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In the short story "The Storm, by Kate Chopin, the theme is a one of complexity. At first glance the theme might occur to be the storm, but upon further review, the theme turns out to be between the powerful storm and the passionate lovers, Alcee and Calixta. "The rain beat upon the low, shingled roof with a force. " (pg. 96; 13) When Alcee and Calixta come together for the first time in the story, their hearts immediately begin to beat with such a force. The attraction between the two was an immediate one, rekindling an old affair that had taken place at Assumption. With the rain barely beginning to fall, Chopin had already made the connection between the storm, Alcee, and Calixta.
With the storm intensifying on the outside, the storm on the inside was heating up as well. Alcee and Calixta had both began to feel the attraction between the two of them and neither one could fight it. With each lighting strike, Calixta would jump and Alcee would be there to encircle her in his arms. With a loud distraction, on the outside, the passion is broken between the two.
As the storm continues the hearts of Alcee and Calixta beat to the rhythm of the rain. As the storm comes to a climax, so do the lovers. Chopin uses different phases of the storm to describe not only the storm, but Alcee and Calixta as well. "With his heart beating like a hammer" and "the growl of the thunder" (pg. 98; 25, 26) Chopin uses these two metaphors to describe the intensity of the storm and passion of the lovers. As a storm would seem to rain to no end, so did the love of the two lovers. Drowning in their lust, Calixta and Alcee gave themselves up in a quivering of ecstasy. The abundance of their passion was like a thirst that could not be quenched, and the storm was like the worst hurricane known to man, destroying everything in its path.
Here in the middle of the story Chopin is careful to focus all of the attention on the Alcee and Calixta, but uses adjectives to remind the reader of the storm, keeping the symbolism between the two. When the storm passes the countryside, so does the passion of the two lovers. Like after a storm, everything is calm and settle, there is peace, and all is right over the land. It was the same for Alcee and Calixta. Having released their desires for one another, there was nothing left to say. Just as the storm was leaving so was Alcee. "The rain was over; and the sun was turning the glistening green world into a palace of gems...
he turned smiled at her with a beaming face. " (pg 98; 28) Chopin's way of saying goodbye, here, is kept as the storm, in silence Kate Chopin's short story "The Storm" was written with the intention of making several storms. The storms that were produced was the one of Mother Nature and the storm between the lovers, these are the storms that make the theme is revolving around. That is what made the short story "The Storm great. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Kate Chopin Short Story
