The Use Of Symbolism In 'Desiree's Baby'

During the Civil War, women and slaves were the most oppressed beings in the world. African Americans were looked down upon and seen as a lesser human only because of the color of their skin. Likewise, women were looked down upon only because society said they were to be. In Desirée’s Baby, Desirée has a child, and as the child grows, Desirée notices a change in her baby that changes her entire life. She was watching her baby one day when she noticed that her baby was not of pure caucasian descent and, “the blood turned like

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). There could have been multiple possibilities of why the baby was not “White,” but due to Armand’s first intuition that Désirée was not white, he is showing that he has authority of the situation and that what he says goes. Because the husband and wife in both stories allow this particular type of destructive relationship, where the wife is submissive and the husband treats his wife like his own property, both stories progressively deteriorate by the

Kate Chopin and Roald Dahl both use irony as well as similar themes of betrayal and heartbreak to motion their two very different storylines forward. Though the works take place in antithetical eras, each holds a similar calamity that results in the breaking up of the protagonists and soon to be antagonists. These moments of heartache hold relevance due to their unfortunate relatableness in today 's society. Upon further inspection of the themes and irony in Lamb to the Slaughter, and Desiree’s Baby, the reader can better understand the possible cruelties a relationship can hold as well as it 's sometimes unavoidable hardships.

This consequence can be indirect or direct or both. In the stories “Desiree’s Baby” and “A&P” characters find that their choices cause both indirect and direct consequences from their choices. Desiree made a choice to confront Armand about the meaning behind Zandrine’s change, and faced a direct consequence of her marriage ending. Armand was faced with at least two consequences. The first being the dissolution of his marriage, and later the knowledge that he was in fact at fault for the change. At the end of the story as he is divesting himself of Desiree’s belongings, he comes across a letter from his own deceased mother which reads,” night and day, I than good God for having 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), which brings him to his epiphany. The fact that he did not know could be because of his parents’ choice to raise him abroad where the stigma of slavery did not exist. Maybe she was light skinned enough that she could pass for a white woman. We may never know how this accomplishment was carried out, but it is evident that Armand now knew, that although his son was bi-racial, it was his lineage, not Desiree’s, at fault. So his choice cost him his family and his parents’ choice could have very well cost him his pride. The story does not elude to the events that came next so the reader can only

In the story of “Desiree’s baby” there are a lot of examples of tone. Tone is the way the author expresses his attitude through his writing. In “Desiree’s baby” the word “pall” is a cloth that is spread over a coffin or hearse. Chopin chooses imagery that shows the dark nature of the L’Abri plantation. The “sad.” “wide,” “black,” aspect of the house, and the description of the “solemn oaks” creates an ominous tone. Madame Valmonde’s shivering suggests that the L’Abri plantation is dark, cold, and ghostly place. Further, the way the plantation looks musicians Armand’s own certerristics just as Desiree’s external appearance mimics her internal character (owleyes.org...2/4). Another example of tone in “Desiree’s Baby” is “in the shadow of the big stone pillar….”. In rural Louisiana, a massive stone pillar would seem fairly conspicuous. So, readers should see the pillar as a clear simbal in this short story. Consider that baby Desiree’s placement in the dark shadows of the pillar represents the mysterious circumstances of her birth. Her past is unknown to both the reader and the Valmondes, macing a tone of secrecy and mystery. As the pillar stands at the gates of the Valmonde estate, it also resemble the family’s riches and Desiree’s wealthy care

“Desiree’s Baby” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. In “Desiree’s Baby,” Desiree is found by the Valmonde’s family, not knowing what her origin was, they took her in. Desiree grew into a gentle and loving young woman. The young owner of the neighboring plantation, Armand Aubigny, fell in love with her at first sight. Armand Aubigny and Desiree got married and had a child together.As the child was three months old, Desiree notice a difference in Armands behaviour, he was distancing from Desiree and the child. Desiree was getting axitions and mad of what was Armand behavior thoughts her and the child. Desiree was sad and wrote to Madame Valmonde. Madame Valmonde told her to come home with her child. Desiree talks to Armand if she is allowed to go back home. 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.

