ipl-logo

Prejudice And Racism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

295 Words2 Pages

With the denial of his past and of his race, comes hatred and racism into Armand’s heart and actions. This goes hand and hand with the denial aspect with the usage of characterization from Chopin’s part. Racism ran high in most people’s characteristics of this time because Chopin put this story’s in pre-Civil War times. With the treatment of his slaves, you can really see how Armand feels about others from the race that he sees as less than, even though he is really one of them. The substandard treatment of Armand’s slaves only stops once Desiree gives birth to the baby, but when there was a chance of Desiree being of an African descent, Armand sent her and their child away without thought, saying “Yes, I want to go” with no emotion showing in his voice or actions (3). …show more content…

Armand was supposedly having an affair with La Blanche, one of the family’s slaves. This is form of racism because having an affair is unacceptable in the first place, but if anyone knew that Armand was having an affair with a black woman, it would have been the end. Armand wanted to keep everything under wrap and under his complete control. Whether this is a form of misleading the reader to think this or not, Chopin hinted that there was some cracks in the marriage of Armand and Desiree. Irony and foreshadowing and maybe even examples of misleading the reader are used to show how racist Armand can be and the way this racism causes him to act in general and towards

Show More
Related

  • Oppression In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1315 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparing Désirée's Baby 'And The Birth-Mark'

    1367 Words  | 6 Pages

    Also, when he states “Ah, upon another face perhaps it might, but never yours,” he is telling her that he thought her face was perfect without it, and that an unperfect face would look good with it. By telling his wife that she is not beautiful because of a birthmark, he is showing that he has authority over his wife’s life because her life affects him, depicting that he has complete control in their relationship. Armand also has a negative reaction towards Désirée. Désirée had just given birth to their son, and when both Armand and Désirée realize one of them is not fully white, because their son is not white, Armand explains, ““It means,” he answered lightly, “that the child is not white; it means that you are not white”” (Chopin, 3, Introduction).

    Read More

  • Chopin's Letter To His Baby Dialectical Journal

    240 Words  | 1 Pages

    Finally, the short story ended with the words from his mother’s letter that told us that he was part black. His baby was a different color because of him not because of Desiree. Armand, had not wanted Desiree because of the thought that she was the reason why his child was a different color. The ending of the book leaves one’s thinking how they ended up after the letter. Chopin, wanted the reader to feel exactly how she felt about people being so racist.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Loving V. Virginia And Desiree's Baby

    784 Words  | 4 Pages

    Signifying that Armand had calmed and settled down once he meet her, he was so in love with Desiree. After a while and 3 months had passed y of the baby’s birth Armand’s attitude had changed she didn’t want to ask but it made her unhappy. Armand didn’t want his family legacy to be ruined because the baby wasn’t white which he believes Desiree wasn’t white either which isn’t the women he fell in love with. This can conclude the fact that people weren’t supportive of interracial relationships and how because of the baby’s skin color Armand’s attitude changed just cause he didn’t want his reputation to be ruined.

    Read More

  • Desiree's Baby Theme

    778 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is a bit unsettling because if he truly believes his own child to be part black you would think he would have some compassion towards his slaves, but instead it makes him even angrier at them. Armand is ashamed of blackness, this is seen by him when he rejects his own child and Désirée out of the shame he feels. The only things that causes this shift is Armand’s racism towards African-Americans. He views them as inferior property, not as living breathing humans with emotions too. In his mind, having a mixed baby is incredibly shameful and embarrassing to his name, which in why he asks Désirée to leave.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Irony In Desiree's Baby

    1267 Words  | 6 Pages

    This is shown when Armand’s mother writes, ‘“night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery,”’(Chopin. Par 6). This shows how Armand was racially mixed himself. Armand's mother's words show the degree to which the American racial tension has conquered even the black mind. She considers her race “cursed with the brand of slavery” (Chopin.

