Literary Analysis #2

"The Awakening"

By: Kate Chopin

TOPICS AND EVENTS

      
      1)      My book is about a woman in the late 1890s living during a time in which women had very few rights and were seen for the majority as property. This woman however did not let herself be treated as the rest. She fought back in her own home against her own husband for the rights she believed in even if she stood alone amongst other women. She experienced a time of much inquiry about her position in society and in the world and wondered many things about her gender. She talked back to her husband whenever she felt as though the way he was speaking to her was disrespectful. She never let a man step over her or see is as anything mere more than an object or housemother. 

      2)      Kate Chopin chose to write about this topic because it was during a time when there was much segregation occurring between not only races but her main focus-sexism. She did not see herself any different from a man and could not quite grasp why she was not allowed to do certain things men would do. She captures what most women must have been feeling like during these hard times in which their voiced opinions meant nothing. Sadly, she did not live to see the right for women to vote come into effect in the year 1919 because she passed away in 1904.

      3)      Again, I walked into Mrs. Byrne’s classroom in search of a book because she always seems to have really good ones. She was describing most of them to me and ‘The Awakening’ caught my eye mainly because I was more interested in learning about this movement and what it might have been like for women especially since I am a woman as well and I know I would have definitely fought this. I kept reading because all the good parts did not appear until the end and it was a bit confusing so I continued to read to attempt to understand it better.

      4)      The book was definitely realistic! I related to it heavily, and the protagonist sort of reminded me of my own mother because in our culture, sexism is a very belligerent characteristic amongst most families in the Mexican culture unfortunately. It was very easy to relate to, especially her actions, how she would remain away from her family for long periods of time and wanted to be alone because she was confused. I found it ironic however, how her husband failed to search for her or question her whereabouts and feelings because that is how you can tell they do not care about each other.

PEOPLE AND CHARACTER

      1)      The author chose to write about this certain topic because during her time, it was a very controversial one in which she felt strongly about and felt the need to share her emotions. The book has a very depressing tone and it alerts us that for many women, the average ego-centric male caused much personal, emotional and mental damage within them whether they chose to express it or not.

      2)      Mrs. Pontellier, the protagonist, was a very sane yet quiet woman who misunderstood society at the time and she knew she could not blame herself for she was innocent. She experienced much doubt in her marriage with Mr. Pontellier. Her husband, Mr. Pontellier, was a very mindless yet concerned man at some point. They both demonstrated emotions but shared no common interests, even towards each other. It was almost like a forced marriage. I would use indirect characterization to allow the reader to make his own assumptions and inferences about the character.

      3)      What makes these characters interesting enough to write about is the fact that they are REAL LIFE CHARACTERS, maybe not absolutely real but definitely what could have been the true everyday life of a couple during the 1890s. This gives us insights to how horrible our lives could have been as females, had we lived during this time in which we were deprived of our freedom and disrespected.

      4)      Two examples of indirect characterization are when Mrs. Pontellier heavily weeps before going to bed and her husband decides to do nothing about it. This informs us that he could care 2 pickles about her and her feelings. Another example would be when he absolutely insists that one of the children is sick when clearly they are both fine, sleeping like angels in the opposite room but he continued to persist and be a nuisance to the tired sleeping mother. This tells us he has absolutely no respect for her as a human sleep when there is clearly nothing wrong, he is a demanding husband and a true burden to live with. An example of direct characterization would be when Madame Pontellier tells her husband to his face that she refuses to go inside no matter how bad he wants her to. It proves an admiring quality which many women lacked at the time. She proved she was willing to take her stand no matter what the consequence. Another example of direct characterization would be when Victor’s mother tells him that sometimes she wishes he would lose his voice forever, and he simply remarks, “Thank you.” This proves he has no respect for his mother or even bothers to speak about his issues and come to an agreement with his own mother whom gave him so much.

      5)      The author’s syntax and diction changes to a much more serious and depressing tone when she begins to characterize each person on the story. Then when she witches back to describing a location it seems to relax rather than intensify. For example when the couple is dissatisfied with the meal that evening and they attack the poor mulatto, right after the husband storms off to town to find a better meal and the wife remains and the narrator begins to reminisce past experiences with the maids of the house the tone changes dramatically from hyper and dramatic to calm and peaceful, same concept throughout the entire novel. It’s sort of like a roller-coaster.

      6)      The protagonist is static throughout the entire novel. She sticks through with what she believes in throughout the entire novel absentmindedly of what others thought of her.

      7)      Yes after reading this novel I would agree to have gotten to know a certain character very well, that being the protagonist. “…he looked at his wife as one looks at a piece of personal property which has suffered some damage.” The key word here is property, if that was not clear. I feel her pain as a woman and have only witnessed this form of unjust behavior, therefore could only imagine.
  
     STYLE

      1)      I would say that the style was a more journalistic one because most of her scenes were completely unpredictable and astonishing when they occurred, they were sort like a slap in the face. Like when she appeared to kiss this other man, Robert AND like it, I was amused and sort of angry at her character so indulging in such fantasies. Another example is when she wanted to move out and live completely by herself, like what are you doing? You have two children and a husband so deal with it instead of running away from your problems.

      2)      The author focuses more of his lengthy descriptions on places and people rather than dialogue. She chose to do so because the book needed this effect in order for the reader to fully grasp the many conflicts in the story as oppose to the novel being focused more on dialogue, the reader would know only have the time what is occurring in the characters’ heads.

      3)      The author uses much symbolism and imagery, definitely a strong use of imagery to establish a mood. She makes sure to paint strong pictures in our heads before proceeding to the next concept.

      4)      The author must have most definitely favored women’s rights since she had the desire to write a complete novel on the subject. Her attitude was definitely a strong one and she obtained the most earnest desire to express her will and true-self at a time where she could have been put in jail for it. I truly appreciate how she had a mind of her own.

      5)       The author utilizes little to none resources throughout the novel about the concept. No it did not matter because I knew what she spoke of was true. Real life. I did not need historical evidence when we all know it happened.

ENDURING MEMORY

            A memory from this book that will forever remain with me would be when the protagonist spoke to her friend and she had asked, “It’s a pity Mr. Pontellier doesn’t stay home more in the evenings.” And Mrs. Pontellier responded with, “Oh! Dear no! What should I do if he stayed home? We wouldn’t have anything to say to each other.” This particular phrase certainly caught my attention. It really helped put me in her shoes and imagine what it must be like to live and deal with a man every day in night which you dread, like another household chore. It scared me because it is a reality and she could not get away from it even if she wanted to, it’s as if she had no other choice. The memory of this emotion will never leave me and I shall always remember this phrase when I question myself on who I will come to marry and whether I can bear their existence any longer than three minutes.