Racism- color of the skin
The story was written by Kate Chopin in the time period when racism was more common than it is nowadays. The story is about a woman Desirees with unknown birth origin who was abounded by passing band of Texans in hope that someone will pick her up. She was adopted as a small girl by Monsieur and Madame Valmonde, who married an affluent slave owner Armand. They seem to be very dedicated to each other and later on have a baby. Thesis: The theme in "Desiree's Baby" by Kate Chopin is a condemnation of racism.
Desiree thinks that “Armand is the proudest farther in the parish, she believed chiefly because it is a boy to bear his name”. Desiree is really happy with her baby and happy to see that her husband who is proud of his son. However, three months later the skin of the boy started to change color to darker. On one of those days Desirees understands that the color of boy’s skin is the same as color of the quadroon. Armand realizes that his baby is not 100 hundred percent white and that the baby comes from the mixed-race. He was mixed between black and white...
The short story “Desiree’s Baby” written by Kate Chopin, tells of love, betrayal, and loss. The story begins by pulling in the imagination by the introduction of Desiree, who was found by Monsieur Valmonde as she slept in the shadow of the stone pillar. Desiree’s unknown origin would later come into the story only to give the reader a sense of false knowledge of Desiree’s origin when Armand Aubigny, the rich plantation owner of L’abri, falls madly in love with Desiree the moment his eyes set upon her, as she stood in the shadow of the same stone pillar. They marry and have a baby boy. When the baby reaches 4 months old his skin begins to show the appearance of a quadroon. The skin color of the child sets forth the end of Armand’s love for
In “Desiree’s Baby,” a short story by Kate Chopin, there were three major themes: identity, racism, and gender roles. Armand has demonstrated his actual true character. He was a coldblooded, one-sided, and non caring man who was not worthy of Desiree and her kid. Armand broke his marriage promise to Desiree and his parental obligation due to his prejudgment toward the child's race. Chopin also noted a lady’s place in marriage in the mid-nineteenth century. They had nothing to do with money related transactions, political, or social issues. Everything had its place with the man including the
In the story of “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, there are many literary themes that can be analyzed such as love, racism, gender inequality, and miscegenation. What this analysis will focus on is primarily on the central male character, Armand Aubigny, and on his views towards racism. More specifically, what this essay will aim to prove is that Armand Aubigny looked down upon the African race to the point where he hated them. One of the biggest driving points to aid this idea is how his family name shaped his behavior and actions according to the societal normalities of his time period. Another important aspect that will be considered is his very relationship towards his slaves in how he treated them cruelly even to the point where he is described as “having the spirit of Satan” (Chopin 3). In addition to this, the reader will also see Armand’s negative reaction to being aware of the implications of his son and wife having mixed blood in where he practically disowns them. With all this culminating to Armand finding out the ugly truth that the race he had treated so horribly is actually a part of his very own blood as well.
Short Story Analysis “The Story of the Hour” by Kate Chopin portrays an opposing perspective of marriage by presenting the reader with a woman who is somewhat untroubled by her husband's death. The main character, Mrs. Louise Mallard, encounters the sense of freedom rather than sorrow after she got knowledge of her husband's death. After she learns that her husband, Brently, is still alive, it causes her to have a heart attack and die. Even though “The Story of the Hour” was published in the eighteen hundreds, the views of marriage in the story could coincide with this era as well. Louise is trapped in her marriage.
In “Desiree Baby”, author, Chopin emphasizes racism by selecting certain words to symbolize the association between light and darkness, and the slaves on the plantation.
“The Story of The Hour” by Kate Chopin is about a young lady who battles with the suffering brought on by her seemingly unhappy marriage and the freedom she secretly desires. The protagonist in the story, Mrs. Mallard, does not realize how unhappy she truly is until she learns that her husband is dead. Even though the story is written with the limit of third person point of view, it does not lack the structure of dramatic irony to keep the reader wanting more. The author’s use of oppression is shown by the irony in the story, especially when Mrs. Mallard starts to notice a sense of freedom shortly after hearing of her husband’s death. The author also uses symbolisms to express this new feeling, which makes the protagonist someone easy for the reader to connect with. One of the more praiseworthy features of Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is the fact that the author is able to control the dramatics of a very condensed short story with suspense, shock, and surprise. If it is true that art reflects life, then the author has personal irony that will serve as proof in this case. In the story, Mrs. Mallard’s husband is presumed dead from a train accident. Ironically, in real life Chopin’s father is also killed in a train accident leaving her mother to be a widow. At the age of thirty, Chopin becomes a widow as well when her husband unexpectedly dies. Chopin uses irony to build up the emotions in the reader.