    Read More

  • Desiree's Baby Literary Analysis

    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

  • Racism In Désirée's Baby

    883 Words  | 4 Pages

    Armand becomes enraged at the sight of his mixed child, and begins to relinquish this rage upon his slaves, with Chopin writing that the “very spirit of Satan” overtook him in how he dealt with them. Désirée, directly in Armand’s crosshairs on behalf of her obscure origins and his white pride, will soon shiver in his coldness and be kept powerless by his

    Read More

  • Foreshadowing And Allusion In Desiree's Baby By Kate Chopin

    1203 Words  | 5 Pages

    Desiree says good-bye to Armand and goes to the deserted field with her child and never came back. Armand was burning all of Desiree’s and the child’s materials into the bonfire. Then he found some letters from Desiree, but one was from his mother to his father, the letter said that she was grateful that Armand would never find out his mother was of slave heritage (Chopin). In “Desiree’s Baby, “ Kate Chopin uses imagery, foreshadowing and allusion to develop the ominos, mystery and sad story.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Irony In Desiree's Baby

    1210 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the discovery of his son not being white, he blames Desiree for being the cause of the problem. He won’t speak out of the discovery of him being the one with black heritage because it is unacceptable to his family. He is insensitive and would rather harm his own family (Gradesaver.com...1) Another example of irony occurs in the way that Madame Valmonde didn 't have a child of herself and one day while her husband was riding he comes upon a child just asleep next to a stone pillar (Chopin... Pg.

    Read More

  • Unconditional Love In Desiree's Baby

    1012 Words  | 5 Pages

    During the era in which this short story was written, southern authors had a major influence on the way the culture was going to grow with racism, and also the way people loved each other. Kate Chopin, a traditional author who believed in southern ways, exemplifies how race and the characteristics of conditional love played a role in her story. In “Desiree’s Baby,” the author, Kate Chopin, provides an illustration of conditional love exemplified by the character, Armand, towards his wife and child; furthermore, Chopin provides instances of irony, elements of surprise, foreshadowing, and symbolism to prove that Armand’s love for both of them was not the unconditional love typically felt and portrayed by women, such as Desiree, during this era. Throughout the story, the readers notice different times where Chopin uses elements of surprise. One major surprise is when Armand opens the letter from his mother and finds out that he has African American in his bloodline.

    Read More

  • Literary Devices In Desiree's Baby

    1326 Words  | 6 Pages

    According to the text, “ Young Aubigny’s rule was a strict one, too, and under it his negroes had forgotten how to be gay…” (Chopin Pg 2). Later in the story it states “ Armand is the proudest father... he hasn’t punished one of them since the baby was born... he only laughed” (Chopin Pg 2).

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis: Analysis Of Symbolism In Desiree's Baby

    763 Words  | 4 Pages

    The treatment of the slaves differ in several ways in the the text. The different lifestyle conditions represent the major social difference between the Aubigny’s and the slaves living on the property. While visiting with her mother a conversation strikes concerning Desiree’s child that can be heard crying “ as far away as La Blanche’s cabin”(Chopin). La Blanche’s cabin must be a good ways from the main house. This also signifies that Armand was at La Blanche’s cabin.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Racism In Desiree's Baby

    1280 Words  | 6 Pages

    As a reader, you will notice the impact racism has in the everyday life .Many decisions were impacted do to thought of blacks being inferior to whites. When reading Kate Chopin’s “ Desiree’s Baby” the reader will be introduced racism and the use of local color all throughout the story. In Kate Chopin’s “

    Read More

  • Marrakech By George Orwell Analysis

    1588 Words  | 7 Pages

    George Orwell’s “Marrakech” is a non-fictional essay written in the year 1939 that explores the central concerns of the text that were going on within the Moroccan town such as colonialism, racism, oppression and poverty. Orwell describes his time within Marrakech and details the oppression and unfair treatment of the original natives of the land. He very cleverly evokes intense emotions in the reader by opening up his writing to interpretation and in-depth analysis rather than just trying to give a flat out negative opinion which would not have been nearly as effective. Due to this, our appreciation and sympathy towards the text is enhanced and is furthered even more through the use of techniques such as personal anecdote, powerful images and comment and opinion.

    Read More

More about Prejudice And Racism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Open Document