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Desiree's Baby Short Story

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Incidents of foreshadowing are immediate and frequent in the story “Desiree’s Baby” (1894). Desiree, and her baby’s race will be questioned. Evidence of Armand’s hatred towards anyone of color, and his vengeful actions. Subtle hints of Armand’s race are all foretold in the storyline. Ultimately, Suggestions of death and despair. Desiree had been abandoned by the gate of the Valmonde estate when she was just a toddler (Chopin, 1894). Many people questioned where the girl came from, but “Madame Valmonde abandoned every speculation but the one that Desiree had been sent to her” (Chopin, 1894, p. 1605). Madame Valmonde raised Desiree as her own child and dismissed all accusations of her background. This event immediately foreshadows that Desiree’s background and race, will be questioned again. Speculation of Desiree’s race enters the story again as, “Desiree awoke one day to the conviction that there was something in the air menacing her peace… It had only been a quieting suggestion; an air of mystery among the blacks… then an …show more content…

1608). This prompted Desiree to write a despairing letter to her mother “Armand has told me I am not white… You must know it’s not true. I shall die. I must die. I cannot be so unhappy, and live” (Chopin, 1894, p. 1608). Her mother’s response does not confirm nor deny these claims, and only asks Desiree to come home with the baby, for even her mother is unsure of Desiree’s true race (Chopin, 1894). Upon bringing the letter to Armand, he tells her to leave, breaking her heart. This letter foreshadows the event of Desiree’s suicide, killing not only herself, but her baby too (Chopin, 1894). Armand, having tossed her away like a worthless piece of property, has brought Desiree to the point of hopelessness. Her actions brought upon the fact that she cannot live without Armand’s love, nor can she bear the shame from the accusations of her

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There could have been multiple possibilities of why the baby was not “White,” but due to Armand’s first intuition that Désirée was not white, he is showing that he has authority of the situation and that what he says goes. Because the husband and wife in both stories allow this particular type of destructive relationship, where the wife is submissive and the husband treats his wife like his own property, both stories progressively deteriorate by the

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Our heritage is recognized as one of the most defining aspects of our identity, we can either embrace it or despise it, however, our racial ancestry is recognized as being more complicated and talked about in terms of conflict. The text Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin shares a common theme with Everyday Use by Alice Walker on the issue of racial heritage and the stigma surrounding it. In Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin, the theme of racial heritage is mainly expressed through Desiree’s Husband Armand, who faces his internal conflict with his possible mixed-race background that comes into conflict with his occupation as a slave owner and his marriage with Desiree. When Armand’s suspicions of his racial background are revealed by his external conflict,

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I cannot be so unhappy and live” (Chopin 234). The significance that her life has a white lady instantaneously is gone by the nature of racism, as Desiree may be considered a black lady. Desiree is really tortured by this rumor because she knows the hardships that women go through that are considered black, “the condition of being black and female is much more debilitating than that of being black and male”

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Many believed that Desiree’s thoughts and actions were justified due to her thoughts and unhappiness. It appeared as if she would have no future; no husband, no friends, and not even her child, if he were sold into slavery. In paragraph 25, it says that Desiree wrote, “‘I shall die. I must die. I cannot be so unhappy, and live.’”

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“Desiree’s Baby” is a short story by Kate Chopin. “Desiree’s baby” is a story about a family in the era where the colored were neglected and treated poorly. Desiree was abandoned and left as a baby. When she was adopted she grew up in a very wealthy family. Armand and Desiree have known each other ever since they were little so when they grew up they got married.

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Surely, only an opposing, selfish, and insensitive person could send their wife and child away upon realizing that they both were mixed race. In Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby”, however, protagonist, Desiree, is altered over just a few days as she goes from being thankful from the happiness of her husband and baby into saddened and betrayed by her lover. The story eventfully shows how racism and denial both play a part in the way the future may turn out. From the time that the story begins, one can see that the love between Armand and Desiree is what they say to be a dream come true. It’s the love that everyone asks for.

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With the denial of his past and of his race, comes hatred and racism into Armand’s heart and actions. This goes hand and hand with the denial aspect with the usage of characterization from Chopin’s part. Racism ran high in most people’s characteristics of this time because Chopin put this story’s in pre-Civil War times. With the treatment of his slaves, you can really see how Armand feels about others from the race that he sees as less than, even though he is really one of them. The substandard treatment of Armand’s slaves only stops once Desiree gives birth to the baby, but when there was a chance of Desiree being of an African descent, Armand sent her and their child away without thought, saying “Yes, I want to go” with no emotion showing in his voice or actions (3).

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Desiree’s Baby is a short story by Kate Chopin. “Desiree’s Baby” takes place before the Civil War in a time when black people were neglected and mistreated by the whites. Desiree was abandoned and left behind by her parents when she was a toddler by a big stone pillar. She was found and declared adopted by Madame and Monsieur Valmonde. Armand a man that was really harsh to blacks falls in love with Desiree and gets married with her without knowing anything about her ancestry.

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During the era in which this short story was written, southern authors had a major influence on the way the culture was going to grow with racism, and also the way people loved each other. Kate Chopin, a traditional author who believed in southern ways, exemplifies how race and the characteristics of conditional love played a role in her story. In “Desiree’s Baby,” the author, Kate Chopin, provides an illustration of conditional love exemplified by the character, Armand, towards his wife and child; furthermore, Chopin provides instances of irony, elements of surprise, foreshadowing, and symbolism to prove that Armand’s love for both of them was not the unconditional love typically felt and portrayed by women, such as Desiree, during this era. Throughout the story, the readers notice different times where Chopin uses elements of surprise. One major surprise is when Armand opens the letter from his mother and finds out that he has African American in his bloodline.

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One of the many short stories by Kate Chopin is “Desiree’s Baby.” In this story, Desiree was found as a toddler under the shadow of a stone pillar by Monsieur Valmonde. He and his wife took the child in and years later, under the same shadow of the stone pillar, Desiree met her husband, Armand Aubigny. Not long after marriage, they had a child. Soon after the baby was born, Armand uncharacteristically became nice to all around him including his slaves.

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In the short story “Desiree’s Baby”one of the problems

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Arnold David Arnold Hensley English 11/ Fifth Period 27 February 2018 Part 12: Rough Draft #1 In Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby” one will notice Chopin’s well known use of racism and local color in the story. With the story taking place in the deep South prior to the Civil War the reader will start to notice racism being incorporated into the story. Chopin uses this theme to show how crooked some people’s morals are in this time period.

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Roman Fever by Edith Wharton is an excellent example of quality literature. Wharton uses the literary devices of foreshadowing, irony, and allusion throughout the story. These are implemented to enhance the quality by aiding in unifying the theme, expanding characterization and to link back to the central purpose of the story. Foreshadowing is used early on in the story.

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“For the girl grew to be beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere. ”(Desiree 1) By these quote the author’s description makes the characters from the story more realistics for the reader. In “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin uses direct and indirect characterization to describe the character of Madame Valmonde, Desiree, and Armand Aubigny. Characterization is the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.

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