Social Themes In The Awakening

920 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The symbolism of the ocean in the awakening

Title: The Awakening - Edna’s fight against society Author - Kate Chopin Setting - New Orleans and the Grand Isle Genre - Fiction Historical context: Set in the 19th century New Orleans was a booming town with lots of pretty little housewives and successful husbands. There was a divide between Creole (french blood) and the others (americans) just like the book. The social values in the book reflect that of the time period. Theme; Marriage/Family, Women/Femininity, Identity, Repression, Self-actualization, passion/love, reputation, art/culture, repression, adultery, and society/class are all of the themes. Self - actualization She would give up the everything but herself for her children “ she saw no pictures of solitude, of hope, of longing, …show more content…

She is cast aside when she no longer conforms. Her fights with her husband lead to clarity when she decides that the life she is living isn’t the one she desires. The conflict never resolves itself. Her goal and desires die with her after her attempt to grasp them. For a few days she may have felt fulfilled but it was short lived and led to her downfall. SHe communicates the theme because she is the theme. Her desires and wants capture the theme of society's rules, class, love, etc. Mademoiselle Reisz is the biggest influence in her life. She unknowingly convences Edna that she is not crazy for wanting what she wants. This support shapes her actions and molds her character. See conversations with Mademoiselle Reisz, fight with Léonce at the beginning when he comes home from gambling, dinner after the race with Aléce, day with Robert, party scene with music. Plot Summary: Provide a brief plot synopsis in your own words (no more than 200 words; really condense this information to the …show more content…

The main character, Edna, is a common house wide to a wealthy creole named Léonce. They are not in love, she only married him as a rebellious move towards her father. We track Edna’s thoughts as she begins to challenge society and its rules about what a woman should be. She falls in love and craves attention and passion. She throws caution to the wind and eventually ships off her children and attempts to move out. People such as Mademoiselle Reisz encourage these actions to fight against the grain even though it leads to her downfall. The sea is a motif that represents a full circle, she ended where she began. Robert encourages her by teaching her how to swim, Léonce thinks she went crazy and calls upon a doctor, Adéle (the perfect woman always wearing white) also believes that she is a wild woman. Colors vibrant tell the story to those who can detect each colors meaning. Passages: The last chapter where everything comes crashing down and the scene at the part with the naked man on a rock surrounded by the sea are the two passages that stick out to me. They paint a perfect picture and contain a wealth of symbols and hidden

Show More
Related

  • Leaving The Iron Lung Summary

    1401 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Marie tries to ask the protagonist to take a walk, this action shows that she is trying to achieve Pauline’s dream by getting her outside of the house. Therefore, she could finally feel the true meaning of freedom. Nevertheless, Pauline’s mother’s response demonstrates that she wants her daughter’s safety more than anything. The mother tries to keep Pauline away from the danger, so the protagonist can at last have a healthier life. However, Agathe’s reply shows that her mother is willing to sacrifice Pauline’s dream to keep her secure. Therefore, the author uses contrasting characters to mention that safety is more valuable. Furthermore, the protagonist starts to describe Tante Marie and reveals that she always has her hair “around her shoulder” (85). When Pauline describes Marie, Pauline shows how her Tante is open-minded. In fact, Marie helps Pauline to let go of her limitations and to get a taste of her dream. Therefore, Marie always wants Pauline to go outside and play hockey or even to take a walk. These actions that Pauline’s Tante takes show how she is determinate to make Pauline’s dream come true. Thus, the author

    Read More

  • The Comparisson Between Edna Pontellier Character and a Poem

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    The relationship Edna has with Mademoiselle Reisz guides her transformation from a wife and mother to a single woman. Reisz acts as a role model for her, someone who does not conform to society’s expectations. Mademoiselle Reisz lives how she wants and accepts both positive and negative consequences of her lifestyle. From the first time Edna sees her play, she admires Mademoiselle Reisz. “The woman, by her divine art, seemed to reach Edna’s spirit and set it free” (623). The music she plays helps calm Edna’s spirit. Mademoiselle Reisz allows Edna to read the letters Robert wrote to her and she supports her in her decision to follow her heart and be with Robert. In doing so, she kindles the passionate flame Edna has for Robert. As Edna wishes t...

