British Isles

early expansion of the British Empire (1495-1783) and exploration and discovery is not always clear. This is because typically discovery and exploration is thought to be a Portuguese and Spanish affair and England had not been concerned with exploration and expansion outside of Europe, until they were kicked out of mainland Europe, which changed their priorities. In this essay, I aim to outline three ways exploration and discovery affected British expansion and how sometimes British expansion…

Journeys through life come in many different forms, yet they all include the same basic progressive steps. They evolve from a dream, to reality, to the inevitable consequences, much like Edna Pontellier. Kate Chopin, in her book The Awakening, utilizes various metaphors of birds to symbolize Edna on her journey, revealing the theme that freedom comes with a price. Chopin opens the book with the description of a caged bird, setting up the metaphor from the start. She describes the bird as a bird…

of their families. Edna and Lucy did not fulfill these expectations. As a mother, Edna was supposed to stay home to look after their home and children. Edna, however, “was not a mother-woman. The mother-women seemed to prevail that summer at Grand Isle. It was easy to know them, fluttering about with extended, protecting wings when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened their precious brood. They were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege…

Spring Awakening, originally written in 1891 by Frank Wedekind and adapted more recently by Steven Sater, was performed by the theater department of Wake Forest University in the Scales Fine Arts Center on April 8th, as well as several other days that month. A play about the effects of sexual suppression faced by teenagers in a German town in the 19th century, its topics of sex, suicide, abuse, oppression, and corrupt authority are all still very relevant to the youth of today. In order to…

surroundings. The setting of Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening affects Edna through the location, social norms and time period. The location of “The Awakening” takes place on the Grand Isle off the coast of Louisiana, which is very important to the main character Mrs. Pontellier. Of course, like a majority of islands, the Grand Isle is surrounded by an ocean. Prior to the events of the story, Edna was not an efficient swimmer. However, on page 27 she pushes herself to swim out into the Gulf of…

Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement once said, “It’s the action, that is important. It may not be in your power, it may not be your time. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. [. . .] You may never know what results come from your actions. But if you do nothing, you have no result.” The novel, The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, was published in 1899, during the time when the Industrial Revolution and the feminist movement were beginning to…

Despite living in a modern world, social convictions are still present in some countries, especially one that limit women from doing certain things that men can do. '' The Awakening'' by Kate Chopin, set in the Victorian Era tells the story of Edna Pontellier as she breaks away from social norms and pursues her own ambitions which ultimately lead to her death. Furthermore, Edna's death illustrates her rebellion as a form of self-expression. Edna's need for having affairs…

Society in the 1890’s had women subservient and ruled by men. Thus, women were often defined by a man, whether he was her father or husband, and if they were not they became separate from society. Edna Ponteiller in The Awakening by Kate Chopin is no exception. This novel reflects the idea that men in, specifically, Creole society in New Orleans greatly impact the lives of women. Edna desires a greater purpose in life, but her position limits her prospects. The men in Edna’s life, Lèonce…

herself leaks onto how surrounding characters and the society in context perceive her. TS#1: Because Edna is relatively introspective, she is aware of the interior change that occurs between her in the time submerged in the Creole culture of Grand Isle to her return to daily life in New Orleans, Louisiana; However, she is blind to locating the cause of this change, which brings her moral ambiguity to the surface. Evid#1: Edna’s loyalties do not seem to lie with her children as she “was not a…

Throughout the novel, Chopin uses imagery to show that society is oppressive. Two of the most important images that Chopin uses repeatedly throughout the course of the novel is the image of the sea and the image of birds. The imagery of the sea is repeated in The Awakening and comes to be a major symbol of Edna awakening. “The sea is a symbol of Edna's subconscious” (Anastasopoulou 23). The first time that she manages to swim on her own, is used by Chopin to represent the first major step that…