Grand Isle, Louisiana

In a majority of stories written, elements such as characters, plot, and setting compose the story itself. Often times, these elements interact with one another to push the story forward. “The Awakening” is dependent on all these elements, but setting is an important aspect of this novel. A character in particular, Edna Pontellier, is immensely impacted by her 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 Mexico, and once she does so she feels accomplished and happy with herself. Chopin uses the ocean as an excellent symbol for freedom and escape Edna. This symbolized the freedom and escape she had from the limitations and restrictions of society, especially the…

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…

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…

The Awakening by Kate Chopin is based upon the ideals of Feminism, which promote equality for all genders. In the time period it was written, The Awakening was viewed as an obsurd opposition to societal standards. "Edna Pontellier's free thoughts and behaviors were not accepted at that period. The attacks on the book were too harsh for Chopin to continue her writing career, and even ended the discussion on the book for almost half a century" ("Limin Bai"). Posessing a strong message that is…

Kate Chopin's The Awakening enlightens readers on sexism from the feminist perspective. The literary masterpiece depicts the transformation of a once obedient submissive, traditional wife into that of a liberated woman. The Awakening is a journey of self-discovery, which constitutes the focus of the book. The heroine Edna must emerge from traditional gender roles and find independence from her stereotypical husband. She must decide to free herself from the stifling assumptions and oppressions…

In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier gradually realizes the societal expectation for her to conform to the female stereotype and attempts to discover freedom instead. Rather than live as a “mother-woman” whose entire existence revolves around only her husband and children, she wishes to discover her own person and live as that woman. In the beginning of the book, Mr. Pontellier criticizes his wife and wakes her up so she can tend to their children in the middle of the night and otherwise fit into…

knew her intentions when writing it. The whole storyline of this novel was pretty clever, especially for it to have been published originally in 1899. In addition, Mou also made a great point when she expressed that Chopin used free indirect discourse to present Edna as a woman who is battling between her sexual awakening and her common norms (104). I comply with Mou, Edna was battling between those things throughout the book. There are many interesting sections from the book that supports Mou…

In The Awakening, Kate Chopin uses the motif of music to describe Edna’s desires of becoming more independent and her mind’s vivid imagery, which subsequently provides a foreshadow. During the party at Madame Lebrun’s home in Grand Isle, Edna breaks away from the party and steps out onto the porch where she is admiring the view of the sea. Eventually, Robert comes to join her and asks her if she’d like to listen to Mademoiselle Reisz play the piano. While he goes to find her, Chopin writes:…

Hallie Amat Mrs. Schroder AP Literature 3 January 2017 Edna’s Isolation in The Awakening Authors frequently use the theme of isolation to demonstrate how a particular society treats people who differ from the norm. Characters’ gender, race, or class often lead to their alienation and can create other problems stemming from that. In The Awakening, protagonist Edna Pontellier’s status as a woman means that society places certain expectations on her behavior, and when she refuses to conform, she…

For a long period of time, women have been repressed, viewed as the lesser sex and claimed as property of men. This made it harder for them to enjoy life and to discover their true selves. In both Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, the path to self discovery can be difficult, but can lead to fulfilling endings. Both authors presented how two women from different backgrounds can experience the same struggles and harvest the same desires. Self…