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Grace Paley’s “Samuel” and Kate Chopin’s “Désirée’s Baby” both deal with tragic deaths caused by peoples’ actions both directly and indirectly. These two short stories have similarities whose narrator tells the deaths of two young and innocent people who were the victims of a harsh and unsuspecting society. Paley’s “Samuel” is about a group of boys who are having fun on a subway train leaping from platform to platform between the cars. The adults are watching the children with mixed emotions. The men watching the boys reminisce back to memories of their childhood; while the women are angrily showing discontent on their faces directed at the boys. The action of one of the passengers causes the train to come to a halt throwing one of the boys …show more content…
Armand feels like he is the victim of betrayal by his wife Désirée. As the baby gets older it is clear that the baby is not white. Armand’s attitude quickly makes him assume that Désirée is not white giving Armand a feeling of deception. He denounces his love for Désirée and the child and casts them out of the house and his life. Désirée is stricken with grief about her treatment by Armand. She cannot believe how a man who loves her so much could treat her with such hostility and cruelty. Désirée develops a negative attitude towards herself and her baby. She is upset that she cannot change how Armand thinks of her because of her baby. This attitude causes Désirée to walk out of Armand’s life forever to her demise. Core beliefs also give to human behavior in “Samuel” and “Desiree’s …show more content…
The emotions that stem from core beliefs influence how people act and react in society. Some emotions that influence people are anger, fear, shame, and pride. In “Samuel” a woman wants to turn and tell the kids to stop jumping recklessly, and even threaten to call a police officer (Paley 349). The boys who are of different ethnic background other than white scare the woman. The narrator states from the woman’s point of view, “But three of the boys were Negroes and the other was something else she couldn’t tell for sure. She was afraid they’d be fresh and laugh at her and embarrass her. She wasn’t afraid they would hit her, but she was afraid of embarrassment.” (Paley 349). The stereotype of these boys causes the woman to fear the feeling of embarrassment causing her to do nothing to alter the boys’ behaviors. If the woman had intervened the outcome could had turned out different. The man who "citizenly" (Paley 350) walks to the end of the car to pull the emergency stop discussed earlier feels a moral obligation to take matter into his own hands to stop the boys’ behaviors. The man feels his duty is to intervene; although his actions lead to a tragic outcome. Désirée is also affected by her husband’s cultural
There is a lot to talk about Armand character in the short story of Desiree’s baby. In the beginning of the story, he is such a great person he loves Desiree. This quote “beautiful and gentle” shows that Armand is fall in love with her. However, his character change, when he found out that baby wasn’t white. His character of being a good husband to a cruel husband. The story clearly explains his initial character and final character. I believe he is not pitiable at all because he shows his cruelty character toward Desiree and not only that, he cares about his social standing, which motivates him. When he bought “fine clothing and layettle” this shows a symbolic object of wealth and his possession of Desiree. He wouldn’t act in a cruel way if
Desiree is a "beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere young woman."(p. 31) Armand, a young plantation owner, falls in love with her "as if struck by a pistol shot."(p.31) Armand's love for her is described as a "prairie fire, or like anything that drives headlong over all obstacles."(p.31) Armand and Desiree marry and have a baby early in
Armand is getting rid of what seems of Desiree’s belong and coming across letter that she had sent to him during the days of their espousal.
Desiree’s Baby is a story that is mainly about race. Unfortunately, three months after Desiree gives birth to her baby her life begins to fall apart. After reading this story I realized that if we surrender to ourselves and let our prejudices rule us, we will destroy our happiness; however in the long run we will then end up destroying ourselves! Desiree and Armand’s relationship could be described as a superficial love that was influenced by pride and being prejudice. In my own opinion I feel that a person’s race should never affect the way you feel about them. In addition to that if you take their hand in marriage and make a vow to spend the rest of your life with them for better or for worst through thick and thin, you should not let anything
Although Armand truly loved Desiree, his love wasn’t stronger than protecting his family’s status. He knew from the beginning that it was he who was not white. Hoping that his child would not come out black, he still took precautions by marrying a woman with an unknown origin to put the blame on. He hated himself for what he truly was and he was not going to let anyone know his secret and have that kind of power over him. It was never Desiree’s fault and she ended up suffering when it was really Armand’s doing.
