...Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, was originally published in 1899. At the time, society expected a woman’s life to revolve around her husband and children, and few women looked for fulfillment outside their family. The novel was banned from the St. Louis Mercantile Library, where Chopin lived, because the story was about a young woman, Edna Pontellier, who is awakened to her own desires and longing for fulfillment outside her family. She discovers she wishes for more than being her husband, Léonce Pontellier’s, possession. She wants to be independent and discover her sexuality. On summer vacation, Edna discovers her true love, Robert Lebrun, and despite the strict morals of the late 1800s, she explores that love. Chopin’s novel was considered,...
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...“The Awakening” Symbolism, Irony In Kate Chopin's short story “The Awakening”, the voice of the story portrays a woman with sexual aspirations, and moral female social rules in search for independence and self discovery. The story is based on the 19th century woman. During this time women barely had any freedom, were not recognized within the society and had no choice but to me submissive to their husbands. The main character of the story named Edna is portrayed to be a happy woman because she has everything; a wealthy, attentive husband, and two children. Thoughtout the story the truth about Edna’s unhappiness is revealed. The voice of the story uses symbolism, irony, and figurative language to express Edna Pontellier’s feelings as she found her way to her happiness and freedom. Throughout the text, Chopin encourages readers to think but using situational irony. “Irony- the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.” (Merriam-Webster). While reading, readers are made to think the opposite of what actually happened at the end of the story. In the beginning of the story, Edna’s husband Leonce tells his wife to send his friend Robert away when he starts to bore her. Unknown to Leonce that he was actually the one who was boring Edna. “"Well, send him about his business when he bores you, Edna," instructed her husband as he prepared to leave.” (Chopin 1). Another example of irony is when...
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...The Awakening The Awakening explores different details of a woman living life through the 1800's. The main character that is discussed is Edna Pontellier. She is married to Leonce Pontellier and they have two children together, Etienne and Raoul. The story behind Edna is her desire and struggles to be an independent woman and live fully within her true self. She has struggles learning this about herself and the purpose of a happy life that in turn it causes friction with her friends and family. There are many symbols and perspectives in the story that will help decide whether or not Edna did the right thing in the end. Although Edna's ultimate suicide is a waste of her struggles against an oppressive society, The Awakening supports and encourages feminism as a way for women to obtain sexual freedom, financial independence, and individual identity. A critical analysis consists of choosing a certain lens that would point out certain characteristics of a book and summarize the findings. From the weekly reading “When you analyze a piece of literature or portion of it, it is important to look at various parts of the work—characters, setting, figurative language, and symbolism” (South University, Lecture, wk.2). There are three perspectives that were included in The Awakening, Feminist, Psychoanalytical and Historical. While writing this paper from a feminist perspective there will also be comparisons from the other two. As Sigmund Freud stated “the mind has two parts,...
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...Kate Chopin's The Awakening is a literary work full of symbolism. Birds, clothes, houses and other narrative elements are powerful symbols which add meaning to the novel and to the characters. I will analyze the most relevant symbols presented in Chopin's literary work. BIRDS The images related to birds are the major symbolic images in the narrative from the very beginning of the novel: "A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over: `Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That's all right!'" (pp3) In The Awakening, caged birds serve as reminders of Edna's entrapment. She is caged in the roles as wife and mother; she is never expected to think for herself. Moreover, the caged birds symbolize the entrapment of the Victorian women in general. Like the parrot, the women's movements are limited by the rules of society. In this first chapter, the parrot speaks in "a language which nobody understood" (pp3). The parrot is not able to communicate its feelings just like Edna whose feelings are difficult to understand, incomprehensible to the members of Creole society. In contrast to caged birds, Chopin uses wild birds and the idea of flight as symbols of freedom. This symbol is shown in a vision of a bird experienced by Edna while Mademoiselle Reisz is playing the piano. "When she heard it there came before her imagination the figure of a man standing beside a desolate rock...
