The Bird And The Arras Poem Analysis

In the book The Awakening by Kate Chopin, symbols play a big role in bringing out the theme of Edna Pontellier’s awakening. One specific symbol defines Edna’s journey which is the bird symbol. Edna, including all the women in her time are trapped by the constraints placed upon them by a male-dominant society. But Edna is the only one who decides to live life as she pleases following her whims and not living under someone’s demands. Edna represents the birds because she thinks she is free, but birds get trapped, just like how Edna gets trapped in having to follow social norms.

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, birds symbolize Edna Pontellier’s journey toward ultimate freedom. In the beginning, birds represent Edna feeling trapped and oppressed. For instance, the opening of the novel includes a parrot in a cage squawking at Leonce to ‘go away.’

Alvarez writes, “Deep within her, something stirs, an itch she can’t get to….But the beating inside her is more desperate than hunger, a moth wild inside a lampshade,” (Page 83) showcasing the black bird attempting to remove itself from Yolanda’s body. Before Yolanda regurgitates the black bird, she is overwhelmed with a sexual attraction towards Dr. Payne, her therapist; the black bird swirling inside of her represents her desires. Yolanda’s character exploits her attraction and being affectionate towards Dr. Payne, but is unable to express those feelings towards him because the bird is preventing her to do so. In addition, the black bird signifies Yolanda’s inability to communicate because she believes that her words will harm the people she cares about.

Close Reading: The Awakening Chapter I-XIII In the story, the birds symbolize women and flight represents freedom. The birds are in a cage which inhibits their flight; this can be compared to women in captivity lacking freedom. What’s important to point out is that the bird, specifically the one mentioned in the passage, speaks a language that only other birds can understand.

When people hear failing, the first thing they think of would be to give up. Ha Songnon’s “Waxen Wings” describes a narrator doing the complete opposite, it’s set in Korea, about a girl,nicknamed Birdie , that wants to fly but has to overcome some obstacles that come in the way of her fulfilling her dreams, because of that this story is a tragedy. The author uses second person POV and cause and effect structure to prove that even though people fail, that does not mean that they necessarily have to give up. “Waxen Wings” can be described as a tragedy. A literary tragedy is a series if misfortunate events that a character goes through that eventually end in a disaster or catastrophic events.

The number one clue, the bird. One example of what the bird symbolizes would be Minnie’s, the wife of the murdered man’s, freedom. Birds have a choice to soar up into the sky and still have the freedom to return to earth again when they please. Minnie used to have freedom when she was able to make her own decisions about life before Mr. Wright was introduced. “...she used to sing real pretty herself” (Glaspell 185).

Harry Flournoy is argued to represent the ideals and actions of Maya Angelou through the things he says. Maya Angelou writes in her emotional story I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, “I wouldn’t look at either of them … Mrs. Flowers had known that I would be embarrassed and that was even worse … It would be fitting if I got sunstroke and died before they came outside. Just dropped dead on the slanting porch.” Maya Angelou, near the beginning of her is insecure and lets go of her dreams and ambitions because of the challenges and roadblocks being thrown at her.

For example in act three she claims she sees a bird and screams out, “Abigail, with a weird, wild, chilling cry, screams up to the ceiling. Abigail: You will not! Begone! Begone, I say!”(Pg. 109)

Now, the parrot withdrawals much of Edna throughout the novel since her feelings are fatigue in every aspect with Mr. Pontellier. The parrot voices Edna’s unspoken remarks which impelled her to a stage of an overwhelming sense on numbness. The parrot being caged was identical to Edna’s abandonment of freedom; lack of freedom and happiness. In comparison to the parrot being caged, the mockingbird was ideally symbolizing much more than imprisonment.

It is this failed encounter with the boarders that causes Grete to tell her parents that "[they] have to try and get rid of it". It is in this moment that Grete decides she no longer needs the chrysalis. By informing her parents of negatice stance on Gregor, she takes the final steps of breaking through the chrysalis. She has established herself as a reasonable adult, who no longer sees the need of her protector. After this discovery, she is very quick to shed herself of the chrysalis.

When an individual experiences prejudice or a lack of connection to place it can diminish ones sense of identity, leading to social isolation and a loss of cultural practices and traditions. The film ‘Beneath Clouds’ (2002) by Ivan Sen follows two Indigenous teens who experience prejudice and social isolation on their journey to Sydney. The poem ‘We are Going’ (1965) by Oodgeroo Noonuccal expresses the fears Indigenous Australians had over the dispossession land and cultural acceptance. The poem ‘Drifters’ (1999) by Bruce Dawe’s explores the journey faced by a financially unstable family, forcing them to move from place to place, without establishing any connection to the land.