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Contrasts in kate chopin' the story of an hour
Contrasts in kate chopin' the story of an hour
Contrasts in kate chopin' the story of an hour
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In Kate Chopin’s short story “Ripe Figs” we acknowledge the two characters as complete opposites. Maman-Nainaine is a patient elderly woman, whereas Babette is an immature young girl. Through-out this short story Chopin uses contrast to show age versus youth and humans time versus nature’s seasons. To begin with, she contrasts age versus youth. Babette finds it very difficult to wait until the harvest at the end of the summer, while “...Maman-Nainaine was as patient as the statue of la Madone, and Babette as restless as a humming-bird…” Babette is referred to as a humming-bird because she is restless, energetic, anxious and “dances out to where the fig-trees” grow; whereas Maman-Nainaine patiently waits for the seasons to change and the
Leonce Pontellier, the husband of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening, becomes very perturbed when his wife, in the period of a few months, suddenly drops all of her responsibilities. After she admits that she has "let things go," he angrily asks, "on account of what?" Edna is unable to provide a definite answer, and says, "Oh! I don't know. Let me along; you bother me" (108). The uncertainty she expresses springs out of the ambiguous nature of the transformation she has undergone. It is easy to read Edna's transformation in strictly negative terms‹as a move away from the repressive expectations of her husband and society‹or in strictly positive terms‹as a move toward the love and sensuality she finds at the summer beach resort of Grand Isle. While both of these moves exist in Edna's story, to focus on one aspect closes the reader off to the ambiguity that seems at the very center of Edna's awakening. Edna cannot define the nature of her awakening to her husband because it is not a single edged discovery; she comes to understand both what is not in her current situation and what is another situation. Furthermore, the sensuality that she has been awakened to is itself not merely the male or female sexuality she has been accustomed to before, but rather the sensuality that comes in the fusion of male and female. The most prominent symbol of the book‹the ocean that she finally gives herself up to‹embodies not one aspect of her awakening, but rather the multitude of contradictory meanings that she discovers. Only once the ambiguity of this central symbol is understood can we read the ending of the novel as a culmination and extension of the themes in the novel, and the novel regains a...
Kate Chopin uses dynamic characters to help create Edna Pontillier. By using Mr. Pontillier, Edna’s children, and Madame Ratignolle to contrast Edna; and Robert, Madame Raisz, and Arobin as supporting characters to Edna’s untraditional ambitions Kate Chopin produces an independent, unconventional woman. While some characters contrast to Edna all of the characters in The Awakening help to illuminate Edna’s opposition to Creole tradition. Without the use of supporting and contrasting characters Edna would have never been able to fly above tradition.
The “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and ‘”The Hand” by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette are similar in theme and setting. Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette and Kate Chopin create the theme of obligatory love and the unhappiness it entails. Both stories illustrate the concealed emotions many women feel in their marriage yet fail to express them. The two stories take place in a sacred room of the house and both transpire in a brief amount of time. The differences between the two stories are seen through the author’s choice of characters in each story. In “The story of an Hour” Kate Chopin involves other characters in Mrs. Mallard’s life, whereas, “The Hand” deals with marriage and togetherness and only involves the husband and wife. Symbolism is seen all throughout “The Hand” not so in ‘The Story of an Hour.” The similarities in “The Story of an Hour” and “The Hand” is portrayed in theme and setting. The differences are illustrated in the choice of characters involved in each story and the amount of symbolism depicted in the different stories.
In the book, The Awakening, Kate Chopin addresses a common struggles woman face in society through the main character Edna Pontellier during the 1800s. Edna Pontellier is an American woman infused with charm and grace. Edna’s charm could not escape her. She moved gracefully among the crowds and appeared self-contained. Edna learned to master her feeling by not showing outward and spoken feelings of affections, either in herself or in others. This type of behavior appears common in society and understood within Edna’s the marriage relationship with her husband. However, one summer while vacationing at the Grand Isle, the reserved manner Edna always enveloped began to loosen a little and her soul began to awaken.
after her husband and children, they were treated as second class citizens with few rights.
What is there to attempt when the consciousness of an insuperable conundrum is surfaced to realization? This topic is considered in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening in which a young woman, Edna, recognizes the social constraint that men generally had on women as a married mother herself. Despite her identification, continued attempts for liberation only ended in inexorable defeat. In contrast, the perception of an ongoing dilemma can sometimes conclude in the ultimate goal: positive change. Examples akin to Martin Luther King Jr. in the attempt for racial justice and Abraham Lincoln for the abolishment of habitual slavery illustrate the possibility for success. Other times, this cognizance provides the comprehension that the hindrance
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.
