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
Abstract 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
Many parts of the film were confusing unless you took the time to pause and think about the concepts of certain scenes, as many were needed to re-watch it to fully understand. The movie being French had nothing to do with my confusion—in fact, I think that the movie being French is what allowed me to give it a half more than my original rate. Although I found the message of the film to be a bit foggy, I have to admit that it has a very magnificent message when you follow up with it. Losing yourself is a very difficult situation to deal with, especially if at the moment you allow your heart to believe that the people you’re standing by now are the people that can satisfy your social happiness. Marieme learning from her faults is an excellent example of how we should keep our fighting spirits up and never give up on anything or anyone we love. The harsh truth is; sometimes that person we forget to cut some slack, and or to love through all their faults is ourselves. Once we learn to overcome that, the wonders of the world will be inevitable to occur
Throughout the movie Les Miserables directed by Bille August, Paris is shown as an unforgiving society in the late 1700's and early 1800’s. Once a person has done something wrong, they will never be trustworthy citizens, or even a part of society. The cruel nature of society is on display by the prejudice shown by Javert to both Fantine and Jean
Desiree?s words show that her life depends on the race, notions, and social class of her husband and consequently, she feels obligated to obey his every desire. Desiree is presented as vulnerable to whatever Armand wants and tells her to do when she says, ?Do you want me to go?? (177). Desiree displays through her actions that in many ways, her happiness only comes from pleasing her husband. Therefore, Desiree must decide whether to live completely separate from Armand, or to live with him in constant fear and unpleasantness. Desiree achieves personal freedom and independence from Armand when ?she disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thing along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou; she did not come back again? (177). It is not even an option and is unheard of that Armand, being a male holding a respectable background, could possibly be black. Consequently, Desiree feels compelled to leave because she wants to please him. When Desiree decides to kill herself and her child, she shows that she is sensitive and vulnerable to her husband?s thoughts and actions.
The novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini introduces multiple cases in which society defines people as well as the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. In Les Miserables, Cosette is introduced as the daughter of Fantine. She was given to the Thenardiers, a family who owned an Inn and treated her like a slave. Since a young age she was made to take the role of a grown women. She was saved by Jean ValJean, a formal criminal who changed his life.
Jean Valjean sacrificed much as he sought redemption. One of the first sacrifices that Jean Valjean makes is that of his identity, during the Champmathieu affair. As Monsieur Madeleine, Jean Valjean was a trusted official in a high position. He struggled with himself when he heard that the ‘real’ Jean Valjean had been caught: should he stay in M—sur m—where he was comfortable and popular, or do the right thing, remove a man from an undeserved galley life, and become a convict once more. When Madeleine revealed himself as Jean Valjean, he forever gave up that comfortable position of authority. He became a convict again – a wanted convict. He would now live out the rest of his life hiding, of not running, from the police. Jean sacrificed his safety. Saving Marius’ life by carrying him through the sewers also proved to be a sacrifice. Jean’s entire existence revolved around Cosette. She was what kept him on the track the bishop set him on. He adored her. He was devastated to learn that she was in love with Marius, yet he saved
India Lewis Greenwell AP English 30 October 2013 Les Miserables: The Significance of Sacrifice Sacrifice is a prominent part of human living. In order to get what is needed or wanted, sacrifice is necessary, whether it is small or great. In the novel, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, he shows that in society, those with less must often sacrifice more. Hugo conveys sacrifice through the characters Fantine and Jean Valjean, by showing how they sacrifice in order to gain and also how their poverty makes their sacrifice even greater.
Rich ones acted like evil people, while the poor were not very much, like people at all; for the poor were depressed. Charles shows the bad stuff happening to peasants, to show how much of a necessity the French revolution was.
The effects of love are different for each individual. Professor John Cacioppo discovered, “... love deprivation, unrequited love and loneliness have negative consequences on work performance and mental health...40 percent of people who are rejected in love experience depression” (A). Those who have happy childhood experiences filled with love, are
Unfortunately, Armand’s over value of race rubs off onto Desiree. Not knowing her true race, Desiree cannot live with the dissatisfaction of herself, her husband’s disgrace, nor that fact that he does not love her or the baby anymore. She cannot awake from the nightmare that her life has turned into. She takes the baby and wanders out into a deserted field where she and the baby perish. Thus Armand is to blame for destroying his family because of his obsession with status and the white race.
Marius Pontmercy should not be convicted for his participation in the rebellion against the French government because it was not a direct assault on the government. First, the friends of Marius were very involved in the uprising and Marius felt an obligation to support his friends in their cause since they had been so supportive of him. Second, Marius’ father, Georges Pontmercy, was a soldier in Napoleon's army. He was dedicated to a cause he believed in and because Marius had a great respect for his father, he probably wanted to honor his legacy by following that example determination. Finally, the night of the uprising was the night Maris learned of Jean Valjean’s plan to leave with his daughter Cosette. Since Marius loved Cosette he was utterly devastated to discover she was leaving him. This shock caused him to feel as though there were no purpose to his life so his involvement in the barricade was a way to escape his depression.
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.
Desiree's life is full of indescribable and pitiful events; first, she was lift alone when she was a baby, nameless and no one knows who her family are - this generally refers to the personality of a woman which is, metaphorically, has no presence in the society. Moreover, throughout the story no decision is made by her but
In the very beginning Desiree was left on a stone pillar at the Valmonde estate; it is also here that Armand Aubigny sees her and falls instantly in love with her. The stone pillar is a symbol of firm, forced male dominance in a patriarchal society. It is how men were of superior to anybody else. Desiree grew into a beautiful and gentle-hearted young woman and soon found a wealthy suitor asking for her hand. This young suitor was Armand Aubigny. He had known of Desiree’s past but was in love and did not care. Armand Aubigny’s character in this story was racist and despicable but the young bride was in love and looked past his faulty character.