Naked and Free in The Awakening
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin seems to fit neatly into twentieth century ideals. Chopin addresses psychological issues that must have been difficult for people of the late nineteenth century to grasp. Just as Edna died a premature death, Chopin's book died too. The rejection of this book, at the time, ironically demonstrates the pressure many women must have felt to conform to society. Chopin shows the reader, through Edna Pontellier, that society restricts women the right to individuality. This restriction by society can be seen in the clothing Victorian women wore during the time.
For example, we see clothing used as an important metaphor in the story. Victorian women's clothing was extremely confining, much like their life. The clothing can be seen as a type of "cage" which is apparent when we see Edna and Adele walking to the beach in chapter seven. Adele wore a veil, "doe skin gloves, white gauntlets ... was dressed in pure white, with a fluffiness of ruffles that became her" (478). Adele was the ideal of beauty. Edna, on the other hand, "wore a cool muslin that morning ... a white linen collar and a big straw hat" (478). We learn that "a casual and indiscriminating observer ... might not cast a second glance" (478) towards Edna. The fact that Edna was simply dressed showed her non conformity towards society's standards. When the two women get to the beach, Edna removes her collar and unbuttons her dress at the throat. Her decision not to wear all the garments is a hint at the rebellion to come.
Another obvious example of the symbolism of clothing is seen at the end of the novel when Edna removes all of her clothing before committing suicide. Chopin writes that when Edna was "there beside the sea, absolutely alone, she cast the unpleasant, prickling garments from her, and for the first time in her life stood naked in the open air" (558). Edna seems to be removing her final restrictions before finding her freedom in death. This last rebellion against society seems to give Edna her final "awakening". This awakening can be seen when Chopin writes, "She felt like some new born creature opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known" (558).
In 1909, Morgan opened a tailoring shop, selling coats, suits and dresses. While working in this shop he came upon a discovery which brought about his first invention. He noticed that the needle of a sewing machine moved with such a high speed that often its friction would scorch the thread of woolen materials. He then set out to develop a liquid that would be a useful polish to the needle, reducing friction. Once, when his wife called him to dinner, he wiped the liquid from his hands onto a piece of pony-fur cloth. When he returned to his workshop, he saw that the fibers on the cloth were now standing straight. He conceived that the fluid had actually straightened the fibers. In order to confirm his theory, he decided to apply some of the fluid to the hair of a neighbor's dog. The fluid straightened the dog's hair so much, that the neighbor, not recognizing his own pet, chased the animal away. Morgan then decided try the fluid on himself, trying small portions of his hair at first, and eventually his entire head. He was successful and had invented the first human-hair straightener. This invention has helped a lot commercially. A lot of today’s media features people with straightened hair. This might not be possible if Garrett Morgan hadn’t made the contributions he did. He marketed the product under the name the G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Cream and sold by his G. A. Morgan Refining Company, which became a very successful business.
For example, during the Renaissance, well-born European women plucked out hairs, one by one, from their natural hairline all the way back to the crowns of their heads, to give them the high rounded foreheads thought to be beautiful at the time. Those who didn't want to resort to plucking used poultices of vinegar mixed with cat dung or quick-lime. The latter often removed some of the skin as well as the hair.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by Mark Twain, published in 1884, and according to Alison Flood in the article US school stops teaching Huckleberry Finn because of 'use of the N-word', “one of the most-challenged [novels] of all time.” The story depicts the relationship between a young white boy who is running away from home and a grown slave who is running away to escape slavery. The novel focuses on Huck Finn growing up pre-civil war in deep and very racist south. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should stop being taught to high schoolers because it is too open to interpretation, and doesn't
“All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn,” this is what fellow writer had to say about this classic novel. Still, this novel has been the object of controversy since it was published more than 150 years ago. Some people argue that Huckleberry Finn is a racist work, and that the novel has no place in a highschool classroom. This feeling is generated because a main character in the story, Jim, and other slaves are referred to many times as “niggers.” When Mark Twain wrote this book, he was striving to show the general public that society was wrong in the past, that the way white people thought black people were less than human was a wrong viewpoint. The book is also denounced because people feel that this book is anti-American. Russians have even taught this book to show that Americans are generally rotten people (Loeffler, class notes). But this novel is in no way anti-American, everything written about Americans is used as a satire, to make such a poignant book less serious, and to add some levity. Twain also has hidden morals in his messages. Huckleberry Finn should be taught in highschool classrooms because it is a very valuable and educational novel, with a moral and a theme that are needed to be learned by everyone.
The largest debate as to why the novel is a racist work is because of the use of the "N-word." Although there is an abundance of evidence pointing towards the theory that Mark Twain was a racist, therefore making the book itself a reflection of his ideologies, Huckleberry Finn is created as a form of social commentary, on the racism of the time period. As reflected in the essays in Satire or Evasion?, the perspectives on the views of racism in Huckleberry Finn vary widely (Arac 113) and it can be concluded that “there is no single ‘black’ position on Huckleberry Finn any more than there is a monolithic white one” (Leonard
Chopin also uses Enda’s encounter with her old bathing suit to show how distanced Edna is from her former life. Edna, seeing the garment, describes the former piece of clothing as being faded. As the color has fled from this garment, similarly has Edna’s soul fled from her former life. Edna originally begins to put the bathing suit on, however, the garment, seeming unpleasant to her skin, is almost immediately cast off. This garment, representing Edna’s former life, also shows how foreign Edna’s past life seems to her presently. Edna is so far removed from her former life, in fact, that the garment is shown as being physically irritating to her skin.
