Time to Break Free! Spirits are high for freedom and low for love nowadays don’t you think? Have you read “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, or maybe even “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber? Throughout these stories you hear about two very different people with the same goal: freedom. James Thurber and Kate Chopin express the passionate want for freedom in their literary works, though these characters are different, they still express the same spirit for freedom. It’s time to break free! Thurber and Chopin both used the symbol of freedom in their works. Chopin’s character Louise Mallard shower her passion for freedom by rocking back and forth in her chair by the window whispering “Free! Body and soul free!” (2) In another example: Thurber uses a character by the name of Walter Mitty who has a more unique way of expressing his passion, spending his time day dreaming about being a mighty and powerful surgeon (577). The hero you might say. Chopin and Thurber use a common conflict as well; Control. Mrs. Mitty is a model of the nagging wife stereotype in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and spends her day yelling at Walter and telling him what to do. Chopin created the character of Louise Mallard who is from the older times when the men around her had control over her, as a child her father controlled her and as an adult her husband took charge. On the other hand, Spirits are also high for the hero, and a tad bit of personal space. Throughout Chopin’s story she shows Louise’s form of suppressive nature, compared to Walter mitty, Thurber’s character, who is belting out with his big manly nature. Chopin demonstrated the quite side of freedom by locking Louise Mallard in her room. (1) Louise never once became loud