Theme Of Death In The Awakening

In the context of HIST 2010, some of the key themes that Americans believe are true about themselves are the American passion for freedom which is fundamental from the New England separatists to the Civil Rights Movement. The pursuit of education means new freedom requires more education. Another theme is unquestioned fanatic in the value of government. American are willing to expire me to new things.

The voice of the sea pulls her back with reminiscence of her childhood. Edna recalls an incident of running through "a meadow that seemed as big as the ocean" (Chopin 60) This connection of the seemingly endless field and the wide expanse of the ocean leads to a realization for Edna. Her life is no longer as plain and simple as it had been for many years. Suddenly, she feels like a little girl running through an unending field, "unthinking and unguided" (Chopin 61). She does not know what she wants from life anymore. She has a husband and children, but the thought of them lacks the feelings of pleasure and love that she should have for them. Instead, they are holding her back, preventing her from running across that wide expanse of grass which symbolizes freedom. She realizes this when she returns home, despondent over what seems to be a loss of her new-found freedom and despondent over the realization that Robert will never gie up society's traditions to be with her, a married woman.

Bradstreet´s, “Before the Birth of One of Her Children” is a letter written to her husband expressing true concern of her probability to pass away during labor. Birth rate during the seventeenth century in England ranged from five to eight children per women. The limitations in health care during that period increased the probability of maternal death to one per eight births. Uncertain whether she would withstand her upcoming labor, Bradstreet is motivated to show her concerns and at the same time deliver a farewell message to her husband. As a result, the author achieves to surprise the lector by her ability to convey a direct message in this melancholic memorandum. Bradstreet expresses her acceptance of death as she points out three personal principles: believe that all things in life will end, ask that virtues remain while forgiving flaws, and embrace the idea that loved ones will eventually overcome a painful loss and proceed with their lives.

The novel The Awakening is an empowering masterpiece that shows a woman stepping out of the social norm to find her bliss. Edna Pontellier is expected to be the perfect wife and perfect mother. The needs of her husband and children are supposed to triumph over her own. She is well ahead of her time because she wants independence and to live her life to the fullest. In Chopin’s story, not only is there a daring young woman who is on the hunt to find her independence, but there is also a housewife, whose life belongs to her family.

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, is the story of a woman who is seeking freedom. Edna Pontellier feels confined in her role as mother and wife and finds freedom in her romantic interest, Robert Lebrun. Although she views Robert as her liberator, he is the ultimate cause of her demise. Edna sees Robert as an image of freedom, which brings her to rebel against her role in society. This pursuit of freedom, however, causes her death. Chopin uses many images to clarify the relationship between Robert and Edna and to show that Robert is the cause of both her freedom and her destruction.

The theme death has always played a crucial role in literature. Death surrounds us and our everyday life, something that we must adapt and accept. Whether its on television or newpaper, you'll probobly hear about the death of an individual or even a group. Most people have their own ideas and attitude towards it, but many consider this to be a tragic event due to many reasons. For those who suffered greatly from despair, living their life miserably and hopelessly, it could actually be a relief to them. Death effects not only you, but also those around you, while some people may stay unaffected depending on how they perceive it.

The sea was her freedom, her escape from the Edna who submitted for the role of an endearing wife as she finds purchase on her true identity. At the end of the story, Edna once again finds herself next to the sea in search of strength and peace. She felt “like some new-born creature, opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known” (Chopin 189). The sea allows her to be free, to see the world in the way it was supposed to appear rather than the way society wants it to be seen. She wanted to love who she wanted to love, do as she wanted to do, paint when she wanted to paint, live a life of independence and peaceful freedom where the real her was expressed. Chopin in no way withholds her literary talent as she incorporates such a powerful symbol into her story, expressing Edna’s journey in finding herself and what she stood for in a powerful and successful manner. In the end, Chopin had Edna end her life in the place where it truly began, the sea, to express the penultimate act in discovering herself.. The powerful symbol of freedom and escape represented Edna finding peace and rest in eternal freedom.

defying race, sex, and class, inspired women across the world to pursue their own sexuality and

In Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, she writes about a woman’s desire to find and live fully within her true self during the 1890s in Louisiana. The woman, Edna Pontellier, is trying to find herself in the masculine society of Louisiana, leading her to cause friction with friends, family and the Creole society. Edna begins to feel a change; she begins to feel like a whole person with wants, interests and desires. She learns that she is not comfortable with being a wife and mother. The imagery of the parrot in the cage in Chopin’s novel is being compared to Edna because it represents Edna’s unspoken feelings and imprisonment. The sense of unspoken feelings and imprisonment of Edna causes her to put her own needs before her family. As Edna finds herself trying to satisfy the Creole society, she begins to feel isolated and confused. Through Edna’s trace of freedom, she begins to undergo a transformation of self, slowly straying away from society, and taking control over her own actions and beliefs. Through obstacles to Edna’s freedom, she learns that she does have control of her own body. The symbolism of the birds and the sea is used to symbolize Edna’s struggle for independence.

In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening a wife and a mother of two, Edna Pontellier, discovers her desires as a woman to live life to the fullest extent and to find her true self. Eventually, her discovery leads to friction between friends, family, and the dominant values of society. Through Chopin's use of Author’s craft and literary elements, the readers have a clear comprehension as to what the author is conveying.

““She turned her face seaward to gather in an impression of space and solitude, which the vast expanse of water, meeting and melting with the moonlit sky, conveyed to her excited fancy. As she swam she seemed to be reaching out for the unlimited in which to lose herself,” (28 Chopin). The “excited fancy” would be the introspection she is experiencing once again. The sea was used as a metaphor for the rush the awakening provided; a rush that could not be stopped. This is also foreshadowing the ending where Edna, rather than swimming back to the shore from expectation, obligation, or some hope that there was a life for her on the shore, continues on giving herself completely to the rapid

The ocean is a symbol of both freedom and danger, and freedom brings as sense of danger in Edna’s time for women.

The Awakening was a very exciting and motivating story. It contains some of the key motivational themes that launched the women’s movement. It was incredible to see how women were not only oppressed, but how they had become so accustomed to it, that they were nearly oblivious to the oppression. The one woman, Edna Pontellier, who dared to have her own feelings was looked upon as being mentally ill. The pressure was so great, that in the end, the only way that she felt she could be truly free was to take her own life.  In this paper I am going to concentrate on the characters central in Edna’s life and her relationships with them.

    The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, is full of ideas and understanding about human nature. In Chopin's time, writing a story with such great attention to sensual details in both men and women caused skepticism among readers and critics. However, many critics have different views with deeper thought given to The Awakening. Symbolism, the interpretation of Edna's suicide, and awakenings play important roles in the analysis of all critics.

Although a scene of a funeral home might come to mind when a reader first hears a short story aptly named “The Dead,” the tale actually takes place in the festive setting of a winter dance at the home of the two aunts of the main character, Gabriel Conroy. James Joyce’s short story “The Dead” has a literal title, because its main concept is death – both physical death and spiritual death.