Edna Pontellier’s character in The Awakening has been the source of the novel’s controversial assessment by critics since it’s publication in 1899. The author, Kate Chopin, officially began writing in 1885 and composed novels that challenged the many conflicting social standards in that time period. The late 1800s, predominantly known for the Industrial Revolution, served as a beacon of opportunity for women during this era. Chopin wrote The Awakening to be used as an instrument to eradicate the accepted impression of gender roles in society: women are more than submissive tools to their oppressive counterparts in this masculine dominated world. Chopin’s ideology originated from the lessons and wisdom of her great-grandmother who encouraged her to read unconventional concepts: women were capable of obtaining and maintaining a successful career as well as a thriving family and social life. Although The Awakening was widely banned and condemned in national presses, critics cannot deny the underlying theme of sexism and its effect on gender roles. Some critics even suggest there is a distinct correlation between Edna’s character and Chopin herself. According to critics, Kate Chopin encumbers The Awakening with incidents of a single woman's hunger for personal and sexual identity as a mechanism to display Edna Pontellier’s deviations from societal standards.
In a Styrofoam cup, record the temperature of the 200 ml of cold water. This is 200 g of water, as the density of water is 1 g/ml.
Victorian Fashion refers to the styles and clothing worn before and during the Civil War era of the United States, 1860-1900. This era was filled with a very difficult way of dressing oneself and to deviate from this line of dress was unheard of, and worthy of being outcaste. Victorian women’s clothing was layers, heavy, and barely manageable to even wear. Many different articles made up the full garment such as the undergarments, the skirt, top, shoes, accessories, and even the hair. How did women ready themselves for the day in this era and how did they deal with all the cumbersome attire?
Kenneth Eble states, “…She undertook to give the unsparing truth about women’s submerged life” (2). Speaking solely about Kate Chopin, this quote puts emphasis upon Chopin’s disputes with her society. She used her writing as a technique to indirectly explicate her life by the means of narrating her stories through the characters she created. Kate Chopin was one of the modern writers of her time, one who wrote novels concentrating on the common social matters related to women. Her time period consisted of other female authors that focused on the same central theme during the era: exposing the unfairness of the patriarchal society, and women’s search for selfhood, and their search for identity. In Chopin’s novel The Awakening, she incorporates the themes mentioned above to illustrate the veracity of life as she understood it. A literary work approached by the feminist critique seeks to raise awareness of the importance and higher qualities of women. Women in literature may uncover their strengths or find their independence, raising their own self recognition. Several critics deem Chopin as one of the leading feminists of her age because she was willing to publish stories that dealt with women becoming self-governing, who stood up for themselves and novels that explored the difficulties that they faced during the time. Chopin scrutinized sole problems and was not frightened to suggest that women desired something that they were not normally permitted to have: independence. Chopin’s decision to focus on and emphasize the imbalances between the sexes is heavily influenced by her upbringing, her feelings towards society, and the era she subsisted in.
... Therefore, the traditional feudal system fell apart, and the middle class began to grow. The middle class tend to question the beliefs of moral standards and religion in their lives. Chaucer has members of the middle class as being a third of the total amount of pilgrims. The rise of the middle class and the decline of the nobility were illustrated by the numbers in the pilgrimage. Although in Chaucer’s society, the middle class was not a third of the population, he felt it was important to make them a large part of his story, due to their rising importance. The Knight is symbolic of those who belong in the highest social class, or the nobility. His peacemaking, gentle behavior is meant to contrast the lower social class, or the Miller and Reeve characters. The Knight is one of the only characters who has a noble position, and he keeps to the old ideals of chivalry.
Hair weaving dates back as far as Ancient Egypt and throughout history. Egyptians adored a good hair weave. It was considered a form of self-expression and common practice for them to trim their hair and create dazzling wig out of it. The men on occasion wore more dashing styles of wigs than the women. Women more so used weaving methods because of their diminishing hair. This practice is still used today for men and women who suffer from different types of hair loss.
The Renaissance time period could be considered one of the most artistic eras of all time. Both men and women were encouraged to make a transition from the medieval time period to the Renaissance time period. This was done largely in part by their style of clothing and the way they expressed themselves. Some fashionable trends for the women of the Renaissance time period include corsets, layers, ruffled collars, and closely fitted gowns called cotes. “Corsets like the merry widow were necessary for parties, dances, and other formal occasions” (Hoobler 98). Unmarried girls, brides, and queens of the time were allowed to wear their hair down, while most other women were to wear tall cone-shaped hats called hennin. The men of the renaissance era typically wore their ...
Measure and record the temperature of the water in the Styrofoam cup. Leave cardboard cover on until the heated metal is ready to be transferred into the calorimeter.
The Canterbury Tales is a great contemplation of stories, that display humorous and ironic examples of medieval life, which imitate moral and ethical problems in history and even those presented today. Chaucer owed a great deal to the authors who produced these works before his time. Chaucer tweaked their materials, gave them new meanings and revealed unscathed truths, thus providing fresh ideas to his readers. Chaucer's main goal for these tales was to create settings in which people can relate, to portray lessons and the irony of human existence.