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...ENGL 1102 26 November 2013 The Birds In Kate Chopin’s book, The Awakening, she expresses the account of a youthful woman who begins to live her life for herself, breaking out of the numerous obstacles set by humanity and her family during the Victorian Era. When Chopin wrote The Awakening in the 1890s, a variety of social differences and tensions, which brought women’s rights into public conversation that prompted Chopin’s narrative. In Louisiana, which is the setting for The Awakening, most women at the time were their husbands' legitimate property. In addition, this was a prominently Catholic state meaning divorce was tremendously uncommon, and women expected to stay loyal and faithful to their husbands. This explains some reactions The Awakening received in after its publication in 1899. Chopin uses symbolism as an excellent device to insert her personal views to the reader giving them a foretaste into the life of this young woman at a time when women had no political rights and many restraints. In Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening,” she uses a variety of birds as symbols to illuminate Edna’s journey through life. The essential significance throughout the story is the desire to break away from the traditional views of women during the Victorian Era. However, Edna struggles with the backlash she would receive if she chose to fulfill her own desires, signifying what she...
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...Why was Edna’s first attempt to swim successfully symbolic to the way she was in the novel? The symbolism in this moment is the maturation and rebirth of Edna; from being a clutching, tottering and stumbling child to being able to walk alone to the beach. The sea for edna was a seductive, never ceasing abyss that draws in the soul into solitude; with entering the sea Edna was able to face her fear and enter it while knowing what she was told about the ocean. This swim in the ocean shows that she is no longer dependent on the others, as what many thought of women, but she found strength within herself. The rebirth of Edna included that she will no longer be treated as a child, so becoming reckless and very confident, she wants to swim “where no woman had swum before,” and she reaches the...
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...In Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, the audience follows a young man on his journey to find true enlightenment. Through numerous teachers and many life experiences, the stories main protagonist, Siddhartha, ends the story realizing that true enlightenment is found within one’s self rather than taught from a teacher. Hesse develops his story of a man’s search for himself through the use of symbolism, allegory, and his own personal bias. Throughout the story of Siddhartha, many symbols are mentioned to the reader and hold a deeper meaning. For example, in chapter seven, Hesse uses a songbird to symbolize Siddhartha’s life. The bird is mentioned during a dream, in which Siddhartha had been living a wonderful life as a rich man for many years. In his dream, the songbird dies. The bird died because Siddhartha had spent too much time as a rich man and learning about reality, rather than learning about himself. Another important symbol used throughout this novel is the smile. Each of the three characters in the story who attain a final state of enlightenment is describes by having a beautiful smile which reflects their peaceful and happy state within. In each case this smile is a completely natural phenomenon and it cannot be created by people who have not attained the prerequisite state of harmony. One last symbol that frequently appears in Hesse’s story is the river. As a constant, yet changing source of life for many species, it only makes sense that this natural beauty would be used...
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...Kate Chopin in the novel “The awakening”argues that women should be able to be independent beings, in the late century where women were held to strict standards. Chopin supports her claim by introducing us to the main character Edna Pontellier who is often dissatisfied by the traditions set for women. She goes on a journey to find herself and her individuality, her purpose beyond just being a housewife or a “mother-woman” The author uses symbolism right away on the first page in the book. When she shows the parrot and the mockingbird making noises on the front porch. As I went to read on through the rest of the book I realized what the birds could be symbolizing. The noisy parrot who could speak a language only the mockingbird...
