The Unconventional Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin, a female author in the Victorian Era, wrote a large number of short stories and poems. She is most famous for her controversial novel The Awakening in which the main character struggles between society's obligations and her own desires. At the time The Awakening was published, Chopin had written more than one hundred short stories, many of which had appeared in magazines such as Vogue. She was something of a literary “lioness" in St. Louis and had numerous intellectual admirers. Within weeks after publication of The Awakening, this social landscape that had appeared so serenely comfortable became anything but serene and anything but comfortable.
Of all things, death led Kate Chopin to write. The death of her brother, her beloved grandmother, her husband, and lastly, her mother left her with an overwhelming sadness and six children to raise, prompting her move to write. With such earnest promptings, Chopin took up writing at age thirty-eight. The publication of the love poem "If It Might Be" in January 1889 marked Chopin's first appearance in print.
Many of Kate Chopin’s writings wave a backward glance to her childhood. Kate's grandmother, Madame Charleville, spent much time telling Kate stories that stirred her interest about people's lives, minds, and morals. Madame Charleville's favorite saying was, "One may know a great deal about people without judging them. God does that" (Oscar 17). Young Kate must have paid a great deal of attention. Three decades later, when she came to do her own storytelling, she would continue to leave judgment entirely to God.
Kate Chopin’s first novel, At Fault, also refers to sentimen...
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...m Blake, Chopin was interested in innocence and experience, and both of these themes run within The Awakening. It was this book, though after her death, that made her loved.
Kate Chopin died in August of 1904 of a cerebral hemorrhage. She was an incredibly talented writer. She wrote about real issues and real feelings. Light and shadow play in her fiction. Moods come and go, representing the diverse events Chopin experienced. Unfortunately, like many other authors, Kate Chopin was never recognized for these incredible talents until it was far too late.
Work Cited
Bloom, Harold. Modern Views On Kate Chopin. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 125-133.
Oscar, Steven. Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening. New York: Rosen Publishers, 1992. 17-24.
Thornton, Lawrence. "Kate Chopin." The Scribner Writers Series.CD-ROM, 2001: 1-9
While growing up, I attended a traditional school. This is a schooling method many individuals are probably familiar with. A student attends school for nine months out of the year, and then has a three month break during the summer. However, in my immediate hometown surroundings, nearby traditional schools are assessing the idea of transforming into year-round schools. Year round schooling is one subject debated in high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools nationwide. Are schools that operate 365 days a year academically better than traditional schools? What are the cost differences between the two? How would a year-round school effect families? Changing the schooling technique from traditional to year-round has numerous variables that need to be taken into consideration before any grade school or secondary education institution fully commits. Year-round schooling schedules should not be implemented and traditional schooling calendars should be maintained.
First, the pros of year round schooling can include; effects on absence and burnout rates, effects on budget, more frequent breaks, and also a big effect on academic achievement. The way that year round schooling works to reduce burnout and also reduce absences is that by having more frequent breaks; students are less likely to want to skip class. This is definitely noticeable after spring break where most schools don’t have any days off until the end of the year that is usually more than 2 months straight. In other words the “April, May, June stretch”. Year round schooling will also help students with their academics as well because with the way the schedule is set up, students do not ha...
There are many advantages to year round schooling. The two major advantages for year round schooling is the elimination or reduction in learning loss during summer breaks and improvement of student achievement. Winter, also stated other advantages such as attendance in school, reduction in drop out rate, student attitudes, and teacher attitudes. Less absenteeism by both teachers and students.The students attitudes were more positive to school and learni...
The phrase “year-round” scares students and parents alike. Some argue that students attending school year-round will get so burnt out that the new schedule would be counterproductive. However, the term “year-round” is misleading. Students would not go to school non-stop twelve months out of the year. Instead, students would attend in blocks separated by short but frequent breaks (Hapka). The National Education Association gives insight to the block system:
"Summer school? Should schools be in session year-round?" Know Your World Extra 18 Apr. 2008. General OneFile. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1850, Kate Chopin was an influential woman who endured many tragedies throughout her lifetime. She grew up in a bilingual and bicultural home of English and French, mostly raised by the widowed women in her family (Kate Chopin). Her father had died when she was five years old when his train crossed a collapsing bridge and all her siblings died in infancy or in their early twenties. From then till she was about sixteen years, her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother educated Chopin in French and music. She then reentered the Sacred Heart Academy and graduated top of her class (Wyatt). At age twenty, Chopin married Oscar Chopin and they moved down to New Orleans where they raised their seven children until Oscar died of malaria nearly twelve years after they were married. Chopin moved back to St. Louis with her children to live with her mother, until she died a year later, leaving Chopin alone. She died in 1904, only days after visiting the World’s Fair in St. Louis, of a cerebral hemorrhage (Kate Chopin).
... Year-Round Schools. Ed. Adriane Ruggiero. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 May 2014.
