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Examples Of Diction In The Awakening

401 Words2 Pages

Keaton Anderson
Mrs. McClain
AP Lang
24 October 2016
The Awakening Diction
The author’s use of words generally have a strong contribution towards the story’s purpose. Several diction strategies are used throughout “The Awakening.” Kate Chopin’s purpose in “The Awakening” is to inform the reader about a 19th century woman who defies her role in society. She conveys her story by using diction strategies such as concrete, formal,

Concrete diction is used many times throughout the novel. It is used to display a vivid picture in our minds as we read. A specific example is “Madame Ratignolle, more careful of her complexion, had twined a gauze veil about her head. She wore dogskin gloves, with gauntlets that protected her wrists. She was dressed in pure white, with a fluffiness of ruffles that became her”. This creates an image in our mind and makes the impression that Madame Ratignolle is obviously rich and spends most of her time relaxing and vacationing (as explained in the story about the family's’ vacation to Grand Isle, a resort for the wealthy). This description could’ve been revealed in one sentence, but instead, Chopin used several precise adjectives …show more content…

This emphasizes seriousness in the story. Examples include “Don’t banter me”, “This is more than folly”, PAGE 31 this describes Edna’s reaction to her overpowering husband's orders. The tone these specific words creates a restricting feeling in Edna’s life due to her relationship. This event is one of the first examples of Edna being physically independent from her husband, when she refuses to go inside to sleep and stay outside in the cold instead.
Several Euphonious words are used in the end of the story such as: dozen, dreary, flowers, jelly, ceasing, whispering, murmuring, and abysses. The sounds of these words creates a calm and soothing effect of the story. At this time, Edna finally feels free of society’s limits on her by swimming out to the sea. This displays

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