One of the many short stories by Kate Chopin is “Desiree’s Baby.” In this story, Desiree was found as a toddler under the shadow of a stone pillar by Monsieur Valmonde. He and his wife took the child in and years later, under the same shadow of the stone pillar, Desiree met her husband, Armand Aubigny. Not long after marriage, they had a child. Soon after the baby was born, Armand uncharacteristically became nice to all around him including his slaves. Soon after he began to notice that the baby 's complexion became darker and made the assumption that the child is not his or his wife was of mixed race. The sad truth of the situation was received when he soon later discovered he was the one of mixed race, he then regretted telling his wife to leave with the baby (Chopin). Kate Chopin uses the different characters to create a storyline that the conflict of the story has ironic. (LitCharts)

“Desiree’s Baby”, is a short story written by Kate Chopin. This short story is about a woman named Desiree, abandoned at a very young age, who grew up to fall in love with Armand Aubigny. Armand was born into a very wealthy family, who fell in love easily, very strict and owners of slaves. Desiree then conceived Armand’s child, who instantly changed the way he thought once the child was born. Desiree’s mother, Madame Valmonde, was scheduled to see the baby in L’Abri since she had not seen it in four weeks. When she finally saw the baby, she felt odd about the child’s appearance. Soon, things took a turn and the people of L’Abri started to think differently about the child. Armand did not like the fact that the child looked at though it was from African American ancestry and shunned both the infant and Desiree. After things become too much to handle for Desiree, Armand banished her and the baby to never be seen again in the town.

Desiree’s Baby is a short story by Kate Chopin. “Desiree’s Baby” takes place before the Civil War in a time when black people were neglected and mistreated by the whites. Desiree was abandoned and left behind by her parents when she was a toddler by a big stone pillar. She was found and declared adopted by Madame and Monsieur Valmonde. Armand a man that was really harsh to blacks falls in love with Desiree and gets married with her without knowing anything about her ancestry. They end up having a kid but the boy turns out to be not white. Armand angry and upset kicks out both Desiree and her baby because of her mixed race. That night, Armand burns all of Desiree’s possessions. While doing this, he finds a letter that his mother wrote to his

“Desiree’s Baby” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. Désirée is the adopted daughter of Monsieur and Madame Valmondé. Abandoned as a baby, she was found by Monsieur Valmondé lying in the shadow of a stone pillar near the Valmondé gateway. She is courted by the son of another wealthy, well known and respected family, Armand. They marry and have a child. People who see the baby have the sense it is different. Eventually they realize that the baby 's skin is the same color as a quadroon, the baby has African ancestry. Because of Désirée 's unknown parents, Armand immediately assumes that she is part black. Désirée denies the accusation. Armand, scornful of Désirée, rejects her and insists that she leaves. She takes their child and walks off into a bayou, never to be seen again. Armand burns all of the letters that she had sent him during their courtship. With this bundle of letters is also one written from his mother to his father, saying, “ 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 “ (5) revealing that Armand is the one who is part black, by his mother 's ancestry (Chopin). The symbolism in a short story is a person, place, or thing that represents something beyond itself, most often something concrete or tangible that represents an abstract idea.(Glossary…2) Kate Chopin’s use of symbol help develop the themes in

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).

“Desiree’s Baby” is a twisted and heart wrenching story that takes place during a time of great racial inequality. The Devil seems to be very busy throughout the world as he escalates situations and spews lies into the thoughts of men, tearing them from their beloved families. The story “Desiree’s Baby” summons up a very saddening irony that the prejudiced Armand learns that it was his mixed parentage and not that of his wife which produced their mixed-race child whom he detested and rejected.

Throughout “Désirée’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, slavery and racism play a massive role in how the characters, particularly Armand Aubigny, interact with one another. In Armand’s case, he believes that he holds one of the oldest, proudest, and whitest names in nineteenth century Louisiana. The pride cached within the Aubigny legacy comes to dictate his life and virtually every drastic decision he makes; he appears to live in constant fear of having his name tarnished. His reputation and pride are established as his driving force, but also contribute to a hatred of anyone who is colored. He wills a strict and ominous slave ownership into reality as a result of this irrational fear and overabundance of pride. In her short story, Chopin uses the literary

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. To the readers, this can be ironic because the drawer that the letter was in, had been opened several times before by Armand when he would put the letters Desiree had written him in there. The readers learn that Armand now knows the truth about his past, but is too scared to be honest with himself and others around him. “When he spoke to her, it was with averted eyes, from which the old love-light seemed to have gone out. He absented himself from home; and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child,

In the stories of Loving V. Virginia and “ Desiree’s baby ” both take place back in the day when racism was prevalent. The United States Supreme Court invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Although one of them is a fictional story while for the other one is an article on a real case that happened. After a close reading of Loving V. Virginia and the fictional story Desiree 's Baby by Kate Cho both couples react to interracial marriage in a way that demonstrates race relations don’t allow them to be happy and they believe they are as equal as anybody else and deserve to live how they choose to live.