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 America, the 1890s were a decade of tension and social change. A central theme in Kate Chopin’s fiction was the independence of women. In Louisiana, most women were their husband’s property. The codes of Napoleon were still governing the matrimonial contract. Since Louisiana was a Catholic state, divorce was rare and scandalous. In any case, Edna Pontellier of Chopin had no legal rights for divorce, even though Léonce undoubtedly did. When Chopin gave life to a hero that tested freedom’s limits, she touched a nerve of the politic body. However, not Edna’s love, nor her artistic inner world, sex, or friendship can reconcile her personal growth, her creativity, her own sense of self and her expectations. It is a very particular academic fashion that has had Edna transformed into some sort of a feminist heroine. If she could have seen that her awakening in fact was a passion for Edna herself, then perhaps her suicide would have been avoided. Everyone was forced to observe, including the cynics that only because a young
The short story “Désirée’s Baby” is told by a third person omniscient point of view. The narrator, whose character or relationship to the story never receives any discussion, is a seemingly all-knowing observer of the situation. Although the narrator does not take sides towards issues that arise during the course of the text, her general view does shape the overall characterization of the white Southern society. The text exhibits interesting clues such as word choice, tone and mood, reappearing symbols and references that enrich the story and intensify its underlining message.
In “Ripe Figs”, the imagery of nature is present, but at the same time, it is not heavy-handed. Here, Chopin introduces Babette and her god-mother Mamane-Nanaine as they wait for the ripening of the figs before a summer trip to visit family. As the figs were described as “tender yet” and “little hard, green marbles,” so too is Babette, a young child who has not yet grown into a young adult (11). Mamane-Nanaine sees this and is pressing her to slow down, but does not stop her from going out to check on the figs. It is in this way that Mamane-Nanaine is described as “patient as the statue of la Madone,” never trying to rush things, while Babette is “as restless as a hummingbird,” unable to sit still for any real period of time (11). This is a very good contrast between the two, the older one capable of staying still and savoring time as it passes while the younger one must constantly be moving, trying to hurry things and make the time pass quickly. While these images of nature are light, they are still present and are very pleasing metaphors, contributing greatly to this wonderful short story.
When the theologian Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza writes that the myth of the Virgin Mary "sanctions a deep psychological and institutional split" (59) among women in the Catholic tradition, she captures what Kate Chopin also captured in her story "Lilacs." There, sisterhood between secular and religious women appears fragmented and nearly impossible. To scrutinize the division, Kate Chopin fashions her story around the portion of the Virgin Mary myth told in St. Luke's gospel of the Annunciation of the birth of Jesus spoken to Mary by the archangel Gabriel. Working with that text, "Lilacs" mocks a tradition prizing virginity and separating the cloistered from the secular. Irony prevails, but so too does the sorrow born of religious restraint and condemnation. From the tension in the Annunciation between the virginal and the non-virginal comes ages of women divided from one another on the basis of chastity and divided internally into spiritual and physical selves.
Kate Chopin's Regret & nbsp; Question: How would you characterize Mamzelle Aurelie based on Chopin's description of her? Make reference to specific details in the story. How does the "inner self" that we see at the end of the story contrast with what we see at the beginning? & nbsp; Kate Chopin's story, "Regret," is about an unmarried, middle-aged woman who is suddenly given the responsibility of caring for a neighbor's small children. In the story, Chopin shows us a strong and independent person whose rough, masculine exterior hides a lonely and tender-hearted woman. & nbsp; Chopin begins the story with a portrait of Mamzelle Aurelie. We know that she is at least middle-aged because she has "hair that changed from brown to gray" (461).
Kate decisively uses description to pass her message to the intended audience much to the
As a student on the Student Academics Committee, I realize that many English professors may struggle when deciding what readings, they should assign for their students. Choosing reading material is hard work because not only do you want the material to be interesting for your students you also want to make sure the reading connects to your lessons purpose or main idea. So, I recommend that you include the short story, The Story of an Hour in your syllabi for next semester. While reading The Story of an Hour I was very interested and enjoyed every minute of this story. The Story of an Hour is a short story written by Kate Chopin. The Story of an Hour is a great story to keep students captivated and wanting to learn. The story of an hour has