Essay Comparing The Awakening And Death Of A Salesman

1200 Words3 Pages

Characterization by definition is the process that an author uses to introduce and describe characters in a story (“Literary Devices”). In The Awakening and Death of a Salesman, the authors use great methods of characterization to help us understand the personalities of the characters. The two most important characters that are described are Edna Pontellier of The Awakening and Willy Loman of Death of a Salesman. Their stories are very relatable in some aspects, and this is why we can become attached to them. These characters are also very similar to each other in multiple ways, but the most prominent way is that they were both very selfish. However, these characters have much more to them than what meets the eye. Their issues and feelings go much deeper than what we can see on the surface. Edna Pontellier is a woman in the 1800s who is way ahead of her time. She is a woman that knows what she wants and likes, and she is not afraid to speak her mind. She has her own opinion on things. Even though society tells her that she must act and speak a certain way, she is not afraid to do things her way even if they seem rude to everybody else. Throughout the book we see her progress from a woman who is somewhat content with her life to a woman who needs to break free. Edna thinks of her marriage to Léonce as the end of her passionate days and the …show more content…

This crushes her, so she does the only thing that comes to her mind- she commits suicide. This is her final act of rebellion. This could be seen as very selfish of her because she does not even think of the effect it will have on her husband and kids. Not only will they be upset that she is dead, it will give her family a bad reputation because people of this time did not act out the way that she did (“Sparknotes: The Awakening: Analysis of Major

Show More
Related

  • Edna Pontellier’s Fall from Grace in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1991 Words  | 4 Pages

    The thoughts and actions of Edna Pontellier are solely determined by her manic depressive state, her apparent repressed abuse from her childhood, and her abandonment of Christianity. Throughout the novel, the reader gets a clear sense of Edna Pontellier's peculiar mind and her manic depressive state. She is continually plagued by the moment. Her mood shifts from highs to lows show the reader that sadness is perpetually within her. We are told there are days when she "was happy to be alive and breathing, when her whole being seemed to be one with sunlight."

    Read More

  • The Comparisson Between Edna Pontellier Character and a Poem

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is a selfish character. She wishes to live her life the way she wants without anyone interfering. She did not start selfish, but grew selfish as her hidden desires were awakened. Her selfishness comes from her complete disregard for anyone’s happiness besides her own. Edna refuses to attend her sister’s wedding, describing the event as lamentable. Even if Edna did not want to attend, a wedding is for the bride and groom’s happiness. She is unable to compromise any of her own desires for the happiness of others. Edna’s own marriage was an act of rebellion for marrying outside of what was expected, and came with the titles of wife and mother. Edna abandoned her relationship without trying to resolve any difficulties with her husband before satisfying her needs. She does not discuss with him her unhappiness or seek his approval before moving to the pigeon house. She develops her relationship with Arobin only to fulfill her own physical needs.

    Read More

  • growaw Personal Growth and Death of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edna Pontellier was on her way to an awakening. She realized during the book, she was not happy with her position in life. It is apparent that she had never really been fully unaware  However, because her own summary of this was some sort of blissful ignorance. Especially in the years of life before her newly appearing independence, THE READER SEES HOW she has never been content with the way her life had turned out. For example she admits she married Mr. Pontellier out of convenience rather than love. EDNA knew he loved her, but she did not love him. It was not that she did not know what love was, for she had BEEN INFATUATED BEFORE, AND BELIEVED IT WAS love. She consciously chose to marry Mr. Pontellier even though she did not love him. When she falls in love with Robert she regrets her decision TO MARRY Mr. Pontellier. HOWEVER, readers should not sympathize, because she was the one who set her own trap. She did not love her husband when she married him, but SHE never once ADMITS that it was a bad decision. She attributes all the problems of her marriage to the way IN WHICH SOCIETY HAS defined the roles of men and women. She does not ACCEPT ANY OF THE BLAME, AS HER OWN.  The only other example of married life, in the book, is Mr. and Mrs. Ratignolle, who portray the traditional role of married men and women of the time. Mr. Pontellier also seems to be a typical man of society. Edna, ON THE OTHER HAND, was not A TYPICAL WOMAN OF SOCIETY. Mr. Pontellier knew this but OBVIOUSLY HAD NOT ALWAYS. This shows IS APPARENT in the complete lack of constructive communication between the two. If she had been able to communicate with her husband they may have been able to work OUT THEIR PROBLEMS, WHICH MIGHT HAVE MADE Edna MORE SATISFIED WITH her life.

