponsibly.  He kills his employer’s mule.  

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He then becomes afraid of the consequences of his actions and denies the action.  He repressed his own feelings about telling the truth about the mule. This in turn gets him into more trouble.  He appears to be childish to others and does not prove that he is an adult.   “The Story of An Hour” portrays mental oppression through a woman who is married to an overbearing husband. When Louise learns that her husband has been “killed”, she seeks solitude to grieve, but instead finds comfort in the realization that she is “free” to live her own life.  She ...

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