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Reading comprehension literature review
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Recommended: Reading comprehension literature review
The Awakening, a well known book by Kate Chopin, written about a lady during the “Awakening” when so much chaos and trouble was going through the streets of the city. The main character of the book is Edna Pontellier. Throughout the book, Edna had many dilemma’s in her own personal life, and in advance, she had her life in chaos along with the society that affected her as well. 19th century America was a whole new generation coming up to a new generation creating new ideas and then displaying them, which the public got the fact that they had just as much right to do it as anybody else. This created radical change and completed various social influences and generally affected other governmental groups as well. “The Awakening” in American society brought several changes in roles of women in societal purposing, generally creating major impact of political, economic, and societal changes curving to the pleasure of the public, creating a brand new era of United States identity.
In the late 1800’s, the American society was in complete chaos. Currently after the Civil War, created many other societies created with the women’s movement. During this time, women created many issues in the family now that they had power. This was shown in the book as the women divorced her husband and took control of her independence. The ideas of the books were relatively accurate because it showed the power the women had with men and the ability to maintain independence and actually be able to live on her own. The Awakening was published in 1899. This book was reviewed by several chief editors and they put the book as excellent historical accuracy.
The “Awakening,” showed the concept of several of political ideas through the life of the...
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...e able to show the wealth this city was able to withstand displaying several economic advantages.
The biggest part of the story was the social aspect of the city and the common man’s appeal. For the first, Edna Pontellier was described as “independent and solitude.” In this new generation, people were seen rebelling to the earlier generation. In a way, this novel almost exactly parallels to the social system shown in the Great Gastby. Many women in this novel were still seen as the “Victorian” style, but many were want their full rights and independence along right up with the men. Often in the earlier ages, men were to be “the man” and show his affections in his own way and be open to the women. However, multiple times in this film, Edna was seen as the one who took her own course of action, waiting for the man she loved to show his expressions toward her.
The awakening is plenty of characters that describe in a very loyal way the society of the nineteenth century in America. Among the most important ones there are Edna Pontellier, Léonce Pontellier, Madame Lebrun, Robert Lebrun, Victor Lebrun, Alcée Arobin, Adéle Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz.
Unlike the other women of Victorian society, Edna is unwilling to suppress her personal identity and desires for the benefit of her family. She begins “to realize her position in the universe as a human being and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her” (35). Edna’s recognition of herself as an individual as opposed to a submissive housewife is controversial because it’s unorthodox. When she commits suicide it’s because she cannot satisfy her desire to be an individual while society scorns her for not following the traditional expectations of women. Edna commits suicide because she has no other option. She wouldn’t be fulfilled by continuing to be a wife and a mother and returning to the lifestyle that she...
The Awakening is a novel about the growth of a woman becoming her own person; in spite of the expectations society has for her. The book follows Edna Pontellier as she struggles to find her identity. Edna knows that she cannot be happy filling the role that society has created for her. She did not believe that she could break from this pattern because of the pressures of society. As a result she ends up taking her own life. However, readers should not sympathize with her for taking her own life.
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening takes place in the late 19th century, in Grande Isle off the coast of Louisiana. The author writes about the main character, Edna Pontellier, to express her empowering quality of life. Edna is a working housewife,and yearns for social freedom. On a quest of self discovery, Edna meets Madame Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, falls in and out of love,and eventually ends up taking her own life. Kate Chopin’s The Awakening shows how the main character Edna Pontellier has been trapped for so many years and has no freedom, yet Edna finally “awakens” after so long to her own power and her ability to be free.
When Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" was published at the end of the 19th Century, many reviewers took issue with what they perceived to be the author's defiance of Victorian proprieties, but it is this very defiance with which has been responsible for the revival in the interest of the novel today. This factor is borne out by Chopin's own words throughout her Preface -- where she indicates that women were not recipients of equal treatment. (Chopin, Preface ) Edna takes her own life at the book's end, not because of remorse over having committed adultery but because she can no longer struggle against the social conventions which deny her fulfillment as a person and as a woman. Like Kate Chopin herself, Edna is an artist and a woman of sensitivity who believes that her identity as a woman involves more than being a wife and mother. It is this very type of independent thinking which was viewed as heretical in a society which sought to deny women any meaningful participation.
