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The Awakening Rhetorical Analysis

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Syeda Ahmed prompt 5 The Awakening AP LIT Mr. Amoroso A modern woman emerging and developing ahead of her time, dealing with the challenges of gaining independence in a time period where woman weren’t human. This is Edna Pontellier’s conflict told in the novel the Awakening by Kate Chopin. Late in her already establish life Edna a wife and mother of two discovers herself to realize she goes against society’s ideals as a woman. Never truly attempting to fit into the “woman” role Edna finds herself stepping out of her cage through self-discovery. Author Kate Chopin creates and utilizes symbols and motifs to develop the multiple cognizances Edna undergoes. Edna deals with the repercussions of a society that isn’t as accustoms to a woman being …show more content…

Pontellier’s awakening. Throughout her journey we see her grow into the fully formed Edna taking her final leap but before she dives into her new ocean of opportunities we see her defy the limitations of a woman’s adroitness. This act may seem insignificant to our modern ideals but for a woman to attain knowledge equates to a woman demanding justification for her oppression. Edna’s determination and childlike characteristics can be noticed when she learned how to swim. Spending a full season determined to master a skill shows her persistence, a trait woman were not expected to have or want. The most rewarding attributes of this experience for Edna would be the feeling of satisfaction of conquering something in a world where woman are seen as nothing; much like a child’s excitement at their newly gained knowledge. In Chopin’s own word she describes “A feeling of exultation overtook her as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul” (page27). Although she is not ashamed of who she is becoming there is still a need to hide which is greatly caused by her surroundings. This can be seen when Edna takes her turn reading a shared book that has been passed around the cottages. Reading this book left her wonderstruck but still she hid in secrecy when reading. Chopin uses this action of hiding to emphasize the point that woman who are reading and thinking can lead to dangerous thoughts. Knowledge is the one key factor that differentiates the oppressed from the oppressor and, it is what fosters Edna closer to her

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Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, is a story about a protagonist named Edna Pontellier. Throughout the novel, Edna is striving for some form of independence. However, she had no way to obtain it as she felt trapped by her marriage. Eventually, Edna was finally “awakened” and started to act on her discovery of her true-self. This true-self was one that did not live vicariously through her kids or her husband.

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In addition, the search for self-identity is viewed as important in today’s society. Thus, these confliction attributes lead the reader to identify Edna as morally ambiguous. Categorizing complex characters as purely good or purely evil is not one of the easiest of tasks. As a result, it is best to characterize them as morally ambiguous. In Edna’s case, she is morally ambiguous due to her romantic affiliations and role-defying actions, but both are immensely vital to Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” as a complete whole.

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The Awakening by Kate Chopin in 1898, in these time period women still lived in their roles as they should live. Many women disagreed with living in absurd roles, and want they wanted independence of whom they wanted to be. Kate Chopin was a woman who wanted to make a difference of the role herself and women had to live. In result, she made the book The Awakening and used the main character, Edna, to show the struggles of a woman go lived during this time. Chopin also shows the character development Edna goes through a journey to find her independence from the gender role society she lives in.

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Another side of her inner self showing was when she was refusing to get out of the hammock “With a writhing motion she settled herself more securely in the hammock. She perceived that her will had blazed up,” (Chopin 31). This expresses her attitude against her husband in which she does not care if she disobeys him. In conclusion, Edna has two very distinct personalities when it comes with what is on the outside and the inside of

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Her frequent vacations to the island, like her frequent dips into the ocean, begin to spark a personal change within the woman. A Creole man, Robert, shows Edna a new dimension of feelings she never knew she lived without, and she begins to look through life through a new lens. Having been awakened for the first time, she sees injustice and mistreatment where she saw none before. Chopin uses Edna’s new observations and reactions to the culture around her to illustrate the myriad ways women were marginalized. In an ironic twist, the white woman from Kentucky proves to be more liberated than her more traditional husband, who grew up

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The scene of Edna’s rebirth, leaves the reader with the infinite possibility of ways the story could conclude. However, in the end, Edna finally escapes society completely. When Edna swims out in the water for the first time Chopin gives the reader insight to Edna’s freedom and strength. However, Chopin foreshadows Edna’s tragic death when Edna feels a sense of loneliness and she begins “to lose herself,” (48). Edna will lose herself to the seductive voice of the sea.

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Through all of the hate and negative criticism, The Awakening finally gets the attention and admiration that it deserves. The title explains everything, as a woman named Edna Pontellier goes through her own self-awakening. Edna follows the traditional roles of ‘womanhood’ until she realizes that they are just not fit for her and leaves everything behind to start anew. Though society denies her of being the woman she wants to be, she makes as many adjustments to her life as she can to be her true self. She leaves all of her family behind so that she can be her true self, claiming that she is just not fit for the generic woman’s life.

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This socially constructed identity is the first of the many that Edna grapples with in the text. It is the identity of women within the time period of the text. In the words of Dix, Edna’s identity is meant to be that of a typical American wife who will control the home, children and entertain socially yet remain obedient to her working husband (146). ‘Looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property’ (Chopin 4). The

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