Once her identity is found out, she loses her place in the community. Lastly is a woman who is accepted and liked socially, but once her Black heritage is recognized, she is forced into slavery and is sexually dominated by her slave master. Desiree is a racial stereotype in the story because her ancestry is unknown. Peel states that “Desiree casts doubt on the meaning of race, sex and class” (Peel 223). Solely based on her looks, she is assumed white and adopted by a white family.
“Desiree’s Baby”, written by Kate Chopin, takes place in the late 1800s, during a time of class and racial conflict. The story highlights just where blacks stood in society by sharing the treatment that blacks got as slaves, as well as the pride that the white citizens have over themselves. Blacks were typically seen in a much lower tier then their white counter parts, and to have them both on the same level is unfathomable. “Desiree’s Baby” uses pride to show that people tend to care more about themselves and aren’t who they say they are. Desiree was a child who was adopted into the Valmonde family after she was found in passing.
Armand’s dominance over Desiree and her overall sense of well-being is certainly a reflection of the issue of sexist prejudice that Chopin chose to write about throughout her literary career. Chopin also depicts the racial prejudice in the South by revealing how blacks on the plantation are treated and by illustrating how severe the consequences were of Desiree and Armand’s baby being African American was. His dark personality coupled with the societal norm of male superiority enabled this toxic relationship structure to occur and helped shape the events following the discovery of the child being black. Armand’s role of master over the plantation workers was based on skin color and his birthright to the plantation which was reflective of Southern culture during the time period (Toth). It is abundantly clear that Desiree’s Baby serves as a microcosm of how societal hierarchy's and traditions that are rooted in elitist prejudice have a poisoning effect on those who are ... ... middle of paper ... ...ol every whim of his wife’s life and essentially her humanity.
As their baby gets a bit older, it becomes obvious that he is not entirely white, meaning one of his predecessors was black. Armand, believing that it is Désirée who carries the black in her blood, and that he has been tricked by God, sends mother and child away. He finds out too late that the black genes came from his own mother. “Désirée's Baby” is sharply pointed, like an arrow aimed straight at the heart of racial hatred and, more importantly, people's tendency to make harsh judgments out of their own ignorance or animosity. In her story, Chopin makes use of literary devices such as simile, foreshadowing, and irony, while using the viewpoint of an omniscient th... ... middle of paper ... ...vel.
It is obvious that the child is biracial, and immediately, Desiree is blamed for the color of the child’s skin because of her uncertain background. The truth, however, is that it is Armand who has lived his entire life as a biracial person without even knowing his true heritage! This problem frames the rest of the events in the story, and the ultimate demise of both of these characters. Desiree’s Baby takes place in the Antebellum Period (1789-1849) where slavery was starting to become less common. Never the less slavery was still prominent in the southern states such as Louisiana, which is where the story takes place.
In the story of “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, there are many literary themes that can be analyzed such as love, racism, gender inequality, and miscegenation. What this analysis will focus on is primarily on the central male character, Armand Aubigny, and on his views towards racism. More specifically, what this essay will aim to prove is that Armand Aubigny looked down upon the African race to the point where he hated them. One of the biggest driving points to aid this idea is how his family name shaped his behavior and actions according to the societal normalities of his time period. Another important aspect that will be considered is his very relationship towards his slaves in how he treated them cruelly even to the point where he is described as “having the spirit of Satan” (Chopin 3).
Another comparison of the chi... ... middle of paper ... ...haracter, Zandrine, helps add on to the story and the progression of Armand’s developing character. Leading towards the end of the story, Armand builds a bonfire on the pyre. The bonfire symbolized Armand getting rid of all his memories of his wife and child. Throughout this paper I have shared Chopin’s use of symbolic elements by discussing symbols of racism, social class distinction, and the symbolic elements involving the difference between the gender roles. At the end of the story Armand reads a letter from his mom to his father.
This story is more on the racist side other than being enslaved in marriages. Even though is more on the racist side you can connect it with Kate Chopin Common theme. The story is mainly about a married white couple who haves a black child. Again at this time period there is still a lot of slavery going on, so the husband blames the wife, Desiree, for being black since she was originally adopted. After the husband finds out that there’s a possibility that his wife have black heritage in her.
Racism dates back thousands and thousands of years back to the caveman times. In the short story “Desiree’s Baby”, Kate Chopin shows how discrimination by skin color can affect people. Desiree was abandoned and raised by Madame Valmonde. Armand, the father of the baby, was a member of the most notable families in Louisiana. He falls in love with Desiree and marries her.
Themes of hope, success, and wealth overpower The Great Gatsby, leaving the reader with a new way to look at the roaring twenties, showing that not everything was good in this era. F. Scott Fitzgerald creates the characters in this book to live and recreate past memories and relationships. This was evident with Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship, Tom and Daisy’s struggling marriage, and Gatsby expecting so much of Daisy and wanting her to be the person she once was. The theme of this novel is to acknowledge the past, but do not recreate and live in the past because then you will not be living in the present, taking advantage of new opportunities. Gatsby has many issues of repeating his past instead of living in the present.