    Read More

  • Taking a Look at the Great Awakening

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Great Awakening was a spiritual movement that began in the 1730’s in the middle colonies. It was mostly led by these people; Jonathan Edwards, a congregational pastor in Massachusetts, Theodore J. Frelinghuysen, a Dutch Byterian Pastor in New Jersey; Gilbert Tennent, a Presbyterian Pastor in New Jersey; and George Whitefield, a traveling Methodist Preacher from New England. The most widely known leader was George Whitefield. At the beginning of the very first Great Awakening appeared mostly among Presbyterians in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey. The Presbyterians initiated religious revivals during these times. During this time, they also started a seminary to train clergyman. The seminary’s original name was Log College, now it is known as Princeton University. In the 1740s the clergymen of these churches were conducting revivals throughout that area. The Great Awakening spread from the Presbyterians of the middle colonies to the Congregationalist (puritans) and Baptist of New England.

    Read More

  • "The Yellow Wallpaper" Literary Analysis

    1489 Words  | 3 Pages

    woman she once knew. Both women only see the figure they imagine to be as the setting shows us this, in the end making them believe there is freedom through perseverance but ends in only despair.

    Read More

  • Sandra Cisneros's “Never Marry a Mexican”

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...e relationship with men, as nothing but tools she can sharpen and destroy, lives through lust and an uncanny ability to blend into any social class makes her unique. Her character is proven as an unreliable narrator as she exaggerates parts of the story and tries to explain that she is in fact not guilty of being a mistress, but a person caught in a crossfire between two others.

    Read More

  • Second Great Awakening Essay

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Second Great Awakening started the was a religious revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States, it sparked the building and reform of the education system, women's rights and the mental health system. It was also the start of many different denominations of churches such as the, Churches of Christ, Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the Evangelical Christian.

    Read More

  • A Pair of Tickets by Amy Tan

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    influence all her life and struggles to accept her true identity. Through the story you can

    Read More

  • Characterism In A Pair Of Tickets By Amy Tan

    2060 Words  | 5 Pages

    The definition of the word theme is the message about life or human nature that is “the focus” in the story that the writer tells. (Glossary of Literary Terms). One of the messages the author is trying to get across to the reader is, the ability to accept ones true self. June May continuously worries about what her family will think about her. “And rather than be impressed, I am worried about the expense, as well as the appearance it must give Aiyi, that we rich Americans cannot be without our luxuries even for one night.” (187). Her family is over joyed with them visiting and could care less about judging her or her father. June learns by the end of her trip that she needs to accept herself and stop worrying about what others my think. How she sees herself is what matters. Another theme in this story is that blood is thicker than distance. This meaning regardless how far away family may be, they will always be a part of her culture and history. June May’s family in China loves her and cares for her, despite the fact that they have never met before. None of that matters because family is blood and no matter the circumstance they will always be a part of her Chinese heritage. “You wrote and said you would come for only one day. One day! How can you see your family in only one day!”(186). June’s father, Canning Woo, had told his aunt that they would come to China and visit for one day. His aunt was

    Read More

  • The Significance Of The Great Awakening

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Awakening was a superior event in American history. The Great Awakening was a time of revivalism that expanded throughout the colonies of New England in the 1730’s through the 1740’s. It reduced the importance of church doctrine and put a larger significance on the individuals and their spiritual encounters. The core outcome of the Great Awakening was a revolt against controlling religious rule which transferred over into other areas of American life. The Great Awakening changed American life on how they thought about and praised the divine, it changed the way people viewed authority, the society, decision making, and it also the way they expressed themselves. Before the Great Awakening life was very strict and people’s minds were