Throughout the years many variations of the ideas on race, class, and culture have been presented based upon different factors. In earlier times people’s views were not nearly the same as they are presented today. Ideas that women belong in the kitchen or that African-American’s were an inferior race were common. Those views were very popular during the time of Kate Chopin’s book “Desiree’s Baby.” Chopin’s book explores the controversial areas of race and class as well as touching on the subject of culture. “Desiree’s Baby” shows the life of Desiree from a young child through adulthood. The young Desiree was found by a rich family alone on the streets. Even in a time where race and social class was important the wealthy, a rich couple took in young Desiree without knowing her ancestral background. Desiree lived a good life with the family. The story then switches to when Desiree was a young adult and falls in love with Armand Aubigny. Armand also comes from a wealthy background and still falls for Desiree without knowing her racial background. Eventually, the young couple has a baby but to their surprise the baby comes out with African traits. Armand is not happy and rethinks whether she has African in her background or if maybe she had an affair with a slave. Desiree’s mother offers to have her and the baby come back and stay with them but when Desiree leaves she disappears and is never seen again. Later, Armand finds out that it may not have been Desiree that carries African roots but himself, from his mother’s side. Overall, Chopin’s work looks into the controversial issues of race, class, gender and culture using ironies and the story-line to infer the views of these topics.
“Tell me what it means!” she cried despairingly.” It means,” he answered lightly, “that the child is not white; it means that you are not white” (Chopin, p. 192). Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby" is a well-known short story. “In her life, Kate Chopin actively searched for female spiritual emancipation and expressed it in her writing”(Deter, 2000). Throughout the story, Kate Chopin uses symbolism to convey her themes of racial predisposition, unequal gender roles, and social ladder in a society. The characters and the setting in this short story help provide the readers with more understanding of how patriarchal our society is at that time.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” tries to shed light on the conflict between women and a society that assign gender roles using a patriarchal approach. Specifically Margaret Bauer highlights, that most of Chopin’s works revolves around exploring the “dynamic interrelation between women and men, women and patriarchy, even women and women” (146). Similarly, in “The Story of an Hour” Chopin depicts a society that oppresses women mostly through the institution of marriage, as women are expected to remain submissive regardless of whether they derive any happiness. The question of divorce is not welcome, and it is tragic that freedom of women can only be realized through death. According to Bauer, the society depicted in Chopin’s story judged women harshly as it expected women to play their domestic roles without question, while on the other hand men were free to follow their dream and impose their will on their wives (149).
In “Desiree’s Baby,” Kate Chopin writes about the life of a young lady and her new family. In this short story, the fond couple lived in Louisiana before the American Civil War. Chopin illustrates the romantic atmosphere between Armand and Desiree. Chopin also describes the emotion of the parents for their new born. When the baby was born, Armand’s heart had softened on behalf of others. One afternoon, Desiree and the baby were relaxing in a room with a young boy fanning them with peacock feathers. As they were relaxing, Desiree had sniffed a threatening scent. Desiree desired Armand’s assistance as she felt faint from the odor that she could not comprehend. Armand had denied the request his wife sent. Therefore, he cried out that she nor the baby were white. Thus, Desiree took the baby and herself and walked into the bayou and they were never seen again. In this short story, Chopin illustrates the psychological abuse Desiree faces from her husband.
In 'Desiree?s Baby,' Chopin illustrates her idea of the relationship between men and women by portraying Desiree as vulnerable and easily affected, whereas Armand is presented as superior and oppressive. Throughout ?Desiree?s Baby,? Kate Chopin investigates the concept of Armand's immense power over Desiree. At first, Desiree tries to conform to the traditional female role by striving to be an obedient wife. Later in the story, this conformity changes after Desiree gives birth to her part-black son.
In her story, Desiree’s Baby, Kate Chopin underlined the contrast between lust and love, exploring the problem of a man’s pride that exceeded the love he has for his wife. Armand, the main character of the story, is a slave owner who lived in Louisiana during the era of slavery. He married an adopted young woman, Desiree, and together they have a son who eventually became an obstacle in the way of his father’s happiness, thus removing out the true character of Armand. Desiree’s Baby, by Kate Chopin is a love story, love that ultimately proved to be a superficial love, a story that shed light on the ugly relationships between people. “Lust is temporary, romance can be nice,
The pursuit of independence has been a constant theme in Kate Chopin’s writing, through various themes depicting marriage and everyday life. Time and time again Chopin’s realism portrays this idea of yearning for independence, and it is prevalent with the story of Athenaise. Throughout history, liberation has been a virtue amongst many people, and Chopin has focused her story writing on freedom for women. While bringing light to this issue, Kate Chopin illustrates independence as a driving force in her storyline through women's hardships.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a story written in 1982 that is about the life struggles of a young African American woman named Celie. The novel takes the reader through several main topics including the poor treatment of African American women, domestic abuse, family relationships, and also religion. The story takes place mostly in rural Georgia in the early 1900’s and demonstrates the difficult life of sharecropper families. Specifically how life was endured from the perspective of an African American woman. The Color Purple is written in the form of letters that Celie narrates explaining the events that took place at certain points in her life. Celie endures physical and emotional abuse by some of the people around her including her own family. But in the end Celie finds a new and fulfilling life through relationships with her sister and good friends.
In the short story " The story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin, she writes about the impact of being in the social institution of marriage. The author masterfully describes the Protagonist, imagery and irony that captures the readers' attention, and emotions of grief, hope, and joy. As author Kate Chopin brings our attention to these exquisite feelings, she addresses the conflicts one might face as they join into the joys of marriage.