Speeches: Introduction
In “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard must have been pretty unhappy in her marriage and her life to feel joy when she heard that her husband had died in a train disaster. She did not feel that she could live a quality life until she was free from her husband’s constraints. Unfortunately for Mrs. Mallard, the false reports of her husband’s death ended in her own demise.
In “The Whirligig of Life,” Ransie and Ariela spent a great deal of time in their marriage bickering over meaningless differences. This constant arguing led to a very unhappy marriage, and both partners wanted a divorce. Just as Ransie and Ariela were about to break free from each other, they realized their true love and apologized.
While the stories end differently, they are based upon the same thing. The characters in both stories struggle to deal with unhappy lives. Sadly, this battle rages in the lives of many people in the real world as well. Widespread depression and high divorce rates are certainly evidence of this.
So, how does a person live a quality life? The answer to this question will now be explored in two speeches: “Find What You Love” by Steve Jobs and “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch.