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Symbols Of Life In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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The symbols of life In the past women were expected by society to stay home and do the house work,take care of the kids and stay devoted to their husbands but then someone comes along and completely goes against those standards. This is exactly what Kate Chopins is trying to explain in the book The Awakening because she didn't like the expectations/standards that were put on women and when she wrote a book about it everyone thought that it was scandalous to the point to where it was banned. It was banned because during those times people didn't really think or even knew about what would happen in some marriages like cheating, or standards that were put on women. Through the book The Awakening there are many symbols that take a big part in the book in which they all goes a bigger meaning in the story …show more content…

As Chopin states in The Awakening “ I would give up the unessential: I would give up my money, I would give up my life for my children: but I wouldn't give myself.” In this quote Edna explains that she would give up anything for her children but the only thing she won't give up for them is herself, in other words she won't change or be someone else to please or satisfy her children. So basically in the book The Awakening Chopin is trying to show or explain to everyone that women shouldn't have to act the way society expects them to act because not all women can be the perfect house wife. This all is proven in the way Chopin represents Edna because every single symbol that is shown all adds up to make Ednas life and beliefs because some women may feel like a caged bird in their marriages. They might also feel like they aren't the best for being mothers or having to raise a child to begin but they might do it simply out of guilt or pity for the

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It is common for people in everyday society to conform to society’s expectations while also questioning their true desires. In the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess, "That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions." In other words, Edna outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Kate Chopin, uses this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning to build the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period. Edna outwardly conforms to society’s expectations by marriage.

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“I would give up the unessential; I would give up my money, I would give up my life for my children; but I wouldn 't give myself. I can 't make it more clear; it 's only something I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me (Chopin 47),” said Edna referring to the motherhood expectations of women during this

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In Kate Chopin’ s novel, The Awakening, there are three identities inside of the female leading role, Edna Pontellier, being a wife, mother and own self. Edna was born in 19th century at the Vitoria period, a patriarchy society, women have low freedom to achieve personal goal. She married with Léonce Pontellier, a wealthy man with Creole descent. After having a child, her life is still unchangeable and as bored as before. Until she encountered Robert Leburn, Mademoiselle Reisz, and Alcée Arobin, her value of self-cognition has changed.

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Keir Nason AP English Literature and Composition Mrs. Schroeder January 3, 2018 Politics and literature are far from strange bedfellows. Social commentary and allegory have been tools in the literary toolbox since Ancient Greece, with Plato’s Allegory of The Cave being one of the earliest forms of the device. Science fiction is an entire genre that, at least to a degree, is based upon the premise of looking at the problems of today through the eyes of tomorrow. Oftentime, authors seek to tackle the issues of their time within their writing, and Kate Chopin was no different when she published her final work The Awakening in 1899. At the time of The Awakening’s release, many works strived to address the rights of women, with the Suffragette

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In the 1800’s, the societal niche of married women was clearly defined: they were meant to devote every aspect of their lives to their husbands and children. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, struggles to adhere to these standards, and eventually rebels against them. The harsh standards placed on Edna and other women in the novel are like the cages around the metaphorical birds Chopin uses to represent them. Edna's unhappiness in her societal role is realized in the ocean, which symbolizes this awakening and her attempt to escape the gender roles of the nineteenth century.

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Chopin writes, “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life to my children, but I wouldn't give myself. I can't make it clearer; it's only something I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me” (52). Although Edna cares about her children, she is unwilling to give up on them, as she desires independence. An excerpt from The Novel 100 states, “Chopin's refusal to condemn her protagonist, Edna Pontellier, as she eventually sacrifices her husband, her place in society, her children, and even her life in pursuit of an expanded sense of self-identity and self-determination” (Burt). The societies in which Hester and Edna live expect them to conform willingly to everything demanded.

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Chopin’s focuses were to show through these objects and literary symbols, the social injustices that women were going through. “The Awakening” begins with a parrot in a cage, which is supposed to be a representation of women of that time period. Just like parrots, women were annoying and were only displayed for their beauty. Moreover, women were trapped in cages which caused them to not be free. Since women were not free they remained trapped and imposed to the roles that society had labeled and stereotyped them to be.

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The Awakening; a Woman's Fight Women’s rights have drastically improved since the 1800’s. The model of patriarchy was widely accepted as a social norm in America and many other countries until the early to mid 1900’s. Today women are still fighting the belittlement that the patriarchal model deemed acceptable. The character of the rebellious strong women is still one today that many women look up to; especially women in very oppressive middle east countries. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Chopin strives to argue social emancipation for women

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