In "The Homeland, Aztland," Gloria Anzaldua writes, "Borders are set up to define the places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish us from them." For centuries, there has been segregation between ‘us’ and ‘them’, in which the two groups vary in culture or race. The dominant group, ‘us’ sees ‘them’ as a weak link and that they are not worthy of what ‘we’ have and deserve. In “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin and “Wisdom of the New” by Sui Sin Far, there is an apparent border between two sets of races. In both pieces, the authors are telling the story to get the point across that these borders, whether figurative or unofficial, are meaningless, and result in tragedy.
In Chopin’s piece, ‘us’ is Desiree, her husband Armand and their child. In their time, ‘them’ was the African American race. They were seen as unimportant, and unworthy. The fight between a figurative border begins when their baby begins to change. His skin shows black, insinuating that one of his parents carries the inferior race. Armand goes on to confirm, “It means, that the child is not white; it means that you are not white” (Chopin, 3). He says this to Desiree, and is immediately jumping to the conclusion that she must be the one with the black background. He is a man, and he can do no wrong. There is no possible way that he is the one who gave that child the dreaded curse of black skin. He now has built this boundary between himself, Desiree and the child. Armand is not one of ‘them’, he is white,
Readers unfamiliar with Louisiana in the nineteenth century can gleam rationalistic information from Chopin’s story including racial relations and the local dialect including the inclusion of French phrases. The different races and ethnic background that existed in southern Louisiana, and how the one-drop rule was used, and unsuspecting people’s lives were altered due to the new knowledge of having black heritage. The gender and roles they had also lacked the equality of today and thankfully laid a foundation for equal right for all minorities going into the future. The difference that being a woman had versus a man in the nineteenth century southern Louisiana was very unbalanced as was being a black man versus a white man, and a white woman versus a black woman. Chopin illustrated a wonderful glance into a time period and people that some one probably never would have thought of and, although the story had some rough parts the outlook was
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.
There is no doubt that communities and cultures have been exposed to one another over the course of time. This interaction is known as the “middle ground” where different groups come in contact for various reasons either accidentally or purposely. This interaction and mixture of communities has the potential of creating a good or bad relationship between the two different groups, depending on the circumstances and their intentions. The reality is that there is fear towards many different communities which is mostly due to the lack of knowledge and lack of comprehension there is for these groups. Communities and cultures cross borders because they want to create a just society; we continue to live in a world full of unjust treatment, the drive to help others and fight for a fair society explains why communities and cultures cross borders. Crossing over of these communities leads to understanding and
In the two stories “Desiree’s Baby” and “Lamb Of The Slaughter” the author portrays a selfsame story that shows a wife and a husband who adored one another, but doesn't stay like that transiently. Both story have complications and explication. The theme of the story is love is something you don’t take for granted it takes a strong emotional couple to keep stable
The poem ‘Migrants by ‘Bruce Dawe ’should be included for the core text for journeying as it portrays journeying through the perceptions and experiences of a migrant group. This poem depicts feelings of ignorance and disrespectfulness encountered by the migrant group as they are treated with a lack of concern by people living in Australia.
Chopin show’s that Armand is unable to welcome the knowledge that his mother “belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery,” (250). Not only is Armand unable to accept this fact but he is not will to take responsibility for his actions resulting in his knowledge of his heritage. Desiree seemed to be the perfect solution for Armand’s secret since her background is a mystery and she has such
Racism has devastated and destroyed people, families, communities, and friendships. “Passing” and “Desiree’s Baby”, the literary works of Nella Larsen and Kate Chopin, respectively, shed light on the impact of racism through characters whose experiences often reflect those of the authors. Both stories explore various forms of white racial dominance including feminist issues involving race. Both main characters, despite coming from significantly different backgrounds, are negatively impacted by both sexism and racism. In “Desiree’s Baby”, Desiree, an orphan raised by Monsieur and Madame Valmonde in their Louisiana plantation as if she were their own daughter, “grew to be beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere”(Chopin 3).