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...There are ties to Kahlo’s culture with the traditional Mexican top and skirt, the wildlife and cacti, the Aztec masks and the skeleton while also showing elements that aren’t native to her nation like skyscrapers from New York. Similar to the tone of Nightwood, the tone of What the Water Gave me is pessimistic and morbid. There are multiple images of death, including the dead bird in the tree, the strangled woman in the water, and the skeleton sitting on the base of a volcano. There are also images that potentially had strong symbolism to Kahlo as well. The Mexican dress, something commonly associated with Kahlo and her complete style. The two clothed figures behind the leaves resemble her parents; while the two nude figures on a bed/sponge could be her and one of her female lovers, and the phallic skyscraper bursting from the volcano that could have several meanings either to her artistic ties to New York or her sexual awakening. It is obvious that these objects and figures were never in the tub, but it’s a matter of what was Kahlo’s state of mind to have all these objects in one image. The most confusing part of this painting to me is essentially right in the middle. There is a triangle that starts on the lower plug, moving left there are little bugs walking in a row on a rope. Going down there is an oversized shell that is leaking from seven holes. To...
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...The Awakening was published at a period in time whereby the contents of the book was considered vulgar and terrible. The book was rejected and looked down upon as being some type of scandal. The novel wasn’t recognized until after Kate Chopin dead. After her death readers began to recognize the book as being a feminist because of the fact that people began to understand the contents of the book in the newer era. The novel, “The Awakening” embodies a woman’s creativity, marriage, motherhood, and a woman’s place in society. An important part of the novel that stood out would be when Edna makes an attempt to escape the obligations and constraints of New Orleans social milieu. Every move made by Edna is caused by the tenet of society. Edna is...
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...The Awakening Close Reading Discussion Questions Always reference page numbers as part of evidence for responses. Always add new vocabulary to your notes to expand your diction. Chapters 1 through 5 • What observations can be made from the cover? What might be meant by “The Awakening”? • What does the introductory paragraph/page introduce? Why? • Are there any symbols? • Character descriptions (What kind of husband/father is Mr. Pontellier? Mother/wife is Mrs. Pontellier? How is Mrs. Ratignolle described? Robert Lebrun?) • What is the setting (time and place)? How does it factor into the interactions of the characters? • Page 18, why is Edna crying. Find the best word from the text to describe what she is feeling? • Chapter 5, paragraph 4, how is Adele Ratignolle described? To what is this allusion referencing? • What is a Creole? Chapters 6 through 10 • How does the Chapter 6 relate to the title? • What is the significance of the sea? • What is chapter 6 saying about Edna’s emotional state? • Why does the author spend time referencing Edna’s childhood? • Lady in black and the lover imagery is referenced in the same paragraph, multiple times in these chapters, why? • What is the significance of Adele and Robert’s conversation on the way back from the beach? • Alcee Arobin is introduced as a character. Why? How does he contribute to the story? • Where is Vera Cruz? What is its significance...
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...Heinrich-Heine-Universität Wintersemester 2010/11 Vertiefungsmodul Kurs: American Realism and Naturalism - Short Stories Seminarleiter: Georg Schiller Datum der Abgabe: 16.04.2011 Female Empowerment in Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” Anjana Dhir BA Englisch KF, Geschichte NF 3. Semester Table of Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. The French – Creole society of Louisiana 4 2.1 Cultural background 4 2.2 French-Creole women 5 3. The Role of Women 6 4.1 Edna vs. Madame Ratignolle 7 3.1.1 “A Valuable Piece of Property” 7 3.1.2 Edna – The Unusual Woman 9 3.1.3 Adèle Ratignolle – The Archetype Woman 14 3.2 “Mother Woman” – The Patriarchal Ideology 16 4. Chopin’s Imagery 18 5. Conclusion - Edna’s Suicide 19 6. Bibliography 21 1. Introduction A certain ungovernable dread hung about her when in the water, unless there was a hand nearby that might reach out and reassure her. But that night she was like a little tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who of a sudden realizes its powers, and walks for the first time alone, boldly and with over confidence. […] A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She...