    Read More

  • Madame Lebrun Quotes

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edna Pontellier: she is the protagonist of the novel. With twenty eight years, she is housewife married with Léonce Pontellier and mother of two boys, Etienne and Raoul. At the beginning of the novel she is comfortable in her marriage, where she sees the end of passion and the beginning of a responsible life. Through a series of experiences, she evolves into an amazing independent woman, who lives apart from her husband and her children, the only ones of whom she was in charge and is just responsible for her own acts. In a way, the only responsibilities she has during this period are art and having fun with friends. As we have said, she is the main

    Read More

  • growaw Growth of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is forced to strive to fit in with everyone and everything around her. Born and raised in Kentucky, Edna is used to the Southern society, but when she marries Leonce Pontellier, a Catholic and a Creole, and moves to Louisiana with him, her surroundings change a great deal. This makes her feel extremely uncomfortable and confused; she feels as though she has lost her identity along with a great deal of her happiness. In order to regain this identity and to try to find out who she truly is, Edna tries her hardest to conform to the Creole society. Though Edna tries extremely hard to accept this Creole society as her own and to become part of it in order to claim her identity, she fails to find both her true happiness and her identity, which, in turn, causes her to commit suicide.

    Read More

  • Edna's Struggle for Power in Chopin's The Awakening

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being a woman, she is completely at the mercy of her husband. He provides for her a lifestyle she could not obtain on her own and fixes her place in society. This vulnerability stops Edna from being truly empowered. To gain independence as a woman, and as a person, Edna must relinquish the stability and comfort she finds in the relationship with her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier's marriage comprises a series of power plays and responds well to Marxist and Feminist Theory. Leonce Pontellier looks "…at his wife as one who looks at a valuable piece of property…". He views her as an accessory that completes the ideal life for him. Edna, however, begins to desire autonomy and independence from Leonce, so true to the feminist point of view.

    Read More

  • The True Identity In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    She desperately wanted a voice and independence. Edna’s realization of her situation occurred progressively. It was a journey in which she slowly discovered what she was lacking emotionally. Edna’s first major disappointment in the novel was after her husband, Leonce Pontellier, lashed out at her and criticized her as a mother after she insisted her child was not sick. This sparked a realization in Edna that made here realize she was unhappy with her marriage. This was a triggering event in her self discovery. This event sparked a change in her behavior. She began disobeying her husband and she began interacting inappropriately with for a married woman. Edna increasingly flirted with Robert LeBrun and almost instantly became attracted to him. These feelings only grew with each interaction. Moreover, when it was revealed to Edna that Robert would be leaving for Mexico she was deeply hurt not only because he didn’t tell her, but she was also losing his company. Although Edna’s and Robert’s relationship may have only appeared as friendship to others, they both secretly desired a romantic relationship. Edna was not sure why she was feeling the way she was “She could only realize that she herself-her present self-was in some way different from the other self. That she was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Importance of the Houses in The Awakening

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the novel starts out Edna is a housewife to her husband, Mr. Pontellier, and is not necessarily unhappy or depressed but knows something is missing. Her husband does not treat her well. "...looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage." She is nothing but a piece of property to him; he has no true feelings for her and wants her for the sole purpose of withholding his reputation. "He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth was it?" Mr. Pontellier constantly brings her down for his own satisfaction not caring at all how if affects Edna.

    Read More

  • Breaking the Social Norms: Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    The most prevalent and obvious gender issue present in the novella was that Edna challenged cultural norms and broke societal expectations in an attempt to define herself. Editors agree, “Edna Pontellier flouts social convention on almost every page…Edna consistently disregards her ‘duties’ to her husband, her children, and her ‘station’ in life” (Culley 120). Due to this, she did not uphold what was expected of her because she was trying to be superior, and women were expected to be subordinate to men. During that time, the women were viewed as possessions that men controlled. It was the woman’s job to clean the house, cook the meals, and take care of the children, yet Edna did none of these things. Her lifestyle was much different. She refused to listen to her husband as time progressed and continually pushed the boundaries of her role. For example, during that time period “the wife was bound to live with her husban...