how quickly women succumb to their "roles", and how easily people can. be shaped to consider a different and all too meaningless set of morals. The sexy of the sexy. Edna is strategically alienated in the novella so as to be the
Edna Pontellier is a delicate character, attempting to find happy ground between the devoted mother-woman, Adele, and the independent, cold woman, Reisz. I believe that through
The Awakening by Kate Chopin was considered very shocking when it was first published because of the "sexual awakening" of the main character, Edna Pontellier, and her unconventional behavior. Chopin moved to New Orleans after her marriage and lived there for twelve years until the death of her husband. She returned to St. Louis where she began writing. She used her knowledge of Louisiana and Creole culture to create wonderful descriptions of local color, and she incorporated French phrases used by the Creoles. The Awakening begins at Grade Isle, a vacation spot of wealthy Creoles from New Orleans. Edna is there with her two sons and her husband Leonce who comes and goes because of business. Edna is not Creole, but her husband is. She has never felt like she fits in with their lifestyle. Edna has always done what is expected of a woman, including marrying a man she did not love. He regards her as a possession rather than an individual. While on vacation, Edna falls in love with Robert Lebrun. She often goes to the beach with him. She begins to realize for the first time, at age 28, that she is an individual. Edna feels like one who awakens gradually from a dream to the reality of life. After this discovery, Edna changes. She disregards her husband's wishes and often ignores her children. She learns to swim which also makes her begin to feel more independent. Edna befriends two women, Mademoiselle Reisz, a pianist, and Madame Ratignolle, a motherly lady. Distressed when Robert leaves for Mexico, Edna often visits Mademoiseel Reisz to whom Robert often writes. Edna continues to disregard the customs of society. Her husband becomes
The society of Grand Isle places many expectations on its women to belong to men and be subordinate to their children. Edna Pontellier's society, therefore, abounds with "mother-women," who "idolized their children, worshipped their husbands, and esteemed it to a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals" (689). The characters of Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz represent what society views as the suitable and unsuitable women figures. Mademoiselle Ratignolle is the ideal Grand Isle woman, a home-loving mother and a good wife. Mademoiselle Reisz is the old, unmarried, childless, musician who devoted her life to music instead of a man. Edna switches between the two identities until she awakens to the fact that she needs to be an individual, but encounters resistance from society. This begins the process of her awakening.
During the late nineteenth century, the time of protagonist Edna Pontellier, a woman's place in society was confined to worshipping her children and submitting to her husband. Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, encompasses the frustrations and the triumphs in a woman's life as she attempts to cope with these strict cultural demands. Defying the stereotype of a "mother-woman," Edna battles the pressures of 1899 that command her to be a subdued and devoted housewife. Although Edna's ultimate suicide is a waste of her struggles against an oppressive society, The Awakening supports and encourages feminism as a way for women to obtain sexual freedom, financial independence, and individual identity.
...cision does not spawn from her relationship with her husband, she cannot yield the independence she has won and return to him. In order to fulfill her quest, she must continue on her search for independence. "The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring and murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in the abysses of solitude." She submerges herself in the ocean and in the solitude she has longed for throughout the novel. Only in her death is Leonce completely powerless. She has taken control of her destiny. Edna Pontellier as a literary character is shocking for her time. She achieves true empowerment, a status not often experienced by women in the Victorian Era. She rebels against her husband and the social norms that he represents. True to the time, such a conflict could not resolve in her favor without sorrow, but ultimately Edna triumphs.
In the novella The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the main character Edna Pontellier “becomes profoundly alienated from traditional roles required by family, country, church, or other social institutions and is unable to reconcile the desire for connection with others with the need for self-expression” (Bogard). The novella takes place in the South during the 1800’s when societal views and appearances meant everything. There were numerous rules and expectations that must be upheld by both men and women, and for independent, stubborn, and curious women such as Edna, this made life challenging. Edna expressed thoughts and goals far beyond her time that made her question her role in life and struggle to identify herself, which caused her to break societal conventions, damage her relationships, and ultimately lose everything.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin takes place during the Victorian Era, which lasted from 1837 to 1901. It was an era of strict social expectations for women and men. Edna, the main character of The Awakening, was part of the noble class, which was the highest social class of the era. Being part of the noble class included doing things such as, hosting and attending tea parties and balls, knitting, teaching the children, and obeying their husbands. Marriage for the women of this time period was not only a significant point in their lives, but also a necessity for survival because society prevented women from making a living on their own. This leads to an inescapable dependency upon a man and his income. Once a woman was married, she belonged to
The 19th and 20th centuries were a time period of change. The world saw many changes from gender roles to racial treatment. Many books written during these time periods reflect these changes. Some caused mass outrage while others helped to bring about change. In the book The Awakening by Kate Chopin, gender roles can be seen throughout the novel. Some of the characters follow society’s “rules” on what a gender is suppose to do while others challenge it. Feminist Lens can be used to help infer and interpret the gender roles that the characters follow or rebel against. Madame Ratignolle and Leonce Pontellier follow eaches respective gender, while Alcee Arobin follows and rebels the male gender expectations during the time period.
"Cathedral" is a short story written by American author Raymond Carver. It first appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in 1981, with Carver later, making it a title story in 1983 in the collection Cathedral(Andrews Henningfeld). This short story shows a husband that is a physically seeing man, that is emotionally blind. While a true blind man, with no sight, is able to see more of the world. They are brought together by the narrator's wife. This union allows for the husband to encounter an epiphany. In the course of the story he may be transformed. He has a new insight into who he is and his place in the world. The husband is able to find the possibility of happiness.