Kate Chopin’s Desiree's Baby is a short story that depicts the life of a wealthy ‘Creoles’(White descendants of French settlers in Louisiana) in antebellum Louisiana. Consequently, the story describes some of the darker tendencies of ignorance and bigotry, as well as drawing a cruel image of the treatment of slaves in racist America from a time long ago. In addition, desiree's Baby was written during a time where political satire was needed the most as an ocean of change threatened the status quo of an America that refused human rights to an entire people due to surface level prejudice. The use of themes such as Irony, Racism, and Classism deliver a thematic presence articulate in its presentation and conjugate fluidly with the literate use
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Coincidentally, it also plays into the character of Armand as his treatment of the slaves on his plantation changes as his child is born. Moreover, the pride Armand has as a father can be in part attributed to the child’s pigment, as it was at first the child appeared to be Caucasian, supported by paragraph sixteen where Desiree says, “Oh, Armand is the proudest father in the parish, I believe, chiefly because it is a boy, to bear his name; though he says not-that he would have loved a girl as well”. However, once the child began to show signs of being mixed, Armand grew viscous towards everyone, most likely due to the hatred and betrayal he must have felt at the thought that his wife had kept her mixed blood secret, effectively supporting the pigment theory through Armand’s severance of ties with the mixed child. Thereafter, Armand’s lack of empathy for his wife turned into a hostile atmosphere that lead to her killing herself. Undeniably, it was Armand’s destructive and cruel racism that hurts those closest to …show more content…
Indeed, it is self evident that Armand belonged to one of the wealthiest families in Louisiana, putting him arguably higher in position than most people in his life. Further, the narrative goes so far as to show Armand’s monologue upon meeting Desiree in paragraph 5 when it states, “He was reminded that she was nameless. What did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana?” effectively supporting his pride as a powerful individual. Coincidentally, this power affected his view of the world, making so that he saw everything as property even his own wife. In fact, he supported her with his money, supplying her with a lofty existence as long as she was married to him. Yet, when his life was challenged in an unexpected manner, he cut ties with even his own wife and child due to a very ignorant and superficial reason. Effectively, cementing his blatant racism through tragedy. In brief, Desiree’s baby is a story that depicts a way of life not possible in modern times, frankly for the better. What’s more, Desiree’s Baby tells a story of a self inflicted wound and all victims. Again, it is important to note that in one way or another all were victimised in the story, Armand was a victim of his own ignorance, Desiree was a victim of destructive racism, and Desiree’s baby was a victim of circumstance. Indeed, it is
Coincidentally, it also plays into the character of Armand as his treatment of the slaves on his plantation changes as his child is born. Moreover, the pride Armand has as a father can be in part attributed to the child’s pigment, as it was at first the child appeared to be Caucasian, supported by paragraph sixteen where Desiree says, “Oh, Armand is the proudest father in the parish, I believe, chiefly because it is a boy, to bear his name; though he says not-that he would have loved a girl as well”. However, once the child began to show signs of being mixed, Armand grew viscous towards everyone, most likely due to the hatred and betrayal he must have felt at the thought that his wife had kept her mixed blood secret, effectively supporting the pigment theory through Armand’s severance of ties with the mixed child. Thereafter, Armand’s lack of empathy for his wife turned into a hostile atmosphere that lead to her killing herself. Undeniably, it was Armand’s destructive and cruel racism that hurts those closest to …show more content…
Indeed, it is self evident that Armand belonged to one of the wealthiest families in Louisiana, putting him arguably higher in position than most people in his life. Further, the narrative goes so far as to show Armand’s monologue upon meeting Desiree in paragraph 5 when it states, “He was reminded that she was nameless. What did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana?” effectively supporting his pride as a powerful individual. Coincidentally, this power affected his view of the world, making so that he saw everything as property even his own wife. In fact, he supported her with his money, supplying her with a lofty existence as long as she was married to him. Yet, when his life was challenged in an unexpected manner, he cut ties with even his own wife and child due to a very ignorant and superficial reason. Effectively, cementing his blatant racism through tragedy. In brief, Desiree’s baby is a story that depicts a way of life not possible in modern times, frankly for the better. What’s more, Desiree’s Baby tells a story of a self inflicted wound and all victims. Again, it is important to note that in one way or another all were victimised in the story, Armand was a victim of his own ignorance, Desiree was a victim of destructive racism, and Desiree’s baby was a victim of circumstance. Indeed, it is