    Read More

  • Morrison's Bluest Eye Essay: Dying to Fit In

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...dia's position on the outside of everything forces her into a position of greater strength. Although hurt, the observations she makes mold her into being able to handle difficulties more easily. The loss of innocence which Claudia faces unintentionally is vital to the role she plays in society and in her life. Her thoughts hold a more realistic view of life and human behavior. She sees the pains and sorrows that life truly is constructed of. Claudia feels that she has missed out on so many opportunities and is not included the way others are. Her strong character generates a feeling of both isolation and separation, but, in reality, she tastes life more closely than most people are able to in a lifetime. Although Claudia's passion to be included is unrequited, she is filled with the strength, character, and pain that make her a more knowledgeable and resilient person.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in "The Awakening"

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...they represent concerning women’s roles in society. Adele plays to entertain her husband and friends at parties, whereas Reisz plays for the art of the craft, always striving to be more proficient and more artistic. Mademoiselle Reisz easily sees past Edna's front, welcomes Edna into her life, and helps usher in the biggest change of Edna's life. Mademoiselle Reisz and her personality serve as the catalyst for the changes that Edna makes in her life. Edna strives to be Mademoiselle Reisz concerning her element of independence, while Leonce Pontellier, Edna’s husband, would like her to be more like Adele Ratignolle, and it is Edna who is striving to find the delicate balance in the middle.

    Read More

  • Social Expectations In The Awakening

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social expectations of women affected Edna and other individuals in Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier, struggles throughout the novel in order to become independent and avoid her roles as mother and housewife in American Victorian society in 1899. This was because women during the 19th century were limited by what society demanded of them, to be the ideal housewives who would take care of their families. However, Edna tries to overcome these obstacles by exploring other options, such as having secret relationships with Robert and Arobin. Although Edna seeks to be independent throughout the novel, in the end she has been awakened but has not achieved independence.

    Read More

  • The significance of the title The Awakening

    542 Words  | 2 Pages

    In comparison to other works such as Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn wherein the title succinctly tells what the story shall contain, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening represents a work whose title can only be fully understood after the incorporation of the themes and content into the reader’s mind, which can only be incorporated by reading the novel itself. The title, The Awakening, paints a vague mental picture for the reader at first and does not fully portray what content the novel will possess. After thorough reading of the novel, one can understand that the title represents the main character, Edna Pontellier’s, sexual awakening and metaphorical resurrection that takes place in the plot as opposed to not having a clue on what the plot will be about.

    Read More

  • The Bluest Eye Essay On Gender Roles

    469 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the novel, women were affected by racism and gender role equality more than men. Pecola is one if the main characters, and she deals with the figure of a man who violates her. The female characters in the novel were apprehended by females roles that made them feel like they were non existent. Each character had their own personality. Claudia, another character in the novel escapes her suffering by pulling apart from Shirley Temple dolls. The expectations of theses women in the novel have been created through our society, and how we view our gender

    Read More

  • Feminism in "The Awakening"

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel The Awakening, by Kate Chopin the critical approach feminism is a major aspect of the novel. According to dictionary.reference.com the word feminism means, “The doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.” The Awakening takes place during the late eighteen hundreds to early nineteen hundreds, in New Orleans. The novel is about Edna Pontellier and her family on a summer vacation. Edna, who is a wife and mother, is inferior to her husband, Leonce, and must live by her husband’s desires. While on vacation Edna becomes close friends with Adele Ratignolle, who helps Edna discover she must be “awakened”. Adele is a character who represents the ideal woman. She is loving, compassionate, and motherly. Throughout the novel Edna seeks something more from life than what she has been living. Also, she is unhappy with her marriage, and all through the summer falls in love with Robert Lebrun. Furthermore, Edna attempts to become independent, free, and in control of her own destiny. During this time period the Feminist movement was taking place. The Feminist movement was a time when women fought to prove themselves equal to men. Women fought for the rights to vote, have jobs, and go to school. The late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds showcased the power the women had to prove their equality. According to the excerpt, “Women of Color in The Awakening” by Elizabeth Ammons, “… The Awakening is its heroine’s break for freedom.” Ultimately, this shows how most women, especially Edna Pontellier, try to break free from the burden of society. Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, showcases the feminist critical approach through women’s roles, women characters, influences, and in...

    Read More

More about Social Themes In The Awakening

Open Document