The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Essay by review • November 14, 2010 • Book/Movie Report • 391 Words (2 Pages) • 1,743 Views
The novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin tells the story of a woman who is married and has an awaking of her true feelings. The situation is very complex and Edna cannot handle the complexity of it. In the end she commits suicide. The novel The Awakening by Edna is described as a woman who is strong and able to pursue
her dreams. The novel also shows how people should live their lives for themselves instead of other people. Chopin uses characterization and symbolism to develop the meaning of the novel The Awakening.
Ethan From is seen as a tragic person. He dreams of escaping his farm and living a life outside of Starkfield. Ethan was forced to leave college to care for his aging and ailing parents. He married Zeena because he feared loneliness and felt he owed her something for her help with his parents. Ethans character is described in the beginning of the novel as a man in his fifties, disabled, silent, and a farmer. Physically Ehtan is tall and bent-looking. His circumstances have made him weak. Ethan is a man of bad luck who is in his current situation due to circumstances and not by choice.
Edith Wharton portrays the land in Starkfield as harsh, the people are hard and unfriendly, and poverty as a mean way of life.She uses the landscape to reflect the personality of the characters. Her choice of winter is a symbol of the barrenness of the characters' lives. They are cold and isolated, like the temperature outside. The situations and conflicts are represented by Frome's stony landscape, the old apple trees, and the graveyard.
In conclusion, Kate Chopin uses characterization and symbolism to develop the meaning of the novel The Awakening. In the novel Edna is described as a woman who is strong and able to pursue
her dreams. The novel tells the story of a woman who is married and has an awaking of her true feelings. The situation is very complex and Edna cannot handle the complexity of it. In the end she commits suicide. The novel also shows how people should live their lives for themselves instead of other people.
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