In her short story, "Desiree's Baby," Kate Chopin utilizes the characters of Desiree, Armand, and Madame Valmonde to emphasize that in society, women must always carry the burden of their children, while men are allowed to abandon their role as a father. Through these characters, Chopin is able to discuss the ways in which she is forced to carry the burden after the death of her own husband. After Armand discovers that his child contains African-American heritage, he asserts that he "wants her to go." This indicates that Armand is willing to abdicate his role as a parent, while Desiree does not have the same convenience. This is a manifestation of Chopin's real life in which her husband dies and absconds thousands of dollars in debt, as well as six children for Chopin to attend to on her own. Shortly after these unfortunate series of events, Chopin takes the assistance of her mother and he moves back home, similar to how Madame Valmonde please with Desiree to "come home… To her mother who loves her." however, in contrast to Chopin's life, Desiree does not heed her mother's advice and instead "disappeared among… The deep, sluggish by you," killing herself. This signifies that Chopin wishes to possess the bravery of her character, Desiree, as she defies society's expectations of being a mother. By choosing to live with her mother, Chopin is unhappy that she succumbed to the pressure of society, but later starts publishing and satisfies her maid of being independent. By having another role in society, Chopin proves that she does not need to be defined by her husband's death.
Bio:
In her short story, "Desiree's Baby," Kate Chopin utilizes the characters of Desiree, Armand, and Madame Valmonde to emphasize that in society, women must always carry the burden of their children, while men are allowed to abandon their role as a father. Through these characters, Chopin is able to discuss the ways in which she is forced to carry the burden after the death of her own husband. After Armand discovers that his child contains African-American heritage, he asserts that he "wants her to go." This indicates that Armand is willing to abdicate his role as a parent, while Desiree does not have the same convenience. This is a manifestation of Chopin's real life in which her husband dies and absconds thousands of dollars in debt, as well as six children for Chopin to attend to on her own. Shortly after these unfortunate series of events, Chopin takes the assistance of her mother and he moves back home, similar to how Madame Valmonde please with Desiree to "come home… To her mother who loves her." however, in contrast to Chopin's life, Desiree does not heed her mother's advice and instead "disappeared among… The deep, sluggish by you," killing herself. This signifies that Chopin wishes to possess the bravery of her character, Desiree, as she defies society's expectations of being a mother. By choosing to live with her mother, Chopin is unhappy that she succumbed to the pressure of society, but later starts publishing and satisfies her maid of being independent. By having another role in society, Chopin proves that she does not need to be defined by her husband's death.
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We begin our discussion of Streetcar Named Desire on FRIDAY, 2/3. Please ensure that you have completed the attached outline for discussion and for an outline grade in the research section of the grade book.
Outline Step One
Please ensure that you have read, Hollingsworth read not words on a page read, the short story, Yellow Wallpaper, by the time you arrive at my door on MONDAY, 1/30. As you read, please note the following:
Charlotte Perkins-Gilman’s famous story about the way social expectations of women entrap and destroy them is a study in symbolism and tone. As you read through the short story note, be prepared to annotate and discuss with the whole groups the following:
Happy reading, confusion, and thinking! Audio Versionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYIBJ9YXDJk Please be reminded that our Streetcar Named Desire reading comprehension test will take place on TUESDAY, 1/31. It will be formatted as follows:
1-10 Matching characters 11-24 True False 25-50 Multiple Choice Happy reading! Bio:
In "The Story of an Hour," Kate Chopin emphasizes the detriments of male dominance in society through the connections between Chopin and Mrs. Mallard. The death of Chopin's husband transforms her into a woman with a more active role in society; she publishes much more poetry and short stories after his death. Not only does Mrs. Mallard's husband die as well, but she also undergoes a similar transformation: "she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of victory." This indicates her new found freedom, just like Chopin's greater freedom of writing and publishing. Because of the social expectations for women at the time, Chopin is confined from expressing her emotions. Thus, she manifests these emotions through Mrs. Mallard instead, who feels "monstrous joy" after Mr. Ballard's death. However, Mrs. Mallard dies upon seeing that her husband is actually alive. This represents how male dominance is still prevalent in society, even though Mr. Mallard "dies," male dominance still exists in reality, which Chopin manifests as Mr. Mallard being resurrected. Both Mrs. Mallard and Chopin feel freedom after their husbands death, but they feel grief after realizing male dominance still exists. Historic: In her short story, "The Story of an Hour," Chopin displays Mrs. Mallard's happiness to convey the inferior role within play relative to their husbands in the Victorian time period. In the story, Mrs. Mallard's husband, Brantley, is believed to have died in a railroad disaster. After the suppose it death of her husband, she realizes that "she would live for herself" now. Because she thinks her husband is out of her life, she believes