Discrimination In Desiree's Baby

Armand is prejudice against African Americans and women in “Desiree’s Baby” because he feels that his race is superior, but some people can look past skin color and see people for who they truly are on the inside. Ellen Peel explains Armand to be, “Confident that he is a white, a male, and a master, he feels in control of the system” (224). This description of Armand shows that he is white which was the superior race, and he is a male which shows that females did not have the same rights that males did when this story was written. The narrator says that “He ordered the corbeille from Paris” showing that he bought Desiree’s love and that he viewed her as an object instead of a person (Chopin 903). This is like him burning Desiree’s belongings …show more content…
At the end of the story, Armand finds a letter that his mother had written his father that says, “I thank 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 906). Armand is full of hatred towards African Americans, only to find out, that he belongs to the race that he hates. Armand was only a child when his mother died and does not remember that she was African American. He treats his slaves terribly and then finds out that he is the same race as them. Peel explains that “The ‘heart of darkness’ lies within the self: the letter unveils Armand’s ‘dark, handsome face’ to himself” which shows how this one letter has changed Armand’s entire life (229). He now realizes that he is the one that is a different race and is the reason that his baby has dark skin. The letter that his mother wrote his father has changed his life forever. He blamed Desiree for their baby having dark skin when it was he that was a different race. He treated African Americans terribly when he is one …show more content…
In “Everyday Use” there was racial prejudice that was seen along with classism because Dee had grown up in a poor home, but through education, she was able to better herself and stand up for the way African Americans were treated by white people. “Desiree’s Baby” also had racial prejudice along with sexism because Armand viewed Desiree as an object instead of a person. “The Lesson” portrayed racial prejudice as well as the first two stories, but it was mainly about the social class struggle that the children found themselves in. All three of these stories showed how people handle prejudice differently because some of them chose to stand up against it and fight back while others are not able to accept the change so easily because they are afraid of the consequences that they could