The Awakening, By Edna - 889 Words

In the eighteen hundreds, women were expected to love their husbands, clean and cook, and take care of the children. Most women had to listen to what their husbands said and follow it, so there were not much equal rights in the time. However, in the book The Awakening, the main character Edna is not the typical nineteenth century women. Edna cares about her children, but she is not the motherly figure. Furthermore, she does not worship her husband like many other women do, and she becomes rebellious towards her husband, which is very odd at the time. Throughout the Novella, Edna awakens to her true potential. However, after a couple obstacles she could not take it and decides to kill herself. People argue if Edna’s suicide is her full transformation to awakening, but in all actuality it is her failed attempt of truly becoming free. To begin, Edna had the almost perfect home with two wonderful children, a husband who were bring them gifts and loved her more than anything, and h ad a lot of money. However, the family did have their issues, for example, Leonce, Edna’s husband, would go for a drink at the pub and come home late. More importantly, he would tell Edna she was a terrible mother and she could not do her one job of taking care of the children. Although Edna was married, she did fancy another man who was attracted to her too, Robert. He was caring, nice, encourage her and stayed by her side. Robert was Edna’s only reason for life. When Robert left for Mexico, EdnaShow MoreRelatedThe Awakening of Edna Pontellier2487 Words   |  10 PagesThe Awakening of Edna Pontellier Kate Chopin’s short story The Awakening is set during a time where women were expected to live in a patriarchal society. More specifically, this story tells of the well-to-do Creole lifestyles in New Orleans during the mid to late Nineteenth Century. Chopin’s personal experiences as a woman during this oppressive time and her growth as an individual inspired her to write about Edna Pontellier, a woman who tries to break from the expectations of society toRead MoreThe Awakening by Edna Pontellier Essay1104 Words   |  5 PagesThe Awakening, not only is this the quote that Edna Pontellier identifies with when Mrs. Ratignolle plays piano for her, but it is also the perfect description of the struggle in which Mrs. Pontellier faces. Though, The Awakening was considered sexually charged and risquà © for its time, when one analyzes this quote and the original title of Kate Chopin’s story, A Solitary Soul, they come to the realization that there is more to th is story than just sex (562). The Awakening is a story about Edna Pontellier’sRead MoreAnalysis Of Edna Pontelliers The Awakening1596 Words   |  7 Pagesway, however many found themselves fulfilling the role without protest and enjoying the simplicity of such a life back in the 1800s. Edna Pontellier, however, refused to be one of these obedient women, deciding to instead follow a path of discovery that allowed her to find herself by being independent of her husband and of society. In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier expresses a woman who refuses to bow down to societal expectations, rather freeing herself from those chains and becomingRead More The Transformation of Edna Pontellier in The Awakening Essay950 Words   |  4 Pagessomething, anything: she did not know what† (Chopin). In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the reader is introduced to Edna Pontellier, a passionate, rebellious woman. Throughout the novel, it becomes apparent how unsettled Edna feels about her life. The reader can identify this by her thoughts, desires, and actions, which are highly inappropriate for an affluent woman of the time. In the novel, Edna has an awakening and finds the courage to make the changes she sees necessary. Kate Chopin is ableRead MoreAnalysis Of Edna Pontelliers The Awakening991 Words   |  4 Pagesnever truly discover the person they are supposed to be. In the story â€Å"The Awakening† Edna Pontellier has chosen the domestic lifestyle and, in doing so has lost sight of who she is. â€Å"The Awakening† is about her journey in attempt to discover the person she is supposed to be. Edna’s search for her true identity is respectable; however she does not go about doing this in the right way. In her quest to find her true self, Edna begins to emulate other people’s lives rather than discovering her own. ThisRead MoreThe Awakening By Edna Is A Symbol Of Hope For Women1112 Words   |  5 Pagesoften treated like they deserve more than their counterparts. In The Awakening, Edna is a representation of women as a whole, as she is not treated with the respect a woman deserves. She is overlooked and ign ored by her husband, which leads her to doing some questionable things. Edna is then looked at as the bad person in the relationship even though she was the one being pushed around in the situation. Specifically, Edna represents women’s mistreatment throughout time, but her character alsoRead MoreEssay about The Awakening by Edna Pontellier601 Words   |  3 PagesThe Awakening by Edna Pontellier The Awakening by Kate Chopin introduces the reader to the life of Edna Pontellier, a woman with an independent nature searching for her true identity in a patriarchal society that expects women to be nothing more than devoted wives and nurturing mothers. The Awakening begins in the vacation spot of Grand Isle. At first we believe that Grand Isle is a utopia, wealthy families relaxing at oceanside, but it is here where Edna first begins to realize her unhappinessRead More Edna as a Metaphorical Lesbian in Chopin’s The Awakening Essay536 Words   |  3 PagesEdna as a Metaphorical Lesbian in Chopin’s The Awakening Elizabeth LeBlanc places The Awakening in an interesting context in her essay â€Å"The Metaphorical Lesbian,† as gender criticism must, for Chopin wrote the novel at the end of the 19th century, when homosexuality as an identity emerged culturally, at least in terms of the gay male identity, as proffered by Oscar Wilde across the Atlantic. Lesbianism, too, started to make its debut on the cultural stage, particularly in literature. HoweverRead MoreWhat Is Edna Pontelliers Symbolism InThe Awakening?1120 Words   |  5 PagesPage 1 of 3 ZOOM In Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, the main character, Edna Pontellier surrenders something extremely important: her life. She becomes very self-aware and secretly stands for women being independent from common gender roles and expectations, later realizing that society wants the exact opposite. This highlights several of Edna’s values, including her freedom, her art, and her sexuality.Throughout the novel, Edna Pontellier finds herself being held back because of herRead MoreEdna Pontellier as a Feminist in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening765 Words   |  3 Pagesnot every story is so successful. In Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Awakening†, Edna Pontellier finds herself fighting this very battle that, although begins with a positive outlook, ultimately ends in her demise. Throughout â€Å"The Awakening†, Edna is immersed in a constant clash with society over the significance of the difference between her life and her self. To Edna, the question of whether or not she would die for her children is somewhat simple. Edna attempts to explain this concept to her good friend, Adele

