Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Research the life of the author, Kate Chopin
Research the life of the author, Kate Chopin
Research the life of the author, Kate Chopin
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Research the life of the author, Kate Chopin
The Awakening: Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin was an American author who lived during the nineteenth century, but because of The Awakening, a novel which was considered scandalous at the time, she has just recently been "…accepted into the canon of major American writers"(Trosky 105). Through Kate Chopin’s main character of The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, she is able to portray her feelings and desires that were otherwise suppressed by the ideals of American society at that time. Kate Chopin was born on February 8, 1851 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was brought up in a family that was a member of the prominent French- Creole community. During her childhood she possessed a love for reading. Her favorite types of literature were fairy tales, poetry and novels. She secluded herself for almost two years, away from her family and school in her attic, spending the majority of her time reading (Trosky 102). After her schooling, Chopin spent her days as a belle in St. Louis’ high society. She was greatly admired for both her beauty and wit. She continued her readings, becoming more interested in contemporary works. In 1869, she traveled to New Orleans where she met Oscar Chopin, whom she married. Though married, Chopin remained fairly independent, practicing habits such as smoking and walking alone in the city, two things unheard of from women at that time.(Trosky 102) In 1883, Oscar Chopin died of swamp fever. By 1884, Kate moved with her six children back to St. Louis. Around this time, Chopin began her writing career, writing in periodicals and publishing collections of short stories. She received good reviews and continued to write at an impressive rate. Her acclaim was short lived though, following the publication of The Awakening. "This work, which would eventually be recognized as her masterpiece and a seminal work in American feminist fiction, first proved her most notorious publication and her literary undoing."(Trosky 103) At the time, Chopin’s novel was considered scandalous and immoral, for it dealt largely with a women’s sexuality. At the time The Awakening was written, a novel would be judged on it’s moral message as much as its artistic merits. After the negative response of critics, Chopin published a few more works, but nothing was well received. She received little recognition, which when given, described her as an author of southern local color stories (Trosky 103). Local color writing was a movement which tried to capture the feeling of a particular region through descriptions of local speech and manners("The Age of Realism").
Grendel is the spawn of the greatest sin in the Anglo-Saxon era -- fratricide. Fratricide is the slaying of one's own brother. Cain was cursed by God, forced to have hardship in tilling the soil and was given a mark on his head. God's wrath would not allow Cain to abandon his sin, by death, and his curse carried on throughout the life of mankind. To read the complete story of Cain and his brother Abel, click here The sin of fratricide did not only mean blood-related family, but applied to the murder of kinsmen.
Kate Chopin's novella, The Awakening. In Kate Chopin's novella, The Awakening, the reader is introduced into. a society that is strictly male-dominated where women fill in the stereotypical role of watching the children, cooking, cleaning and keeping up with appearances. Writers often highlight the values of a certain society by introducing a character who is alienated from their culture by a trait such as gender, race, or creed.
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 the beginning of the novel, Beowulf takes interest in the plight of Hrothgar, King of Denmark, and wants to help him fight Grendel. Grendel is a large monster that has been harassing members in the mead-hall of the Heorot. Beowulf owes Hrothgar a favor, due to the fact that Hrothgar saved his father in years past. Hrothgar is honored to have Beowulf attempt to fight the swamp monster, and decides to hold a feast in his name. When Grendel shows up to the feast, Beowulf illustrates his bravery by fighting Grendel without any armor. When Beowulf wins the battle by ripping Grendel’s arm off, everyone in the mead-hall praises Beowulf for his acts of courage. In this scene, Beowulf proves that he is a hero by fighting off a monster that everyone else was afraid of. This made him look
One thing which all three men, Stalin, Trotsky, and Bukharin, all shared was a common error. After Vladimir Lenin’s death, they contributed to the wishes which Lenin had not wished for which were to build a personality cult around Lenin for his consistent Marxism. This process which the men did became sanctifying communist leadership which Lenin had not done and instead examined the reality of facts instead of what the powerful, overshadowing leader proclaimed. The Marx theory laid the foundation to the science of socialists.