    Read More

  • Essay on the Characters in The Awakening

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leonce Pontellier, the character portraying Edna’s husband was a man very traditional in his thinking. He was self-absorbed and honestly did not see the fault in his own ways. He sincerely believed that Edna was the most important person in his life. However we notice throughout the story that his behavior was in direct contrast with that statement. Edna is only important to him, as in how she effects him and the effect her actions has on his life.

    Read More

  • Edna Pontellier Conformity

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pontellier does not doubt nor desire for something beyond society’s standard for women. Leonce Pontellier, Edna’s husband, is about fifteen years older than Edna; this age divide causes a drift in what principles Leonce feels that Edna must adhere to. He maintains his belief that Edna should follow a pattern of behavior that is in conformity with what society expects of a mother-woman. A mother-woman, was defined to be one “who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals…” (Chopin 16). This principle definition of a ‘mother-woman’ was expected to be followed by the women of the late 18th century; and was viewed as an ‘unwritten law’, or simply a regulation known to obey but not question. At first, Edna does not object to this expected behavior as Leonce’s wife. She fulfills her domestic duties without complaining and she stays loyal to her husband. Mrs. Pontellier never protests or confronts any inward doubt or apprehensions she may have imagined. Instead, Edna conforms by being quiet, reserved and calm; she suppresses her own feelings to try and please society and its strict standards. Yet, all this external conformity and compliance forces Edna to question her role in the society. Is this all she can expect in

    Read More

  • Madness And Madness In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    Her memory of running away from her Father and church when she was a young girl living in Kentucky shows how desperate she is to be free. However, Edna gives up her hopes of freedom for marriage in the hopes that all will fall into place afterwards. Edna’s expectation that marriage and children is proven false when she still is not happy with her life afterwards. She feels that life is worthless and that there should be more to what she is. Edna is not like the other creole mothers; she holds an affection for her children, but it comes and goes. Occasionally she will hold them fiercely to her chest and yet others she will forget them. Her husband disapproves of her lack of maternal instinct and rebukes her when he discovers one of their children, Raoul, sick in his bed. Edna is not alarmed by it, but his harsh words make her burst into tears on the front porch, after he has fallen asleep. Mr. Pontellier does not care about his wife much as a person, only as something he owns. He views everything this way, new lace curtains, glassware, furniture. He is disappointed in his wife because, in his view, she does not function well as a mother. Edna’s lack of

    Read More

  • The Symbolic Use of Hunger in Literature

    1819 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edna Pontellier was a woman who was forced to comply with the rules of Creole society, but, in being reluctant to do so, found herself in a world where she felt trapped. She saw how women were supposed to behave but did not have that behavior instilled in herself. She felt confined by her husband's expectations, and did not want to live out the typical role of wife and mother.

    Read More

  • Death Of A Salesman American Dream Essay

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    An American dream is a dream that can only be achieved by passion and hard work towards your goals. People are chasing their dreams of better future for themselves and their children. The author Arthur Miller in Death of a Salesman has displayed a struggle of a common man to achieve the American dream. Willy Loman the protagonist of the play has spent his whole life in chasing the American dream. He was a successful salesman who has got old and unable to travel for his work, and no one at work gives him importance anymore. He is unhappy with his sons Happy and Biff because both of them are not successful in their lives. Moreover, Biff and Happy are also not happy with their father Willy because they don’t want to live a life that Willy wants them to live. The heated discussions of Willy and his older son Biff affect the family and the family starts to fall apart. However, Willy is unable to achieve the American dream and does not want to face the reality that his decisions for himself and his family have lead him to be a failure in the society. In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the protagonist Willy Loman spends his whole life to achieve the American Dream by his own perception and denies facing the reality, just like nowadays people are selling themselves and attempting to find success in life.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Self-Discovery In The Awakening

    1453 Words  | 3 Pages

    Much of Edna’s “inner” and “outer” Edna conflict stems from the fact that she is completely isolated from her own culture. In the process of trying to integrate into Creole society, meet the domestic demands of the late 1800s society, and still achieve the life which she desires for herself, she struggles with the way others see her, versus how she sees herself. The text illustrates this when it states, “Mrs. Pontellier, though she had married a Creole, was not thoroughly at home in the society of Creoles; never before had she been thrown so intimately among them. There were only Creoles that summer at Lebrun's. They all knew each other and felt like one large family, among whom existed the most amicable relations.

    Read More

More about Essay Comparing The Awakening And Death Of A Salesman

Open Document