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...Title: Author(s): Publication Details: Source: Document Type: The Carnivalesque in A Midsummer Night's Dream David Wiles Shakespeare and Carnival after Bakhtin. New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1998. Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 82. Detroit: Gale, 2004. From Literature Resource Center. Critical essay Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale, COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale, Cengage Learning [(essay date 1998) In the following essay, Wiles examines the festive and carnivalesque elements in A Midsummer Night's Dream. According to the critic, the play was historically part of an "aristocratic carnival" used to celebrate weddings in upper-class society.] Carnival theory did not begin with Bakhtin, and we shall understand Bakhtin's position more clearly if we set it against classical theories of carnival.1 From the Greek world the most important theoretical statement is to be found in Plato: The gods took pity on the human race, born to suffer as it was, and gave it relief in the form of religious festivals to serve as periods of rest from its labours. They gave us as fellow revellers the Muses, with Apollo their leader, and Dionysus, so that men might restore their way of life by sharing feasts with gods.2 This is first a utopian theory, maintaining that carnival restores human beings to an earlier state of being when humans were closer to the divine. And second, it associates carnival with communal order. Plato argues that festive dancing creates bodily order, and thus bodily and...
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...Literature Faculty English Philology Department DIPLOMA PAPER Figurative Language, Language Shaped by Imagination in Katherine Mansfield’s Short Stories Submitted by: the 4th year student Paşcaneanu Mariana Group 404 Scientific adviser: Tataru Nina Senior Lecturer Chişinău 2012 Contents INTRODUCTION 2 CHAPTER I: SHORT STORY AS A FORM OF FICTION 5 I.1.Common Characteristics of a Short Story as a Form of Fiction. Its Plot and Structure. 5 I.2. Figurative Language. Definition. Function. 9 I.3. Imagery – Language that Appeals to the Senses 11 I.3.1. Simile, Metaphor and Personification. 13 1.3.2. Symbol and Symbolism. 26 I.3.3 Allegory. 30 CHAPTER II: LANGUAGE SHAPED BY IMAGINATION IN K. MANSFIELD’S SHORT STORIES 36 II.1. Figurative Language, Symbolism and Theme in "Her First Ball": 37 II.2. Katherine Mansfield – Techniques and Effects in A Cup of Tea. 41 II.3. Literary Colloquial Style in “Miss Brill” by K. Mansfield. 49 II.3.1. Lexical features—Vague Words and Expressions 49 II.3.2 Syntactical and Morphological Features 52 II.3.3 Phonological Schemes of the Figures of Speech 55 II.4. Simplifying Figurative Language in K.Mansfield’s Short Stories 60 CONCLUSION 64 BIBLIOGRAPHY 66 APPENDIX 70 INTRODUCTION Figurative Language is the use of words that go beyond their ordinary meaning. It requires you to use your imagination to figure out the author's meaning. For example...
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...Alita Fonseca Balbi “The Less Deceived”: Subjectivity, Gender, Sex and Love in Sylvia Plath's and Philip Larkin's Poetry Belo Horizonte Faculdade de Letras Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais 2012 i “The Less Deceived”: Subjectivity, Gender, Sex and Love in Sylvia Plath's and Philip Larkin's Poetry by Alita Fonseca Balbi Submitted to the Programa de Pós-graduação em Letras: Estudos Literários in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Mestre em Literaturas de Expressão Inglesa. Thesis Advisor: Sandra Regina Goulart Almeida, PhD Belo Horizonte Faculdade de Letras Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais 2012 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To my father, Tadeu, for always reminding me of the importance of having dreams and being true to them; for motivating me to be creative and to believe in my potential; and for teaching me to seek beauty and happiness in everything I see and do. To my mother, Socorro, for always making sure I enjoy all the possibilities that cross my path, and for reminding me that hard work is the only means to achieve my goals. To my brothers, Bruno and Diego, for being my best friends. To my sister-in-law, Sabrina, for embracing me as family and making me feel at home even when I’m not. To Paulo, for his company, for his love and care, and for all his witty remarks. To the professors of Letras, Julio Jeha, José dos Santos, Eliana Lourenço and Gláucia Renates, for being extraordinary professors, and for all the knowledge each...
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