The short-story “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin took place during the first half of the 19th century and between the Revolutionary and Civil War, when the intermixing of races was taboo. The story was centered around the negative perspective on ethnicity. It also took place in Louisiana, which is where a multitude of people who are mixed with different origins are found. The theme of racism in “Desiree’s Baby” is reflected in Light and Stancle’s “Color Blind” song. “Desiree’s Baby” illustrates how an individual’s ethnicity can create such a divisive issue with an incredible combination of imagery, characterization, and irony, yet she also unveils the buried actualities about
He was convinced that his name is “…one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana” (Chopin 48), because of his family name. Armand took advantage of the fact that he was a owner slave and came from a family whose name was well known and he feel like a king. He’s pride was above his actual family and all he wanted was to protect the family name and history at any cost. After his boy was born, because his skin turned darker than it is supposed to be, he assumed that his wife, Desiree, is black and he asked her to leave. He felt that his pride was hurt because of the shame that his wife brought to the family name. He didn’t support that others to find the same thing and begin to discuss and make jokes about him. At this point, he started to show his real character. He felt like “…he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name” (Chopin 51). These words bring out the true feelings of Armand, that he never loved Desiree, but it was only a fleeting desire, only a lust. According to Chopin, Desiree was a beautiful girl, “For the girl grew to be beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere, - the idol of Valmonde.” (47). Armand loved Desiree only for her outward appearance, not for her character. His love for Desiree and for his son was a superficial love. He destroyed Desiree’s life and he ruined his own life as well because he lost his wife, his baby, and also, he
Armand meets Desiree and they instantly fall in love and get married. Armand loves her; it was shown because she was “a woman who is able to suddenly entice Armand’s passion despite her obscure origin and lack of prestigious name.” Desiree gets pregnant and gives birth to a black baby. She does not realize this until she sees “the resemblance between one of La Blanche’s little quadroon boys and her own child.” She realizes something is very wrong and watches as her husband changes. Armand starts treating the slaves bad again and he stops giving attention the Desiree. When Desiree tries to talk to Armand about it he tells her, “the child is not white; it means that you are not white.”
Women were supposed to bring their husbands and children to the light of God. Desiree’s husband Armand was humiliated and ashamed when he realized his son was mixed with a race that was “cursed with the brand of slavery”. His way of getting “back at God for dealing cruelly with him” was through hurting his wife, showing that
Armand is quick to put the blame on Desiree, since her history is unknown. Desiree tries to argue with Armand, she brings up her appearance as evidence to her purity. “It is a lie; it is not true, I am white! Look at my hair, it is brown; and my eyes are gray Armand, you know they are gray. And my skin is fair” (Chopin 1075). Desiree is frantic, and all she wants is for Armand to believe her. Armand finds a way to use the color of her skin against her by comparing her to one of their slaves. La Blanche, meaning the white one; is proof that just because your skin is fair does not mean you are pureblooded. “They behave badly, each blaming the other. Neither knows the truth, but because Armand is the more powerful, Desiree is disgraced and banished” (Rosenblum). Armand knew before marring Desiree that her past was unknown, that is why Monsieur Valmonde warned him. Armand said that it did not matter, but if that were true; why is he angry about it now? “Armand’s hubris, the result of male privilege buttressed by family pride and a sense of racial superiority, makes unconditional love for Desiree impossible” (Elfenbein 124). Armand could never truly love Desiree the she wanted him too, in the end her unknown origin turned out to be a problem. Armand asks Desiree to leave with her baby. “Moreover he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his
Armand becomes furious because he believes that Desiree?s race is what alters the color of the baby. After that incident, Armand displ...
In “Desiree’s Baby,” Kate Chopin writes about the life of a young lady and her new family. In this short story, the fond couple lived in Louisiana before the American Civil War. Chopin illustrates the romantic atmosphere between Armand and Desiree. Chopin also describes the emotion of the parents for their new born. When the baby was born, Armand’s heart had softened on behalf of others. One afternoon, Desiree and the baby were relaxing in a room with a young boy fanning them with peacock feathers. As they were relaxing, Desiree had sniffed a threatening scent. Desiree desired Armand’s assistance as she felt faint from the odor that she could not comprehend. Armand had denied the request his wife sent. Therefore, he cried out that she nor the baby were white. Thus, Desiree took the baby and herself and walked into the bayou and they were never seen again. In this short story, Chopin illustrates the psychological abuse Desiree faces from her husband.
The reader easily recognizes that Desiree’s point of views about life are as being an obeyed wife, so she depends on her husband, Armand, for most of the time. Desiree really cares about her husband feelings and was always in sympathy with the husband. She is cheerful when Armand is happy and when Armand is sorrowful, she is just “miserable enough to die” (Chopin. 244). The setting of the story is in a society where people look very low and strict with those not of ethnicity, skin color. Desiree’s baby is the problem between her and her husband due to the baby is quadroon. According to Chopin “Moreover, he no longer loved her because of the conscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name”, Armand told Desiree he does not love her anymore because she is not white and she is being mixed blood as his assertion (245). Desiree is adopted by Valmondae family at really young age, she is very vague about her background so Desiree does not have enough grounds to prove that she is completely origin from white American. Her heart seems torn when her dear husband, Armand asks her to leave the house with her child. “She turned away like one stunned like a blow, and walked slowly towards the door, hoping he would call her back” (Chopin 245). She has never
Now, Désirée is alone with a baby that she gave birth to. It perhaps does not look like her, but it is her gift from God. I believed this story embraces the value of true love; Désirée went from an ignorant rich white young woman to a strong woman who will do anything for her child. She left a life full of prejudices to give her little boy a life with meaning, and love. Moreover, Chopin’s last paragraph embraces the same concept, “Our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery” (77). Armand’s mother sacrifices her desire to raise her child to give him a live of freedom. This is another proof that love is selfless, strong, and unbreakable.
Armand has his background of a wealthy family with a great pride of the Aubignys while Desiree was the daughter of Madame Valmonde who was thought to be brought to the plantation by some Texans who abandoned her. Armand took this as an advantage to tell Desiree that she was not white because they did not know who were her parents and what was her race. This also relates to the irony when Armand told Desiree that she was not white because he could use this as an advantage to make her feel miserable and not make any situations in thinking that he may have background with people of