First Great Awakening

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…

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…

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 Pontellier, Alcèe Arobin, and Robert Lebrun, impact her need for an awakening both negatively and positively, and they ultimately participate in the…

Sarah Newell Mrs. Hans Edna Drowns Thesis Statement: In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, protagonist Edna Pontellier struggles with her identity internally, thus creating a ripple effect in the inability to confirm or disprove her morality at first glance; her indecisiveness about 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…

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 Edna takes in her awakening. It is through the vast and untamed expanse of the sea that Edna is able to realize that there is something…

Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening tells the story of Edna, a married woman, who falls in love with another man, Robert, in 19th century Louisiana. The chosen passage takes place after Edna’s trip to the beach with Robert where she contemplates why she chose to go out with him. The usage of literary devices, metaphors, symbolism, and alliterations help evoke the overarching themes of freedom and solitude, convention versus individuality, and the theme of reflection. To begin with, in this excerpt…

In “The Awakening” the protagonist Edna Pontellier awakens herself on a family vacation on Grand Isle. Her awakening consists of meeting Robert Lebrun,falling in love with him, and becoming defiant of her husband. Her defiance is more evident as the story continues, while still on vacation, Edna refuses to go to bed, instead, she lays in a hammock all night until her muscles are sore. Once back home on Esplanade Street Edna refused to take call Tuesday, instead, she decides to go out which…

novels. In The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, there is a theme of solitude and independence giving way to a deeper understanding of one’s self. The reader is introduced to Edna Pontellier, who embodies this theme by seeking her own freedom and independence in the sea. Water is a symbol that is seen throughout the book, too. It represents rebirth, cleansing, or even death. In The Awakening, Chopin ties theme and symbols together through Edna’s search for solitude and her awakening; this…

The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a literary work full of symbolism that adds meaning to the story and to the characters. Throughout the story Edna Pontieller expresses her progress, in The Awakening, as a new woman by using the symbolism of the caged birds, art and music, houses, and the sea. From the very beginning of the story, the caged birds play a main role in symbolizing Edna’s entrapment. In the book the parrots kept repeating ““ Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That’s all right!””…

Kate Chopin, in her short story The Awakening, vividly describes the timeline of Edna from her immediate arrival in New Orleans, to the beginnings of her culture shock and awakening, to her tragic suicide. Upon her arrival to Grand Isle Resort in New Orleans she meets Robert and Madame Ratignolle, both of whom take her breath away, or as the book puts it “left her stunned in amazement”. Compared to her life growing up in the slower small towns of Kentucky, the upbeat large city of New Orleans…