Desiree's Baby Thesis

On July 4, 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, declaring that America will become an independent nation that holds the self-evident truth that all men are created equal. In 1790, the Constitution, started with the phrase “We the People”, was ratified as the supreme Law of the Land. Despite the founding documents being built on equal rights, it was not until 1920 (nearly two centuries after ratification) that women’s suffrage was added to the Constitution. Up until then, women were seen as less capable than men, but it has been proven by modern society that this ideology strays from the truth. This is just one example of how an event can be acted upon, even if it does not display the whole truth. Desiree’s Baby by

This point is supported by Kate Chopin in her story Desiree’s Baby, which leads the reader through a scenario where a woman is pushed to disappearance based purely on her skin color. Chopin writes in this story, “My mother, they tell me I am not white. Armand has told me I am not white. For God’s sake, tell them it is not true. You must know it is not true. I shall die. I must die. I cannot be so unhappy, and live” (Chopin 3). People are equal, despite the amount of melanin in their skin. However, Desiree is led to despair because of her pigmentation. The vision, in this case racial inequality, was acted upon regardless of the fact that all people are created equal. In another case, the point that a person, culture, or society can act on a vision that doesn’t match the reality can also be supported in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery. In her story about a town that holds a lottery in which the chosen individual gets stoned, Jackson writes, “’Some places have already quit lotteries.’ Mrs. Adams said’ (Jackson 4). Although it is unspecified why towns began participating in these lotteries, some towns have quit doing them. Whether it be due to lack of efficiency, moral indecency, or any other reason the reader can think of, it is a fact that some towns have stopped putting on the lotteries. The loss of relevance of the lotteries in these towns show, consequently, that the need for the lottery is no longer a dire need. However, the town featured in The Lottery still stones a person after the drawing. They put on the lottery, which is their vision, even though it does not match the reality that towns no longer need