Free Essays on Desirees Baby

â€Å"Desiree’s Baby,† by Kate Chopin In her short story, â€Å"Desiree’s Baby,† Kate Chopin uses irony and symbolism to enhance the story, and convey a surprise ending. In the beginning of the story, Madam Valmonde is on her way to visit her daughter and new born grandson, when she flashes back to the day her husband, Monsieur, found little Desiree â€Å"lying asleep in the shadow of the big stone pillar.† The unknown origin of Desiree is a major question throughout her life and throughout the story. Eighteen years after her initial discovery, Desiree is again under the same pillar when Armand Aubigny sees her and instantly falls in love â€Å"as if struck by a pistol shot,† (182). In both times using the stone pillar as the place where Desiree is found, the reader becomes aware that this place is a continuing factor in Desiree’s true identity. L’Abri, was a dark and solemn place, where, since the rule of Armand had been so strict, the slaves were no longer gay as the once were during the elder Aubigny’s rule (183). Desiree is described as wearing â€Å"soft white muslins and laces,† creating a conflicting image of life at L’Abri (183). While the outside of the house is dark, the inside is almost lit up from Desiree’s presence, showing the impact she has had on life at L’Abri. Desiree says that she is so happy that it â€Å"frightens† her, another indication that things at L’Abri may not be all well (183). After three months, it becomes evident that the baby is not white, but black, which Armand blames Desiree for because of her suspicious origins. When Desiree leaves the plantation to return to her mother’s, at Armand’s request, she did not take a well worn path, symbolizing her struggle. Instead, she cut through a field where the â€Å"stubble bruised her tender feet . . . and tore her thin gown to shreds.† The torn gown represents her shattered home and marriage, the complete opposite of what the gown stood for ... Free Essays on Desiree's Baby Free Essays on Desiree's Baby â€Å"Desiree’s Baby,† by Kate Chopin In her short story, â€Å"Desiree’s Baby,† Kate Chopin uses irony and symbolism to enhance the story, and convey a surprise ending. In the beginning of the story, Madam Valmonde is on her way to visit her daughter and new born grandson, when she flashes back to the day her husband, Monsieur, found little Desiree â€Å"lying asleep in the shadow of the big stone pillar.† The unknown origin of Desiree is a major question throughout her life and throughout the story. Eighteen years after her initial discovery, Desiree is again under the same pillar when Armand Aubigny sees her and instantly falls in love â€Å"as if struck by a pistol shot,† (182). In both times using the stone pillar as the place where Desiree is found, the reader becomes aware that this place is a continuing factor in Desiree’s true identity. L’Abri, was a dark and solemn place, where, since the rule of Armand had been so strict, the slaves were no longer gay as the once were during the elder Aubigny’s rule (183). Desiree is described as wearing â€Å"soft white muslins and laces,† creating a conflicting image of life at L’Abri (183). While the outside of the house is dark, the inside is almost lit up from Desiree’s presence, showing the impact she has had on life at L’Abri. Desiree says that she is so happy that it â€Å"frightens† her, another indication that things at L’Abri may not be all well (183). After three months, it becomes evident that the baby is not white, but black, which Armand blames Desiree for because of her suspicious origins. When Desiree leaves the plantation to return to her mother’s, at Armand’s request, she did not take a well worn path, symbolizing her struggle. Instead, she cut through a field where the â€Å"stubble bruised her tender feet . . . and tore her thin gown to shreds.† The torn gown represents her shattered home and marriage, the complete opposite of what the gown stood for ... Free Essays on Desiree's Baby â€Å"Desiree’s Baby†: A Case of Embarrassment or Something Deeper? What is it exactly that caused Armand to cast his wife, Desiree, and their child aside? Disappointment, shame, and a deep sense of bitterness factored into his actions. The child was a symbol of his masculinity and a legitimate heir to his family name. When you factor in the accumulative sense of betrayal he must have felt towards Desiree and her supposed lack of pure blood, his actions are justified. Despite all other feelings one could possess in such a predicament, embarrassment was the overlying element. The shock and horror Armand endured upon finding out his child is not worthy of his family’s name or position in life was nothing short of overwhelming. â€Å"He no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name.† (180) Now imagine Armand’s embarrassment at finding out that he is the one who caused his child to become a social pariah. Imagine the embarrassment when he discovered he was living a lie. Armand’s embarrassment and his deep seeded resentment of the entire situation caused him to act impetuously, to the point that he allowed Desiree and their child to leave, burned their belongings, removing every trace of them from his life. Armand fell in love with Desiree despite her being a foundling with no familial ties. He proclaimed her lineage did not matter, in fact, â€Å"what did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana† (178). Once she conceived their child, neither one of them gave any thought to the fact that their child would be anything other than of pure blood. With no knowledge that Armand was the carrier of this â€Å"disease†, they still delivered a child, which would later become his greatest embarrassment. This child was theirs, and neither one of them was black in any visible way. His subsequent disappointment in his offspring and wife fue... Free Essays on Desiree's Baby In the story â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† there are many underlying connotations, which make the analyzing of the story somewhat difficult. These connotations are what make the story interesting and enjoyable to read. One could argue that love and lust played a large roll in this story. Also it would be easy to say that Desiree was not loved but lusted after throughout the story. It is very apparent to me that Desiree’s husband did not love her as much as should have. It would also be justifiable to say that his relationship with her was purely based on his love for her body and not her mind. The story tells us that when he fell in love with her, it was similar to a prairie fire or an avalanche. Both a prairie fire and an avalanche start from the smallest thing and grow into a fierce power. But both the prairie fire and the avalanche only last for a small amount of time. If his love for her is being compared to both of these, then it was not true love, for love truly cannot be measured. The description of Armand Valmonde led me to think that he was a very stern man whose beliefs and morals overpowered his ability to think reasonably. I believe that the most important thing in his life was the purity of his family name. It seemed that he was raised to be someone of importance, raised to be the distinguished gentlemen or even raised to be royalty. Armand was a slave owner and was raised in a time when it was thought that black people were inferior to white people, so there is definitely a sense of racism in the story. Racism played a role in the story but its role is mainly to apply irony to story in the end. If the reader was disgusted with Armand, the ironic racism adds a twist at the end of the story which is quite enjoyable. Racism and love are two clashing tones in the story also because, if you have one you cannot have the other. This is another one of my points. If Armand truly loved Desiree, then it would not matter if...