Desiree's Baby Thesis

Kate Chopin, a renowned 17th century writer, gained posthumous fame for her unorthodox literary techniques and her controversial themes. Her work often broached the topics of gender roles, women’s sexuality, and white privilege, yet, it remains relevant today. “Désirée’s Baby” contains many of the same features that characterize other works by Chopin, including the use of surprise endings. Through deep analysis of “Désirée’s Baby,” the reader better grasps Kate Chopin’s foreshadowing the story’s O. Henry ending, otherwise known as a surprise ending, of Armand’s racial heritage and Desiree’s death, through the use of symbolism, characterization, figurative language, and elements of surprise, and ultimately provides the reader with a relatively

Kate Chopin portrays realism in her book, “Desiree’s Baby.” This story takes place in the South during the time of slavery. Here, a wealthy man named Armand is homed to one of the South’s plantations. This man does the unexpected, by falling in love with a much lower class

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.

Thesis statement: During the 19th century social class was more important than values, as the story focuses on Armand being ashamed of his baby due to his color, which creates conflict for him.

"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

The story Desiree’s Baby is about a young woman who is adopted by a two wealthy french creoles that live in Louisiana. Monsieur and Madame Valmonde adopted Desiree when she was found as a young infant by a pillar near the gate of their estate. The story then follows Desiree as she matures into a young woman and is married to a man named Armand whom which she loves very much. Armand and desiree soon have a child and both are extremely happy about the child but Armand soon pulls away both his compassion and happiness when he see’s something wrong with the child. Armand realises that the child is has some black in it, which happens to be the skin color of slavery. Shamed Armand blames Desiree for his child being part black seeing that Desiree’s

The short story, "Desiree's Baby", written by Kate Chopin, set in Louisiana's 1892 slave era, was influenced by the irony of love and prejudices. In the story, Chopin depicts how racial bias overthrows the love a man had for his wife and child. An analysis of the story proves the irony by illustrating judgment on appearances, through racism, and self-destruction.

The personality of the protagonist triggers the reader's sympathy for her; making her husband the “villain” of the story. Her unconditional love for Armand was greater than the love of life and of her precious child, the author describes her devotion by writing, “For she loved him desperately. When he frowned she trembled, but loved him. When he smiled, she asked no greater blessing of God”. Desiree’s affection towards her spouse may have well been her downfall. She made decisions out of sheer emotions rather than thinking before she acted, which ultimately costed her life as well as her baby’s. Desiree chose to fly rather than fighting for the sake of her

“Desiree’s Baby” written by Kate Chopin, is a mind boggling story that gives the reader a true reflection of how cruel American history was to everyone especially when slavery existed. This story suggests that if we surrender ourselves to anything except love, it will open us up to ignorant behaviors, hatred, and lies; thus eventually destroying ourselves and becoming a lost soul not knowing and being aware of one’s whereabouts. Desiree’s Baby was about a young man that goes by the name of Armand Aubigny who fell in love and married a young girl by the name of Desiree. Unfortunately Armand’s bias behavior and cold hearted feelings began to change during their marriage after the birth of their child. About three months after the baby was born, Armand and many of the neighbors throughout L’Abri

The story, “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin offers insight on racial prejudice as well as class distinction in Southern America during the late 1800s. Desiree, a new mother is accused of having slave blood by her husband, who treated slaves poorly. The irony of the situation is that Desiree was not the one who had an ancestry of slaves, but it was her husband, Armand. This story offers both an interesting plot as well as factual elements that can be related to the history at the time, making it the perfect story to teach in American Literature.

It turns out the baby is of mixed blood and because of this, he shuns his wife and the child he was so proud of only days before. “He absented himself from home and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child, without excuse.”(317). Armand was “the proudest father in the parish…it is a boy to bear his name.”(317). Additionally, he accuses Désirée of not being white (a crime against his family’s “purity”) which she adamantly denies. “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,” “Look at my hand whiter than yours, Armand,”(318). She writes to her adopted mother and tells her of what is happening. Her mother tells her to return home with the child where they will both be loved, but Désirée is so shocked and disheartened she sets off towards a local bayou with the child never to be seen again. Armand has made the decision to lose his family in order to save his name and it’s too late to bring Désirée back. The irony is that the letter read by Armand from his mother reveals to him that it is he who is of mixed blood and not Désirée.

Kate Chopin’s “Désirée 's Baby” was set in the days before the abolition of slavery, at a time when the ownership of another person was not only acceptable, but also economically impactful in the south. It was normal to see big plantations owned by whites and tendered by black slaves. We see all of this and more in “Désirée’s Baby”. One of the characters, Monsieur Valmonde finds an abandoned baby one day while out riding. His wife, Madam Valmonde, does not have a child of her own so she takes the baby in and names her Désirée. Madam Valmonde and her husband, Monsieur Valmonde raises the child, until she is old enough to become married. Her attractiveness and especially white skin attract Monsieur Armand Aubigny, a plantation owner, and they immediately become married and have a child. Désirée and Armand both originally associate themselves with the white class, but once the plot unveils their black heritage they are faced with uncertainty, and ultimately their lives become meaningless and not worth living. Throughout the story, Kate Chopin uses symbolism to convey her themes of racial biasness and social ladder in a society. The characters and the setting in this short story help provide the readers with more understanding of how racially charged our society was at that time.

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.

Kate Chopin’s Desiree’s Baby is a short story about a girl named Desiree who is abandoned, then adopted into a wealthy family. Young Desiree soon grows up and falls in love with a slave owner, Armand,with whom she conceives a son with only to discover that her child's appearance consists of African descent characteristics. Chopin narrates the issues of oppression and loss of identity during a historical period of time through Desiree’s character. Derek Foster and Kris LeJeune's critique, focusing on the feminist standpoint of Desiree’s Baby, attempts to demonstrates how Desiree’s act to flee into the bayou is her first accomplishment of independence.

“Desiree's Baby”short story by Kate Chopin. Desiree's Baby is taken place in Louisiana, Desiree ,a baby that was left behind by a “party of texans.” , was taken in by the Valmonde’s a family from Louisiana. Desiree later grew up to be of legal age, she later met Armand Aubigny. They fell in love with each other and they got married. They later had a son which turned out to look like he came from African American descent. Although, Desiree doesn't see anything wrong with her son, Armand does. He became angry because the baby wasn't white. He later sent Desiree and the baby out of his house because he felt that his family had been disrespected. Armand later finds out that he is from African American