Throughout time education has been considered a process that every so often must be improved. The education quality in the U.S. has declined over the years and people have been looking for a way to make improvements. A more recent proposal has been to go from a traditional nine-month schedule to an all year program. Supporters of year round school claim it gives the student a better education. However, the prospect of year round school is not beneficial to the taxpayers pocket, to the education a student receives, or to the people involved with the district.
One benefit of the year round schooling is that there can be an overlap of s...
Elizabeth Fox Genovese of Emory University shared in a PBS interview that “She [Kate Chopin] was very important as one of the earliest examples of modernism in the United States or, if you wish, the cutting edge of modernism in American literature” (PBS – Interviews). Kate Chopin published At Fault, her first novel, in 1890 and The Awakening, her last novel, in 1898 (Guilds 924). During these years Chopin wrote numerous other works and most, like At Fault and The Awakening, centered around upper-middle class Creole or French women involved in womanly uncertainties; such as, extramarital affairs, acceptable behavior in society for females, duties as a wife, responsibilities as a mother, and religious beliefs. Chopin was an extraordinary woman, and no indication was made, during the investigation of this research paper, reflecting her having regrets regarding her position as a wife or mother. This document is an attempt at comparing the issues the main characters experienced and presenting Chopin’s unique skill in writing about the culture she observed during her years of living in Louisiana. The tragedy of this author’s existence is that during her life the literary world did not recognize such exceptional skill.
Kate Chopin was one of the most influential nineteenth century American fiction writers. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri on either one of three dates: February 8, 1851, February 8, 1850, or July 12, 1850, depending on the source. She once said that she was born in 1851, but her baptismal certificate states February 8, 1850 as her birthday (Inge, 2). There is also an indiscretion regarding the spelling of her name. Her full name is Katherine O’Flaherty Chopin, but one source spells her first name with a ‘C’ (Katherine, 1). Her father, Thomas O’Flaherty, was an Irish immigrant who became a successful merchant in St. Louis. Her mother, Eliza Faris O’Flaherty, came from a wealthy aristocratic Creole family (Inge, 2). Kate Chopin was a student at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Louis. Here she learned the Catholic teachings and great intellectual discipline. She graduated from this French school in 1868 (Inge, 2). On June 9th in 1870, she married Oscar Chopin. Together the couple had six children: Jean (1871), Oscar (1873), George (1874), Frederick (1876), Felix (1878), and Lelia (1879) (Inge, 3).
Although year-round school is not something that most Americans are used to, it is much more beneficial than the original nine-month schooling. Nine-month schooling has been around for a very long time, but it is also out dated. Nine-month schooling was a way to help farmers keep their children at home for extra help during the summer months. Now, more and more people are living in town, and farmers have advanced equipment. Year-round school is a great way to give students and teachers more frequent breaks throughout the school year so they do not get burnt out. It will also shorten the review time each year, and allow teachers to teach more throughout the school year. The multi-tracking system allows
Students who are enrolled in a year-round school attend school for 180 days, the same number of days as students on a traditional calendar schedule. A year-round school calendar is formulated into nine-week quarters. Each quarter is separated by a three-week break called an intersession. There is still a summer vacation , but at four or five weeks, it is less than half that of a traditional school summer break, and does not provide enough time for students to completely forget what they learned all year. This solution actually reduces the problem. This school system has been proven to have positive effects on student achievement, especially for students with learning disabilities. The goal of year-round schooling is to create continuous or extended learning by adding hours to the days and days to the year. According to the benefits of year round education article, “Fifty years ago, most American households were supported by a working father, while mothers were expected to stay at home. However, the women’s movement of the 1970’s combined with the rise in divorce rate and the high cost of living, lead to a decline of stay at home mothers.”First, The shorter vacations implemented by year-round education and intersession are helpful to today’s working parents because it is a less expensive alternative to daycare or summer camps. Also, parents and teachers can schedule vacations
To have year round schooling it much more expensive than a regular school year, to have school year round it, can cost “up to $1,300 more per student.” Also, most students in high school have a summertime job for those three months. But, if schooling was year round teens wouldn't be able to work in the summer. So the amount of times teens can work would decrease. In addition, kids would be much busier with school year around because of all the work and less free time to do whatever. For instance, kids with a lot of homework, projects and other things from school wouldn’t allow them to do things they like in their free time. For example, kids wouldn't be able to hang out with friends, family, play travel sports, or go on vacations because of the lack of free time they would get with school year
The opening scene of American Beauty (1999, Sam Mendes) introduces the world of the Burnham family: a seemingly typical father, mother, and daughter residing in a perfect suburbia, and living the stereotypical lifestyle of a middle class family. The mise-en-scène in the scene helps to establish the perfect façade of the family, by portraying their paradisiacal neighborhood, friendly neighbors, perfectly symmetrical home, beautiful rose garden, fancy cars, and gorgeously decorated and modernly equipped house. Certain ele...