Compare And Contrast Updike And Kate Chopin

Before disappearing during an attempt to circumnavigate the world, Amelia Earhart once declared that “[the] most difficult thing [to do] is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” Although most people would not claim this amidst preparation for a 29,000-mile-long flight, the principle Earhart states carries over to nearly all matters in life—including freeing oneself of confinement. Again, in this situation most people would agree with Earhart’s opinion about the difficulty surrounding the ‘decision to act’—except authors Kate Chopin and John Updike. In their eyes, deciding to act is easy enough; the acting itself is what brings about the most difficulty. Although Updike and Chopin both expose the necessity of breaking free from

In the story “A&P,” Updike communicates Sammy’s imprisonment though his location within the grocery store. In the first few sentences, Updike places “[Sammy] in the third check-out slot, with [his] back to the door, so [he doesn’t] see [the girls] until they’re over by the bread” (Updike 17). The physical isolation of the ‘check-out slot’ combined with Sammy’s inability to see outside demonstrates how he is incapable of seeing the outside world, let alone reaching its freedom. The act of Sammy noticing the girls further attests to his mental confinement; as instead of thinking of the store in terms of layout, he thinks in terms of ‘bread’ (17). His habit of thinking in terms of products signifies how the grocery store is where he spends the majority of his time, further alluding to Sammy’s physical confinement within the A&P. Sammy’s imprisonment inside the ‘slot’ and his unique way of thinking contribute to the sense of confinement Updike builds through the grocery store’s setting. Likewise, in “The Storm,” Chopin conveys Calixta’s confinement to her life though the setting of her house and the advancing storm. Lost in her sewing, “…Calixta [does] not notice the approaching storm. … [until it begins] to grow dark, and suddenly realizing the situation she [gets] up hurriedly and [goes] about closing windows and doors” (Chopin 82). In this context, the storm symbolizes the slowly growing build-up of emotions in Calixta’s life and, in turn, her unawareness of them until they finish manifesting. Calixta’s attempt to physically ‘close’ herself off from the storm further represents how she tries to confine her feelings to herself; which Chopin utilizes to highlight Calixta’s growing mental confinement. Continuing with the theme of imprisonment, Chopin illustrates Calixta’s dedication to her family in order to emphasize her