First Great Awakening

the case as many times, making the decision to end one’s own life is a irrational decision. Suicide is more often than not a side effect of depression and other mental illnesses as well as stressful events that have happened. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier begins to develop and suffer from depression, which will lead to her decision to end her own life. Although many people believe that suicide is the result of a singular element, looking at Edna’s suicide shows that the…

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, birds are used as a symbol for Edna to describe how Edna changes against societies standards as she gains independence. The birds are parallel and foreshadow Edna. The Awakening starts with birds to show the current status of Edna and women. At the beginning of the novel, there is a parrot shrieking at Mr. Pontellier in Spanish while stuck in it’s cage. The parrot shows how Edna is locked in to societies standards by her husband and the community because of the…

Ida B. Wells was a fascinating woman. She was a suffragette, activist, and a journalist in the 1800’s. She led an anti-lynching campaign, owned a newspaper, and was an amazing activist who fought for civil rights. Wells was a teacher and she cared for her family almost entirely by herself. She was born in 1862, stepped on the train that would start her writing career in 1882, and she died in 1931. On July 16, 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Ida Wells was born. She was born into a…

Angel in the House vs. Satan in the House In The Awakening by Kate Chopin the main character, Edna Pontellier, believes that she should not have to follow the societal roles for a woman during this time period, but should instead have the free will to do as she pleases. This is unlike the character Adele Ratignolle because in the novel she seems to happily conform to these roles that society has placed on her and takes pride in doing so. Kate Chopin essentially creates two contradicting…

JUNE (Creative) June and I swam out to the reef on a winter’s day. The waves were massive, but June was an excellent swimmer and she convinced me it would be fun. She was older and very unpredictable. We challenged each other to dive deeper, to swim further onto the reef. June was winning. She called me coward and roused that I was too scared to touch the reef. She pushed me and mocked me until I couldn’t take it anymore. I timed it perfectly between the sets, and swam over to the shallow reef.…

Kate Chopin’s 1899 Novel The Awakening, encompasses itself on defying the stereotype of a “Mother-woman”and a woman trying to fit into strict cultural demands. The protagonist Edna Pontellier ruined many expectations of what a woman should be like in the nineteenth century. The Awakening not only embraces the process of self-discovery, and conflict between an individual and society, but also includes family as major theme throughout the novel. Chopin geniously captivates the reader by giving…

The Awakening In today’s society the feminist movement has improved since the 1960s and 1970s.Many scholars and critics have showed much interest to Kate Chopin’s literature. This particular story shows a life of a married woman and the struggles of her family, husband and her desires for love and freedom she has long been searching for. The short story “The Awakening” has a symbolism throughout, but there is one particular one that is very important to the story in order to understand the…

Edna Pontellier - Edna is the protagonist of the novel “The Awakening”. The twenty eight year old is the wife of a New Orleans businessman Léonce Pontellier. Edna suddenly finds herself dissatisfied with her marriage and the motherly, matronly, and conservative lifestyle that follows. She discovers her own identity and acts on her desires for emotional satisfaction, through a collection of experiences, or “awakenings”. Unlike the other women around her, she doesn’t have a motherly…

Book Review of The Awakening The Awakening is a tremendous novel written by Kate Chopin in 1899. The novel is set in Louisiana and follows the spiritual journey of Edna Pontellier, a twenty-eight-year-old wife and mother living in New Orleans. While in Grand Isle for the summer with her husband, Léonce, and their two children, she finds herself displeased with her marriage and the conventional behavior it demands from her. Edna was very different from the other women residing at Grand Isle…

Author, Kate Chopin, in her novel, The Awakening, composes a story about a woman named Edna who is in a passionless marriage and is realizing her sexuality. Director, Mike Newell, in his film, Mona Lisa Smile, illustrates a story about a woman named Katherine who is an art professor at Wellesley College teaching female students about breaking out of society’s roles. Chopin’s purpose is to bring to light to how some housewives felt trapped in the lives they were supposed to live during the 1890’s…