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Prejudice And Symbolism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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The Awakening Analysis Paper
Caged and constricted by guidelines; Foreshadowing freedom and bursting the steam of her soul. Edna Pontellier mentality was infested with a corrupted way of existence that has passively tormented her nature. Kate Chopin, mastermind of the novel, The Awakening, introduces multiple objects to symbolize how Edna contradicts her sexual and spiritual desires to escape a gruesome depression to achieve happiness and freedom. One of the species introduced in the novel was a parrot. In the beginning of the book, the parrot bickers and shrieks towards Mr. Pontellier; this, refers to Edna. Now, the parrot withdrawals much of Edna throughout the novel since her feelings are fatigue in every aspect with Mr. Pontellier. The parrot voices Edna’s unspoken remarks which impelled her to a stage of an overwhelming sense on numbness. The parrot being caged was identical to Edna’s abandonment of freedom; lack of freedom and happiness. In comparison to the parrot being caged, the mockingbird was ideally symbolizing much more than imprisonment. The mockingbird wasn’t representing Edna herself, but her sympathetic friend, Mademoiselle Reisz. The parrot was speaking in Spanish, which the mockingbird was the only one in the domain who understood. This is very similar to the end of the novel in which Mademoiselle Reisz is the only one …show more content…

Each of these houses set a stage in which Edna undergoes her awakening. Edna’s “pigeon house” is introduced to demonstrate that she escaped a domesticated habitat and love, very similar to pigeons. Pigeons are flowing through their independence below their pinions, and so, Edna attempts to do so by staying in her “pigeon house”. The irony behind this scene is manifested through our open pores…she escapes a cage(home), leaving her children and husband behind, to finding herself isolated and trapped in a new cage(pigeon

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