A Reader-Response paper Example

Essays on A Reader-Response paper Book Report/Review of the of the Concerned English 29 August 24/7 EconomiesA thorough reading of the passage under consideration that is â€Å"Selling in Minnesota† by Barbara Ehrenreich makes one question the very sanity of the vision supporting the modern 24/7 economies. The passage deals with the experience of an individual working through varied shifts in a 24/7 Wal-Mart store. If one somehow manages to ignore the economic premises supporting the contemporary commercial logic, the perusal of this paragraph draws a striking attention to the inhuman treatment to which the human resources supporting the 24/7 economies are subjected to. One is moved to question as to whether the 24/7 economies are meant to support the human objectives and motives, and if so, are not the employees serving in the institutions representing such economies, ought to be treated in a humane manner? The very approach of the 24/7 economies projected in the passage betrays the mechanistic nature of such systems. It is a scientifically proven fact that the bio-chemical rhythm of the human body closely follows and responds to the rhythms of a natural day. So the very concept of stores and institutions those run 24 hours a day and hire employees to work for them is utterly abnormal and perhaps unnatural. Normally speaking, the human body is meant to work at certain time in a day, at to rest at a specific time. Hence, the economies that expect people to work at abrupt hours thereby disturbing and spoiling their natural bio-chemical rhythms and their human sense of well being are by no means sane and natural. In nature there is a time for every purpose and a system that rejects this fact in the name of growth and prosperity is conclusively sick. As expected, when people are treated like machines, it directly compromises their capacity to love and serve others. The employee mentioned in the passage eventually ends up hating the customers, whom she is meant to serve. In fact she finds a closer affinity to the material aspects of the store like clothes. This also brings to the forefront the confusion created by the excess of choice in the 24/7 economies. For instance, in the store mentioned in the passage, the customers are so flooded with choice while purchasing the clothes that they waste much time just trying varied pieces of clothing. Just wonder, what is the logic of such an institution as the store mentioned in the passage, where some employees may spend, perhaps their entire life steering shopping carts and picking up clothes dropped by the customers? What a waste of human potential in the name of choice and economic growth! The passage highlights the inability of the 24/7 economies to come to terms with the human face of progress and growth. It flicks the human attention to the non monetary aspects of human happiness and fulfillment. To put it simply, just because an economy makes people work 24 hours a day does not mean that it is the best possible economy. Word Count: 500

The Narrative Free Essays

Jacques EpangueEnglish 101, 9M2 Professor Rolando JorifSpring 2013 The Narrative In â€Å"About Men†, by Gretel Ehrlich, the author describes cowboys like men who seem to have trouble communicating with and relating to women, yet cling to an â€Å"adolescent dependency† on women to take care of them. This trouble of communication with women can be perceived by others as a sign of weakness even a lack of virility. However, according to Ehrlich it may be because of historical and geographical factors. We will write a custom essay sample on The Narrative or any similar topic only for you Order Now Cowboys who are mostly from the South kept that â€Å"chivalrousness and strict codes of honor† when the came to the Wyoming. This is why men would show a stand-offish and respectful attitude vis-a-vis the women. Also, due to the geographical vastness of the North, cowboys often work where there is no human beings or women. He is physically and socially isolated which â€Å"make emotional evolution seem impossible†. Therefore, if it happened that he feels something for a woman, he would have trouble communicating because he is not use to the code of seduction that average people know. And yet, â€Å"dancing wildly all night becomes a metaphor for the explosive emotions pent up inside, and when these are, on occasion, released, they’re so battery-charged and potent that one caress of the face of one â€Å"I love you† will peal for a long while. † The attempt of the author to explain why the American cowboy tends to be rather reserved when it comes to seduce a woman squares well with her painting of his personality. Keep in mind that the purpose of her writing is to â€Å"reveal the complex nature of the American cowboy†, so she tries to show how the stereotype of the cowboy does not reflect the reality. This man who is â€Å"usually thought of as a rugged and tough† individual, is not only full of manliness, but has his own kind of femininity reflected in his altruism, but also in his relationship with women, characterized by what the author names â€Å"Those contradictions of the heart between respectability, logic and convention on the one hand, and impulse, passion, and intuition on the other†. In fact the author stands that cowboys are vulnerable too, and according to her and Ted Hoagland â€Å"No one is as fragile as a woman but no one is as fragile as a man. † The stereotype of the manly and macho cowboy is subject of uncertainly since we read Gretel Ehrlich. According to her, the image of American cowboy paints by media does not match the reality. Base on her own experience in the Wyoming she describes the American cowboy as a man with a complex nature, a combination of masculinity and femininity. The American cowboy is certainly â€Å"strong and silent†, or a â€Å"rugged individualist†, but not in the perverted way the media tend to show us. And if he looks evasive with women it is not because he is tough, but because he is missing the code of seduction, â€Å"the vocabulary to express the complexity of what they feel. â€Å" How to cite The Narrative, Essays