Knowing what will happen next in stories, movies, and even life, often gives a sense of comfort to those with such knowledge. When things do not go quite as expected, it throws people off track, and usually gets people thinking about the event in a more significant way. Because of this it is not surprising that authors often use surprise endings, not only to validate the point of the story, but also as a way to get the readers to re-think the story once they have completed it. Examples of this can be found in Kate Chopin's, "The Story of an Hour", and Shirley Jackson's, "The Lottery". Both use shocking twists at the end of the story to really drive their point's home. Chopin's story of death and the plot twist at the end of the story is clearly an example of a classic theme of literature, appearance vs. reality. Jackson's dark tale of the lottery also gets her point across that just because something is tradition, does not mean it is justifiable. .
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In "The Story of an Hour", Chopin uses the plot twist technique to make her point. She relates death with life numerous times. She makes it seem like Mrs. Mallard comes alive once her husband dies by Mrs. Mallard whispering the words, "Free! Body and soul free!"(Chopin) Chopin really gives the story a twist at the end when it turns out Mr. Mallard is actually alive. When Mrs. Mallard sees him, she almost instantly dies. This is ironic because both people that broke the news about Mr. Mallard's death took extra care to avoid giving her a heart attack since "Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble" (Chopin). But in the end it was the news of her husband's survival that killed her. This is not what most people would expect. In our society, we have this idea about marriage and all of its glory, but in reality, this is not always the case. Whereas it seemed to Richards, Josephine, and the medical staff that Mrs. Mallard suffered from "joy that kills", as readers we know this is not the case.
