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what are the themes of finding identity in literature
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Identity in The Awakening
Kate Chopin's The Awakening is about a woman's growing sense of identity. The novel takes place on an island south of New Orleans and in New Orleans. Edna Pontellier is 28 years old when she "wakes up". Her husband Leonce Pontellier is much older than she - forty years old.
The Awakening opens when Mr. Pontellier - a businessman- is disturbed by the noise some parrots are doing. They repeat "Allez vous-en!" which means go away. It sounds such as an invitation to Edna to leave her cage of marriage. This is what she is doing in steps throughout the novel. The "parrot" image is very interesting because parrots can be trained to talk, and they repeat only what someone taught them. Edna refuses more and more to follow the rules women are trained in. She starts to look for a self-determined life. In Chapter VI Chopin writes "Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being." She realizes this after going to the beach with Robert for a bath in the sea. The sea and swimming play an important role in this novel. The sea is an archetype of death and rebirth. In the beginning Edna experiences "the touch of the sea" as sensuous, and she seems to feel renewed. At the end she enters the water of the Gulf naked and feels "like some newborn creature." When she dies, it seems that death and rebirth have met and the circle has closed. ( Teachers comment: Something is very wrong with the grammar here).
To underline that Edna is different from the typical women at Grand Isle and New OrleansChopin creates the character of Adele Ratignolle. She is described as the embodiment of the "mother- woman." She seems to accept and enjoy her role as a wife and mother. She knows her duties and (in XIV) leaves Edna alone because Monsieur Ratignolle is alone at home and "he detested above all things to be left alone." When Edna tells Adele "that she would never sacrifice herself for her children," Adele does not understand. She fulfills her role as a mother and wife, whereas Edna wants to define her role new. She asks in Chapter XIII "How many years have I slept?" and Robert mentions later "All but the hundred years when you were sleeping.
Both John Proctor and Minister Dimmesdale were involved in sinful relationships. John Proctor had an affair with a young girl named Abigail Williams even though he was married to Elizabeth Proctor. Minister Dimmesdale fathered the child of Hester Prynne while she was married to Roger Chillingworth. Both men had relationships that were looked down upon by society.
When John was no longer with the Marine Corps, he a pit orchestra. This is where John learned how to conduct. After that he went back to the Marine Corps as their head conductor for 12 years. He also led the “President's Own” band from Presidents Ruthord B. Hayes and Benjamin Harrison. He also re-created the sousaphone which is one thing he is very famous for. Whether or not you are sitting or standing, John wanted it to be able to be heard over the whole band. That is when the sousaphone is re-created in 1898 by C.G. Conn. the year John left the Marine Band he organized The Sousa Band. They toured for a total of 39 years and performed a total of 15,623 concerts. They played for sold-out crowds all around the world including the World Expansion in Paris, France.
According to Strike and Soltis, “As teachers or future teachers, it is important that you notice that your time and your instructional style are also scarce resources that can be distributed fairly or unfairly”( Strike; Soltis, pg. 62). I never really thought about how time management and an educator’s instructional style could be considered a scarce resource that could be distributed fairly or unfairly. In Chapter 4, Strike and Soltis used the case study called Susan’s Third Grade as an example of a scarce resource that is distributed unfairly. In the case study, a student named Susan is blind and the teacher dedicates more of her time helping Susan. Since the teacher helps Susan more in the class, the other students in the class receive less time with the
The Awakening is a novel about the growth of a woman becoming her own person; in spite of the expectations society has for her. The book follows Edna Pontellier as she struggles to find her identity. Edna knows that she cannot be happy filling the role that society has created for her. She did not believe that she could break from this pattern because of the pressures of society. As a result she ends up taking her own life. However, readers should not sympathize with her for taking her own life.
