ipl-logo

Symbolism In Desiree's Baby '

697 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Describe the meaning of two key themes and/or symbols in Desiree’s Baby

My Symbol Essay on Desiree’s Baby By: Clivenson JeanBaptiste.11/21/16.Mr.Jones.Women in Literature. D Band. Married couples who intertwine with each other are known to be in holy matrimony.But, both of the main characters from the story of Desiree’s Baby-Armand, and Desiree; are the type of married couples who aren’t keeping the process of excellent holiness within an engagement. As you can see, Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin’s is about the destructiveness of racism. From the story, it is clear that the themes are racism, sexism, and classism. Some of the most important symbols in the story are; the wagon, and the letter. The first symbol is the wagon that represents invasion. One example is from the Trojan horse; as a tale from the Trojan …show more content…

This shows that Desiree’s baby uncovers the racist wickedness within Armand Aubigny.Another example is that racism was conveyed in Southern Louisiana as if one person has one drop of black blood he, or she is black. On page 2 it says “when the baby was about three months old, Desiree awoke one day to the conviction that there was something in the air menacing her peace”. Therefore the author Kate Chopin’s use foreshadowing to let the reader know that Armand was a racist supremacist; using the baby from the wagon. From these examples it is clear that if a married individual …show more content…

In such cases, it shows that Armand has also created—and is indeed responsible for—the destruction of his own family. In another event Armand adds a baby’s cradle to the fire. This includes fine clothes; gowns of silk, velvet, and satin; laces; embroideries; bonnets and gloves follow this. Regarding this, were all the expensive gifts that Armand brought for Desiree upon their engagement? On page 4 it says “Armand Aubigny sat in the wide hallway that commanded a view of the spectacle; and it was he who dealt out to a half dozen Negroes the material which kept this fire ablaze”. Therefore this quote conveys a message of Armand’s unjust human labor towards African Americans. Speaking of this is as if Armand used the African Americans as his tools. Some of the most important symbols in the story are; the wagon, and the letter. The first symbol the wagon represents invasion. Another symbol known as the letter symbolizes dark-skinned genes. The last symbol known as the bonfire represents Armand’s desire to erase Desiree. To conclude with this, a person

Show More
Related
1367 Words | 6 Pages

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

Read More
430 Words | 2 Pages

Have you ever heard of the story the “Drummer Boy of Shiloh?” If you have you know the story. If you haven't then you should read it it's a good story. This story was written by Ray Bradbury .

Read More
1463 Words | 6 Pages

The numerous symbols throughout help the reader to get a deeper understanding of the characters and further develop the story. The symbols

Read More
784 Words | 4 Pages

Armand’s father had brought him home from paris, when he was eight, after his mother died. He came from a wealthy family. According to the Armand’s father thought of Desiree didn’t seem like he was happy because the way he grew up, he wanted someone from the same wealth as them. After they had gotten married and they were expecting a baby, the day had come of the birth of the child Mrs. Valmonde was surprised about the baby when she saw it because perhaps the kid didn’t look like one of the parent’s. “ Marriage, and later the birth of his so had softened Armand Aubigny’s imperious and exacting nature greatly.”

Read More
527 Words | 3 Pages

These three symbols can be tied into the greater message; which is the underlying freedom that the characters are all searching for. An example of symbolism that approached in the book is a feller by the name of Colonel Sherburn. He talks about the mob being powerless. He says “The pitifulest thing out

Read More
570 Words | 3 Pages

This meant that she had no desire to live. Many believe that she is just prolonging her agony by living, and therefore came to the conclusion that her actions were justified, and that killing herself and her baby was a valid option that makes sense. In this time period, nobody who was white wished to marry a mixed woman, or even to be around a mixed woman. Therefore, Desiree would be an outcast. Many believe that this could easily be solved if she just, perhaps, moved to the North and met new people, or reunited with Armand.

Read More
985 Words | 4 Pages

One of the three main symbols used were the grandmothers clothing. This was shown by in the beginning she cared solely about how others saw her whereas towards the end she didn't care for her apparel and truly on cared for finding grace and redemption. Another main symbol used was the weather. The weather in the story started off with no clouds and no sun during the day and ended clear with no clouds showing that the grandmother, in the end, was able to find grace and redemption through a tough time. The last main symbol shown in the story by Flannery O'Connor was Bailey's shirt.

Read More
1350 Words | 6 Pages

Symbolism in “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne Symbolism is a figure of speech that is used when an author wants to create a certain mood or emotion in a work of literature. It is the use of an object, person, situation or word to represent something else, like an idea, in literature. Many writers use symbolism in their works and Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was a 19th century American novelist and Dark Romantic, is not an exception. His works usually represent the dark and evil side of human nature and are filled with symbolism from bible, nature, etc.

Read More
1359 Words | 6 Pages

The function of these symbols in the story play a pivotal role in how the reader perceives the characters and also how the theme of knowledge influences the nature

Read More
1210 Words | 5 Pages

They end up having a kid but the boy turns out to be not white. Armand angry and upset kicks out both Desiree and her baby because of her mixed race. That night, Armand burns all of Desiree’s possessions. While doing this, he finds a letter that his mother wrote to his

Read More
1012 Words | 5 Pages

To the readers, this can be ironic because the drawer that the letter was in, had been opened several times before by Armand when he would put the letters Desiree had written him in there. The readers learn that Armand now knows the truth about his past, but is too scared to be honest with himself and others around him. “When he spoke to her, it was with averted eyes, from which the old love-light seemed to have gone out. He absented himself from home; and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child,

Read More
1283 Words | 6 Pages

The irony of this short story was that it was Armand who was of mixed raced and not his wife. He was the one who tainted the baby, he found out after fining a letter from his beloved mother that was written to his father (Chopin). Irony is a surprising interesting twist at the end on a story. I am sure that after he read this letter that he soon figured out why his father was so kind to the slaves and how it was wrong of him to treat his wife the way he did and immediately regretted his choices. Thus, she was no longer there and he could not get her back, he thought she went back to live with her stepmother, and if he goes to look for her or the stepmother went to look for her and the child they would both find that Desiree never went to her original destination.

Read More
1280 Words | 6 Pages

It is what makes this story in its entirety. Desiree couldn’t stand the thought of not being with Armand. So much so that she took her own life along with her child because of it and freed him from the burden

Read More
1245 Words | 5 Pages

All the symbols used help the reader engage in the story and really think about what each thing really is trying to symbolize.

Read More
1561 Words | 7 Pages

The author used symbolism throughout the whole story to show the difference between these characters. The symbolism is there to give us a further explanation on the family and also to tell us how much heritage is important to some, but not others. The first symbol

Read More

More about Symbolism In Desiree's Baby '

Related Topics

Open Document