The civil rights movement deeply affected American society and on a larger scale the world. Among its most important achievements were two major civil rights laws passed by Congress. These laws ensured constitutional rights for African Americans and other minorities. But racism was and still is by no means solved. Today’s society is still plagued with a fundamental discriminatory outlook on minorities, but the Civil Rights Movement created a step in the right direction for african americans among other minorities and inspired countless other
Elizabeth Fox Genovese of Emory University shared in a PBS interview that “She [Kate Chopin] was very important as one of the earliest examples of modernism in the United States or, if you wish, the cutting edge of modernism in American literature” (PBS – Interviews). Kate Chopin published At Fault, her first novel, in 1890 and The Awakening, her last novel, in 1898 (Guilds 924). During these years Chopin wrote numerous other works and most, like At Fault and The Awakening, centered around upper-middle class Creole or French women involved in womanly uncertainties; such as, extramarital affairs, acceptable behavior in society for females, duties as a wife, responsibilities as a mother, and religious beliefs. Chopin was an extraordinary woman, and no indication was made, during the investigation of this research paper, reflecting her having regrets regarding her position as a wife or mother. This document is an attempt at comparing the issues the main characters experienced and presenting Chopin’s unique skill in writing about the culture she observed during her years of living in Louisiana. The tragedy of this author’s existence is that during her life the literary world did not recognize such exceptional skill.
...s two roles in the time when this novel took place. It shows that if you weren’t somebody that had money you were a nobody. This symbol is used basically throughout the whole novel showing the difference between East and West Egg, New York City and The Valley of Ashes.
Eble, Kenneth. ?A Forgotten Novel: Kate Chopin?s The Awakening.? Western Humanities Review No. 3 (1956):pp. 261-69. Online. Galenet. 4 April 2001. Available FTP: www.galenet.com/servlet/LitRC
Authors like Chopin helped people realize what was going on during the 1800s. They were able to incorporate the thoughts of women, and what duties society expected them to fulfill during the era. Although these authors were criticized because of what they wrote, they were honest with their opinions and outlooks. According to the Los Angeles Sunday Times, Chopin “…wanted to preach the doctrine of the right of the individual to have what he wants, no matter whether or not it may be good for him” (4). The Los Angeles Sunday Times acknowledges that Chopin’s focus was to convey the rights of women no matter how consequential it might be. Kate Chopin’s upbringing, views on society, and the era she lived in are all incorporated in her novel The Awakening, which expresses the inequalities between male and female.
Beowulf is told by the King that Grendel's mother has "avenged the feud" (Abrams, 44). The king, once again, asks Beowulf to help him. Beowulf, upon seeing the king's condition, says:
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.
Beowulf is now involved with two battles because of the King’s lack of vigor. Similar to the slaying of Grendel, Hrothgar request to kill Grendel’s mother in return for a reward, “I will compensate you for settling the feud/as I did last time with lavish wealth” (1380-1381). This time, the battle seems to be more personal because Hrothgar’s “true mentor,” “Aeschere is dead” (1323-1325). He speaks of Grendel’s mother with antipathy and describes her as a “killer” who “slaughtered” a “wise man and a friend” (1329-1331). Ironically, he refers to her as “force for evil, driven to avenge her kinsman’s death” (1339-1340). Differing from the previous battle, he warns Beowulf because he knows the strength the mother possesses from her anger and need of vengeance, “Seek if you dare.” He also says, “If you come back,” which stresses the difference between this battle and the one with Grendel. Readers can conclude that Beowulf’s fight with Grendel’s mother is more personal and risky. Beowulf, in return, advises to the king, “do not grieve. It is always better/to avenge dear ones than indulge in mourning,” which contradicts Hrothgar’s depiction of Grendel’s mother as an “evil force” because she is “driven to avenge her kinsman’s death” (1384-1385). Hrothgar finds the killing of Grendel acceptable, but not the killings that Grendel’s mother commits. Both actions were motivated by
The Awakening is a novel by Kate Chopin first published in 1899. The main character, Edna Pontellier, faces many problems that were considered taboo at the turn of the twentieth century. Women were expected to have and raise children and that was their sole purpose. Men, on the other hand, were to work, and provide for their children. Edna’s problems, viewed today, are not atypical. She struggles with her happiness and wishes for her own identity besides that of wife and mother which she could not do because of the gender biases of the time. These are very modern problems in a Victorian time period. Kate Chopin, very successfully, captures the struggles of one 1900s era woman facing problems that are fairly commonplace today.
Still around the world there are shortages of food in areas where food is difficult to grow. Africa has climate that is difficult to grow enough food for the needs of the people. Transporting the food is difficult since healthy foods can spoil. Climate and rainfall can make growing good foods a problem. So location and population can contribute to hunger globally.