Chopin Shows that back then race was everything. It meant so much that people would consider you subhuman or worthless if u had any in your blood line, it also ruined relationships and caused the feeling of disgrace. Armand took this serious he was the typical stereotype. Armand was the master of the L'Abri plantation; he was a strict master who treated the slaves cruel. So much that, the narrator says, “The negroes had forgotten how to be gay.” So you can imagine the thought of him finding out his child was of color. When he found out all hell broke loose. He wanted no parts of Desiree or the baby after finding out. He even said it was Desiree’s fault because she has some Negro blood in her. Desiree’s reaction was priceless instead of fighting for her baby and herself; she just felt disgrace and couldn’t believe she would have some Negro blood in her. She even says it’s a lie, gives her whole
Without racial comparisons, the story would only be a tragedy, reading as a criticism of hasty racial categorization because of the suffering it brings, but with them it is a depiction of a flawed system that has rewarded a black man. Chopin first contrasts Armand’s tendency to take on “the very spirit of Satan” in dealing with slaves with the more relaxed relationship they had with his father (441). Looking upon L’Abri, Madame Valmonde is troubled to realize that under Young Aubigny’s rule “his negroes had forgotten how to be gay, as they had been during the old master’s easy-going and indulgent lifetime” (440). Additionally, Madame Valmonde’s sadness upon seeing the estate may indicate that Monsieur Valmonde, a white man like Armand’s father, lacks young Aubigny’s cruelty. Armand’s lack of compassion is seen again upon realizing his son’s black heritage. Feeling that “Almighty God had dealt cruelly and unjustly with him” by giving him a quadroon child, Armand asks Desiree and the child to leave L’Abri (442). In contrast, Monsieur Valmonde’s treatment of Desiree as “the idol of Valmonde” depicts his compassion toward a child who may potentially be black (440). Chopin’s racist undertones are realized as the dark-skinned Armand, characterized by volatility and callousness, is meant to be looked upon much less favorably than the story’s compassionate white slave owners.
Alberto Rios claims that the border is unnatural, complex, and seen as a boundary. He discusses empathetic relationships in a global society when he uses many literary devices to claim that the border is an unnatural thing in a natural world, it has become so complex that it is unrecognizable, and that many people view it as a boundary when it should be viewed as what joins us together. The border is unnatural because it is something manmade placed in the natural world as if the people believed that it was supposed to be natural as well. What started as a simple rancher’s fence to fix a simple problem, quickly escalated to be something as complex as a third grader trying to understand calculus. The people view the border as a boundary meant to divide when in reality, it is what joins us together as a global society.
In the text, Ana Maria is judged by her appearance as well as how she behaves in school. She is treated differently from others since her classmates figure out where is she from. The text articulates, “And they don’t know how they know/ But they know how to treat difference when they smell it, so they say things like, ‘YO! Go back to your country.” This excerpt from the poem denotes that despite the fact that she is within the same society of everyone else in her school, the presence of the Mexican heritage allows others for Ana Maria to bask in despair. Furthermore, the text evidence depicts that Ana Maria is struggling in order to prosper in her community as she is ostracized from society. To sum up, “Borders” represents a poem which develops the topic of inequality through a
The border between the United States of America and Mexico always had been always a theme for a lot of discussions. And, in the book “Sunshine/Noir II” Juanita Lopez and Michael Cheno described, through texts, their point of view about the topic. Both authors represent that the control of the border has become way more restrict and militarized. In that sense, Michael Wickert presents his idea in a poem form, text named “The border Is a Fight”, that describes the dramas of a Mexican family that has to cross the border every day in a hope to get a better future. Whereas, Juanita Lopez demonstrates it through an essay that uses personal narratives of the author’s relatives to illustrate her point of view. Therefore, the both authors exploit their point of views using different text forms, and figurative images, like metaphors and personification, for delivering their ideas in the way they do.
One day while giving a sermon, I stated there is nothing wrong with interracial marriage biblically; at this point several members stood up and started arguing with me. While I pleaded my case biblically, they got more agitated and would not listen. Sadly, this church was filled with many interracial families. Shortly after this event I resigned and lost many friends, but it is not a decision I regret. Chopin’s story reminded me of how hard it was to stand against the cultural tide that day and how frivolous it is to hurt others over the melanin levels in a person’s
The sense that Armand is so proud of himself is like a hint of how the end will turn out because when we realize that the child is black the reader automatically knows that he is going to blame his wife. Never would he consider himself black. The thought of Armand being black never crosses the reader’s mind either. Kate Chopin also deceived the reader into thinking that Désirée is in fault by
In Kate Chopin’s short story, “Desiree’s Baby”, she demonstrates how racism played a major part in people’s lives in the 1800’s. Kate Chopin is extremely successful in getting her readers to feel disturbed by the events in the story. Through words and images, the reader feels touched by the story, either by relating to it at some points or when confronted with things we frequently decide to ignore in the world: the evil some human beings are capable of possessing.