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Literary Devices In Desiree's Baby

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“Desiree’s Baby”, is a short story written by Kate Chopin. This short story is about a woman named Desiree, abandoned at a very young age, who grew up to fall in love with Armand Aubigny. Armand was born into a very wealthy family, who fell in love easily, very strict and owners of slaves. Desiree then conceived Armand’s child, who instantly changed the way he thought once the child was born. Desiree’s mother, Madame Valmonde, was scheduled to see the baby in L’Abri since she had not seen it in four weeks. When she finally saw the baby, she felt odd about the child’s appearance. Soon, things took a turn and the people of L’Abri started to think differently about the child. Armand did not like the fact that the child looked at though it was from African American ancestry and shunned both the infant and Desiree. After things become too much to handle for Desiree, Armand banished her and the baby to never be seen again in the town. …show more content…

Theme is the message about life or human nature that is “the focus” in the story that the writer tells ( Glossary of Literary Terms 3). A theme in this story would be “Love and Blindness”. This falls under the theme category because it is saying love itself changes the way you are as a person but it also has its blindness. The “blindness” is not so much of not being able to see them physically but how they truly are as a person. A person can be very depressing, arrogant, or even abusive but the person in love will see past it hence the term blind. According to the text, “ Young Aubigny’s rule was a strict one, too, and under it his negroes had forgotten how to be gay…” (Chopin Pg 2). Later in the story it states “ Armand is the proudest father...he hasn’t punished one of them since the baby was born...he only laughed” (Chopin Pg 2). This proves the theme is true as it demonstrates it with Armand and Desiree’s love to be so powerful yet so blind (LitCharts Themes Pg

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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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784 Words | 4 Pages

Signifying that Armand had calmed and settled down once he meet her, he was so in love with Desiree. After a while and 3 months had passed y of the baby’s birth Armand’s attitude had changed she didn’t want to ask but it made her unhappy. Armand didn’t want his family legacy to be ruined because the baby wasn’t white which he believes Desiree wasn’t white either which isn’t the women he fell in love with. This can conclude the fact that people weren’t supportive of interracial relationships and how because of the baby’s skin color Armand’s attitude changed just cause he didn’t want his reputation to be ruined.

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513 Words | 3 Pages

In Desirée’s Baby, Desirée has a child, and as the child grows, Desirée notices a change in her baby that changes her entire life. She was watching her baby one day when she noticed that her baby was not of pure caucasian descent and, “the blood turned like

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1076 Words | 5 Pages

Racism is a common theme throughout the short story of “Desiree’s Baby”, as the color of one’s complexion is one of the more important values of one’s life. During the story of “Desiree’s Baby”, Desiree comes to the resolution that she is the one who is of black ancestry and that is where the baby’s dark skin tone comes from. As Desiree start to feel attack by everyone telling her that she is black, she strives to deny what is becoming to seem true, “you must know it is not true. I shall die. I must die.

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1203 Words | 5 Pages

“Desiree’s Baby” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. In “Desiree’s Baby,” Desiree is found by the Valmonde’s family, not knowing what her origin was, they took her in. Desiree grew into a gentle and loving young woman. The young owner of the neighboring plantation, Armand Aubigny, fell in love with her at first sight. Armand Aubigny and Desiree got married and had a child together.

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1267 Words | 6 Pages

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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295 Words | 2 Pages

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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1210 Words | 5 Pages

“Desiree’s Baby was written by Kate Chopin and she talks about the issues people had back then with racism and gender. She demonstrated those problems by using literary devices such as symbols, conflict, and irony. I advise everyone to read this story for the fact this kind of conflict is still happening today and we need to work together for a change. Overall this was a great story and it teaches you many great lessons. Take a look

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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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1283 Words | 6 Pages

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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1156 Words | 5 Pages

“Desiree’s Baby” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. Désirée is the adopted daughter of Monsieur and Madame Valmondé. Abandoned as a baby, she was found by Monsieur Valmondé lying in the shadow of a stone pillar near the Valmondé gateway. She is courted by the son of another wealthy, well known and respected family, Armand. They marry and have a child.

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883 Words | 4 Pages

However, the birth of his son appears to have moved him and this strictness seems to vanish instantly. During Madame Valmondé’s visit to L’Abri, Désirée explains how Armand has yet to punish a slave since the birth of their son. Along with Désirée’s testimony to Armand’s newly discovered compassion, Chopin writes that “Marriage, and later the birth of his son had softened Armand Aubigny’s imperious and exacting nature greatly” (2). The temporary joy upon the plantation soon falls to Armand’s pride and he violently returns to his imposing nature as his son’s age approaches three months; during this time his child’s skin tone darkens and it becomes apparent that the child contains mixed origins. He immediately begins to suspect Désirée, as his unwavering certainty in his heritage boosts the white pride and privilege cradled within his soul.

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568 Words | 3 Pages

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

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He hardly knew Desiree, yet he married her anyway and had a son. Another literary device that is used in “Desiree’s Baby” is situational and dramatic irony. For example, like Jeniffer Smith states in Short Stories for Students that “ Several critics of “Desiree’s Baby” have charged that the ending is a trick ending, or an O. Henry ending, so-named after the short story writer famous for the reversals that came at the end of his stories”(Smith 73). Chopin is well known for using these endings in her stories. Just like in the “Story of an Hour” Chopin uses situational irony to keep the reader entertained and to shock the reader in the end.

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1067 Words | 5 Pages

“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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