that she is free from her husband's superiority. By referring to life without her husband as "freedom," she implies that society views the role of life as inferior to the husband. Because she is overcome with happiness upon the idea of independence, she conveys her distaste for society's expectations. After she has fully comprehend that her husband is deceased, she is thrilled to be "free, free, free." Her sense of freedom following her husband's apparent death signifies society's view that women are only independent when they do not have a significant other. By depicting her as elated, Chopin expresses her disgust of society's view of women in marriage. Towards the end of the story, it is revealed that Mr. Mallard is actually alive. In shock and sadness of realizing her husband really is alive, Mrs. Mallard "died of heart disease." When her husband comes into the house, she realizes that she is no longer free because society forces women to be bonded to their husbands. Because Mrs. Mallard dies of a heart attack, she'll path displays her disapproval of the social expectation of men being superior to women and marriage. Freudian: In her short story, "The Story of an Hour," Kate Chopin utilizes Freudian yanic and phallic symbols to explore how women understand themselves. I contrasting Mrs. Mallard's experience with stairs, the keyhole, and the phallic symbol of the umbrella, Chopin is able to articulate how women can either be defined by a man ex-wife or create their own versions of themselves. Choping specifically uses "the keyhole" to convey how the room in which Josephine is in represents a woman's womb. By being on the other side of the "keyhole," Chopin highlights how Josephine is being transformed into another woman in the womb. Using the yanic symbol of a "keyhole," Chopin is able to prove how Josephine is being reborn as a new, independent woman. After leaving the room, Josephine "descendants the stairs" indicating how she is reborn. The yanic symbol represents the transitory state from the womb to the world. Chopin utilizes this specific symbol to articulate how Josephine is reborn into Josephine and no longer Mrs. Mallard. Chopin places the phallic symbol of "the umbrella" at the bottom of the stairs after Josephine is reborn. Once Josephine's new self sees this "umbrella," she dies at once, leaving only Mrs. Mallard. By using this phallic symbol as the cost of Josephine's death, Chopin is able to emphasize how it woman's true self definition cannot exist along with her husband's definition of her. Please ensure that you have read Kate Chopin's short story, Desiree's Baby by the time you arrive at my door on THURSDAY, 1/26. Please be prepared to generate THEME-Y STATEMENTS OF DELICIOUSNESS, as well as textually supported and analytically considered bullet points, in relation to the points below.
Bio: how is Chopin’s life manifest in the story? what character is she? how is she present in the story? Historical: focus on the social expectation for women at the time. how does that expectation manifest? is Chopin for or against this social construct? Formalist: focus on the symbolic nature of Desiree’s name and the implications for each of the characters because of that symbolism Formalist: focus on juxtapositions of white and black and how foreshadow the ending of the story Feminist: how does the story highlight the social expectation that men can abscond responsibly for their actions while women must bare the burden of all responsibility? Feminist: is Desiree’s final action one of submission or defiance? Marxist: focus on the powerful (men) vs. the powerless (women). how is the struggle for freedom from the oppression of the powerful depicted? how does it end? Freudian: juxtapose the phallic masculinity of the house to the yanic femininity of the water Happy thinking! We begin our formal discussion about literary theory in texts on TUESDAY, 1/24. By the time you arrive at my door on that day, please ensure that you have read the biographical information provided in the document and Kate Chopin's very short story, The Story of an Hour, with specific attention to the following:
Bio: how is Chopin’s life manifest in the story? what character is she? how is she present in the story? Historical: focus on the social expectation for women at the time. how does that expectation manifest? is Chopin for or against this social construct? Formalist: focus on the symbolic nature of names (Mallard) and metonymy in nature (how the house/natural world reflects the main character) Formalist: focus on contradictions (oxymoron’s, antithesis) and how they function in characterization of the main character Feminist: trace the development of Mrs. Mallard over the course of the story. how does she move from traditional expectation of female behavior to empowered? Feminist: focus on the IRONY of the end of the story. how does that depict the reality of women? Marxist: focus on the powerful (men) vs. the powerless (women). how is the struggle for freedom from the oppression of the powerful depicted? how does it end? Freudian: juxtapose the occurrences associated with the yanic symbols of keyhole and staircase to those of the phallic umbrella You will be assigned ONE of these topics on which to lead discussion and write. Be prepared! Happy thinking! Please be reminded that your theory presentation will take place on MONDAY, 1/23. It will count as a double quiz in the grade book, so please ensure that you have completed every required component.
Using your assigned fairy tale and your assigned literary theory, you must create a presentation that mimics what we reviewed for The Little Match Girl. Your presentation must include:
Also, please ensure that you have read ALL THREE of the fairy tales we will be discussing on presentation day. Rapunzel Snow White Rumpelstiltskin Sample Written with Color Coding |
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