F. Scott Fitzgerald is known as a great author for his several works that do a great job at capturing the 1920s and allowing readers to get a look inside what the 20s would actually be like. The 1920s was a booming time period, people were getting richer and businesses were growing larger and larger with each year. This was a decade during the prohibition and even so, alcohol and partying was everywhere. Fitzgerald provides a very interesting look into the 1920s through both his short story, “Winter Dreams,” and in his novel The Great Gatsby. The main character in “Winter Dreams,” Dexter Green, is an upper middle class man who falls in love with an old money girl and spends his life
hile not fully aware of her discontent, Edna Pontellier begins to question her duties and the expectations of those around her while vacationing with her husband and two children at Grand Isle, a summer haven for the upper class of New Orleans. The handsome wife of a wealthy businessman with two healthy boys, Edna’s marriage appears to be a good one. She married Leone Pontellier, a Catholic and a Creole, in an act of mild rebellion against an overbearing father. Though he is not a vicious or neglectful husband, Edna is not treated as her husband’s equal because she is not seen as such. She finds no pleasure in the things she is expected to find pleasure in, her married life one of routine and obligation. Her husband 's kindness and uniform
I will compare the emotions that both artworks send to the viewers when they first look at them. When I look at the portray 1, I fell sadness. That’s what the artwork is conveying to me. No one in the picture is happy or smiling. Everyone is sad, upset or indifferent. When we look at their gaze, the father is looking traight away, with tired eyes. His gesture shows that he doesn’t want to hear what his wife has to say and is asking her to stop. The mother’s gaze is on something in front of them. Her eyes are big and she seems to be giving more attention to things than the man. She seems sad sad to be spoken that way. On portray 2, the atmosphere is visibly different. The man and woman have a little smile on their faces and the kids are playing next to them. The people in the portray don’t look indifferent to each other or sad like in the other portray, they look pleased and caring. The man and women gaze are relaxed and they seem to be enjoying themselves. They are looking straight away in a pose as if someone is taking a picture of them. The kids gaze are in their
The title Miss Representation emphasizes that the way we portray women in the media is a
The novels parallel each other in interesting ways. Edna, in The Awakening, begins as a character of submission. Margaret, in North and South, meanwhile, begins the novel by attending what could be called an act of submission, at least in her opinion. Both authors develop their novels according to the development of their female characters. As Chopin continues with the growth of the independent and defiant nature of Edna, the mood and atmosphere of the novel becomes more spiritual. Gaskell, meanwhile, is interested in the psychology of her characters and uses language to reflect the settings in which she throws Margaret.
King brings up the truth about the vicious captains that are famous for exploring and finding North America. The main idea of his first chapter is simply within the title, Forgetting Columbus. King conveys the reasons why Americans need to forget the stories which they were once told, in order to expose themselves to the unfortunate truths before 1985. For instance, King critiques how whites took pride in massacring Natives in large numbers. Most people have heard about the conspiracy about Columbus mass murdering Natives to get them to comprehend and
The Awakening by Kate Chopin was considered very shocking when it was first published because of the "sexual awakening" of the main character, Edna Pontellier, and her unconventional behavior. Chopin moved to New Orleans after her marriage and lived there for twelve years until the death of her husband. She returned to St. Louis where she began writing. She used her knowledge of Louisiana and Creole culture to create wonderful descriptions of local color, and she incorporated French phrases used by the Creoles. The Awakening begins at Grade Isle, a vacation spot of wealthy Creoles from New Orleans. Edna is there with her two sons and her husband Leonce who comes and goes because of business. Edna is not Creole, but her husband is. She has never felt like she fits in with their lifestyle. Edna has always done what is expected of a woman, including marrying a man she did not love. He regards her as a possession rather than an individual. While on vacation, Edna falls in love with Robert Lebrun. She often goes to the beach with him. She begins to realize for the first time, at age 28, that she is an individual. Edna feels like one who awakens gradually from a dream to the reality of life. After this discovery, Edna changes. She disregards her husband's wishes and often ignores her children. She learns to swim which also makes her begin to feel more independent. Edna befriends two women, Mademoiselle Reisz, a pianist, and Madame Ratignolle, a motherly lady. Distressed when Robert leaves for Mexico, Edna often visits Mademoiseel Reisz to whom Robert often writes. Edna continues to disregard the customs of society. Her husband becomes
In Homer’s epic, the Iliad, the legendary, has no two characters that are so similar yet so different as Greek warrior, Achilles, and the Prince of Troy, Hector. Achilles is the strongest fighter in the Greek side, and Hector is the strongest Trojan. They are both put into the mold of a hero that their respective societies have put them into; however; it is evident that they are both extremely complex characters with different roles within their society and with their families, and with the gods.
The first requirement of Aristotle's tragic hero is that they are more admirable than the average character. Achilles meets this requirement because of his ability on the battlefield. In The Iliad, the background to the story is the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. This background is not only the basis for the story overall, but is also the basis for Achilles' own story. This begins when Achilles refuses to join the battle because he is insulted by Agamemnon. This decision results in the action that drives the remainder of the story. Later in the story when Achilles becomes angered and goes to the other extreme, launching into battle and killing ferociously. The significance of this is that it places battle as central to both Achilles' story and to what is important in the setting of the story. Importantly, the aspect that makes Achilles greater than most is his ability o...
Because he embodied Greek ideals, was ‘immortalized’ through his actions and glorious death, and was courageous, Achilles was an epic hero. Honor was of the utmost importance to both him and the entire Greek society, he chose to die a hero in battle, and he avenged the death of Patroclus even through mourning; Achilles is the true hero of the Iliad.
The Iliad is not a story about the Trojan War at all, the war is just to set the stage for Homer to bring together the swift footed Achilles and Hector, the Prince of Troy, so they can be compared. The Iliad starts with how Achilles is dishonored by Agamemnon and withdraws from the war and ends with his return to the fight and eventually falling at the end. Hector is brought into the story and displays through his character what a real hero should be like.