Analysis Of Kate Chopin 's ' Desiree 's Baby '

In “Desiree Baby”, author, Chopin emphasizes racism by selecting certain words to symbolize the association between light and darkness, and the slaves on the plantation.

This essay will focus on the short story by Kate Chopin and its use of symbols, setting and characters. Desiree’s baby was perhaps one of the best stories I’ve ever read. Analyzing it was not easy at all. Its use of symbols was very hard to comprehend. At first, it doesn’t make sense. But as you think critically, all the symbols, and setting and the characters in this literature plunge together in one amazing story.

These two were soon wed and had started to grow as a family. Once Desiree had birthed a son for Armand he cherished her even more as she had given him a legacy. As this child began to grow into his toddler years Armand regretted his decision to marry Desiree – ultimately leading to her and her child’s assumed death.

"Desiree's Baby" is Kate Chopin's most well-known short story and most anthologized piece of work. The story takes place in southern Louisiana and her writing reflects her Creole-French descent. Chopin begins the story with a descriptive quote, "when she reached L'Abri she shuddered at the first sight of it, as she always did. It was a sad looking place...Big solemn oaks grew close to it and their thick leaved, far-reaching branches shadowed it like a pall" (185). The preceding quote gives the reader an eerie feeling and foreshadows an unpleasant ending to the story. Throughout "Desiree's Baby," Kate Chopin uses symbolism to convey her themes of racial prejudice, unequal gender roles, and

Sometimes the hardest thing for an individual to do is taking a stance against the culture they live in, and sometimes the people who take the stance are underappreciated. Sadly, this is story of a talented writer named Kate Chopin; who took a stance against her environment with her writing, most notably in her short story, “Desiree’s Baby”. Chopin’s short story “Desiree’s Baby” uses the themes of naturalism, realism, and the usage of irony to expose the hypocrisy of racism.

The short story Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin provides a sobering depiction of how the dark forces of prejudice and social hierarchy tore apart a plantation owning family in the state of Louisiana. Desiree’s character is that of a lady who carries the burden of being submissive to a domineering husband, a role she keeps until the very end of the narrative. Desiree is portrayed as an agent of light so to speak throughout the plotline but is seriously blinded by her doglike allegiance to her husband Armand, who is in essence her master and her livelihood. The struggle for female independence is a signature theme in a number of Chopin’s works and was a struggle for women in the South during this

Désirée's Baby is story about two people who's baby separate racial appearance come into question their own background and ultimately their decisions as it pertains to society during that time. Armond at first site loved Désirée for her beauty despite being told her background. They were happily married until Désirée had her baby, after seeing the baby he began to see Désirée as ugly. According to society the color black was deemed as ugly and anyone who was black should be considered a slave. Sense he married and had kids with a woman whom he perceived to be black, he abandoned her out of fear of losing his families name, a name in which denotes his class in society. Armand's attitude toward Désirée demonstrates fear of society's racial and

Desiree is dependent upon Armand like a slave to a master.  Her unconditional love for Armand despite her subordinate position in the relationship illustrates how truly dependent she is upon him.

Armand's pride comes out to rear its ugly head. He blames Desiree, saying that she is not white and that he wants her to leave. Because Desiree's background is unknown, others will judge and point fingers. But not her husband- this should be a time for him to stand up for his family and defend them against all opposition. The sad truth is that pride is not rational; it is selfish. Armand went from passionately loving his wife to stabbing her soul with the cruel request that she leave him. "He no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name."(p.33) Pride closed Armand's eyes and heart to Desiree's pain. Armand thought only of what it would do to his family name when it became known that he had a black child. He was so fooled by pride that Armand thought, "Almighty God had dealt cruelly and unjustly with him."(p.33) Armand had a beautiful wife and healthy baby; was this injustice?

“Désirée’s Baby” is a story of love, prejudice and rejection, a story with noble beginnings that

Racism and bigotry spread extensively throughout the south and men magnified it due to their stronghold on plantations or farms. By capturing and spotlighting bigotry and racism around the world, many authors hope to bring awareness to the intolerance that is being brought upon by individuals. One author that capitalizes on the topic of racism is none other than Kate Chopin. During the post-civil war phase, hatred still advanced throughout the south. To bring prominence to this issue, Kate Chopin wrote “Desiree’s Baby” and uses the character Armand, who loses his wife and child due to his intolerance for people of color, to illuminate the topic of bigotry.

Kate Chopin is a renowned author of the twentieth century. She is famous for her short stories that were written in the late 1800’s. Most of her works were published in magazines at the time but were a posthumous success because of societal dissent. The beliefs and values exhibited in her works of literature are far ahead of their time by representing women’s desire for independence from being a homemaker. One of her most popular short stories, “Desiree’s Baby,” shows how women had no choice over their own fate and were bound by the will of their husbands during Chopin’s lifetime. It was not well received by the public until years after Chopin’s death because the story draws sympathetic feelings towards the situation in which the main character Desiree finds herself in. In “Desiree’s Baby,” Chopin uses symbolism and irony to present the message of how the innocent suffer unjustly as a result of judgmental attitudes; she does this through the main characters of Armand and Desiree.

The story by Kate Chopin called Desiree’s Baby (1894) focuses on the slavery days of America. It takes place during Antebellum in Creole Louisiana. Kate Chopin’s purpose in this story is to show how too much emphasis on skin and racial heritage could destroy a loving family. Lying is never an okay thing to do, especially during the days when race could make or break you. Armand’s parents did wrong by lying to Armand, making him believe he was white. This caused the self-destruction of his family, owning with harsh treatment of slaves and lived a life as someone he never was to begin with.

This essay will focus on the short story by Kate Chopin and its use of symbols, setting and characters. Desiree’s baby was perhaps one of the best stories I’ve ever read. Analyzing it was not easy at all. Its use of symbols was very hard to comprehend. At first, it doesn’t make sense. But as you think critically, all the symbols, and setting and the characters in this literature plunge together in one amazing story.

Desiree is betrayed by Armand because he has too much pride. I believe pride is what keeps Armand from loving Desiree the way she wants to be loved. The betrayal endured from her husband causes her to be depressed and feel hopeless. Desiree told her mother, “I cannot be so unhappy, and live” (541). She has a happy life and a family she adores and cannot live with anything less. I disagree with the hopelessness portrayed by Desiree but understand the depth of her pain. Desiree’s husband is a prideful man who chooses name over love and family.