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The Awakening Outline

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Alyssa Sittineri The Awakening
I. Introduction
• The Awakening by Kate Chopin
• Novel
• First published in 1899 during the literary period of Realism which in the United States was a period where writers wrote about realistic or fictional events specifically after the American Civil War. It was also during the time where Women’s Rights beginning to emerge as more and more women’s rights activist groups were forming. A woman’s role in society and at home were changing as more years went along.
• Protagonist- Edna Pontellier is a married twenty-eight year old who is a graceful woman that during the course of the novel is constantly changing in discovery of who she is on the inside.
• Antagonist- Society. During this time period of the …show more content…

The main character Edna Pontellier is on vacation with her family. Her husband Leonce Pontellier is a man of tradition and wealth. During Edna’s stay at the Grand Isle, she becomes close with a man named Robert LeBrun. Edna and Robert become close and spend every minute they can with one another. One day Robert suddenly leaves to find opportunity in Mexico, leaving Edna. The Pontellier family moves back to their home in New Orleans. Edna becomes unsettled with her life and especially her married life. Mr.Pontellier goes on a business trip to New York City and the children go to Iberville leaving Edna at home alone. Edna faces real eye opening things for her as she goes on a mission of sorts in self-discovery. She moves out of the house to be financially independent from her husband to a little house down the block. During this time she frequently visits her friends from the Grand Isle. One day Robert returns to town and Edna is caught completely off guard. Soon after Roberts return they professes their love for one another and Robert expresses his hope to one day marry Edna. However, this makes Edna feel torn about the choices she will have to make. Later she returns to the Grand Isle, and swims far out to sea and it is assumed that she has drowned …show more content…

Not only do I believe that I gained lessons from it but it also made me view life a whole lot different than before. The novel has taught me to be more open and comfortable with myself when it comes to being who I am as a person and when it comes to addressing how I feel. When you try to push and push your honest feelings away from your thoughts it can come back and hurt you in the long run, like it did to Edna. If Edna was more open to how she felt and got help when she felt like she was drowning in her own mind, she could have had a different pathway that would not have ended on her death. Although Edna’s actions and the way she handled the situation when it wasn’t going well also taught me and hopefully to others that taking the opportunity to get help when you need it is literally the difference between having a life ahead of you and ending the life you had. In my opinion, this novel is one of the best that I have ever read for a class and I would have read it on my free time if I otherwise had the choice. I am glad I read this book because it was very intriguing when it came to developing the plot and Edna’s character. I also enjoyed how Kate Chopin made the novel develop and that looking back on the novel more things are evident once the reader has learned an important fact about the plot. For instance, at first it was not clear to me that Robert and Edna really had a thing for one

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