Similarities Between The Awakening And The Storm

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The Awakening of The Storm
In Kate Chopin’s short story “The Storm” and novel The Awakening, Chopin develops the overall theme that happiness and freedom is achieved in unconventional ways using characterization, metaphors and symbolism.
In Kate Chopin’s short story “The Storm” and novel The Awakening, Chopin develops the overall theme that happiness and freedom is achieved in unconventional ways using characterization. In Chopin’s short story “The Storm”, Chopin develops the theme through the character Calixta. Calixta is a housewife that realizes how unhappy she is in her marriage and seeks out the attention of another man causing her to step out of her marriage. Calixta finds herself in a storm with this man who she is having an affair …show more content…

In Chopin’s short story “The Storm”, Chopin develops the theme by using the “storm” with a physical and emotional meaning. “The Storm” has a double meaning behind the title. One meaning is a physical meaning, “The growl of the thunder was distant and passing away. The rain beat softly upon the shingles, inviting them to drowsiness and sleep.” (Chopin 87). Chopin describes the physical storm that is brewing throughout the short story. Another meaning of the “storm” is an emotional meaning, “He was getting along nicely; and though he missed them, he was willing to bear the separation a while longer—realizing that their health and pleasure were the first things to be considered.” (Chopin 88). Calixta has an emotional storm within herself because she wants to be happy but she can not find that happiness within her marriage and family. In Chopin’s novel The Awakening, Chopin develops the overall theme by using metaphors throughout the novel. Chopin uses the society that Edna lives in as a metaphor for being trapped and not able to have the freedom she wants. The society Edna lives in is temporary for her and is strict about what is and is not accepted by societies views, “Their freedom of expression was at first incomprehensible to her, though she had no difficulty in reconciling it with a lofty chastity …show more content…

In Chopin’s short story “The Storm”, Chopin uses symbolism throughout the story to develop the overall theme. Chopin uses the town Assumption as a symbol for the lost love with Alcee and where Calixta lost her ability to meet her needs and desires, “He looked down into her eyes and there was nothing for him to do but gather her lips in a kiss. It reminded him of Assumption. Assumption: a parish west of New Orleans.” (Page 86). Calixta and Alcee met long ago but as time went on her desires grew stronger causing her to seek out unconventional ways to become happy even if it is for a short time. In Chopin’s novel The Awakening, Chopin uses symbolism throughout the novel to develop the overall theme. Chopin begins the novel by writing about a parrot that is trapped inside a cage. The parrot is used as a symbol to compare how the bird is trapped to how Edna feels trapped inside her life, “A GREEN AND YELLOW PARROT, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over.” (Chopin 3). Edna can be compared to a trapped bird wanting to fly away and be free but is unable to do

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