Preview

Mla Research Paper

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1050 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mla Research Paper
Professor Nancy Fraser
English EAC150
17/10/2012
MLA Documentation Essay

The author Roslyn Foy explains the deeper emotions that resides in Armand the protagonist of the story Desiree’s baby by Kate Chopin. Armand’s cruel actions towards the people around him do not only suggest racism in the nineteenth century; he is man that must comply and live up to his great reputation. Foy brings up the subject of his mother, suggesting that even though she died when Armand was only eight years old, he must have remember her physical appearance but somehow he has suppressed that fact. This questions that whether Armand’s cruel actions came from a social point of view or does it deprive from his suppression of his mother and his past. This eventually led him to abandon his wife and son, the author suggest that his hatred towards them is the hatred towards himself and his origins. Armand is a character that is confused and angry with his past and finally realizes at the end that he is the very thing that he hates the most.

In this critical essay, the author Leon Lewis illustrates an overview of Langston Hughes overall work and what he represents as a literary writer. Hughes is known as the “Laureate of Black America”, he has the desire to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America. His work usually consists of rhymes and poems, and the language of the black community. Even though some of his work is appeal more towards young adult readers, his work is written to reach a wide spread of audience not just the literary privileged. Some of his influences include: Sandburg, Vachel Lindsay, and Edgar Lee Masters whose work is also directed at a broad spectrum of readers. His work addresses concerns and issues surrounding African-Americans and effects of racial hatred. Hughes always possesses an optimistic mood which reflects in his writing, he depicts racial issues in a way where he has hope in humanity and is illustrated positively. Even though,



Citations: Foy, Roslyn Reso. "Chopin 's 'Désirée 's Baby '." The Explicator 49.4 (Summer 1991): 222-223. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol. 68. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. Ed. Laura Standley Berger. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Twentieth-Century Writers Series Web. 16 Oct. 2012. Hindu. "R. K. Narayan, 1906-2001." Hindu. n.p., 2001. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism Select Mowery, Carl. "Harrison Bergeron." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Desiree’s baby is a short story written by Kate Chopin. The story is about a young woman named Desiree who is swept off her feet by a man named Armand. The two fall madly in love with one another and creates an offspring. When the child is born, a deep secret is discovered which turns Armand into an outraged man. The child is born with darker skin, which means the baby has African ancestry. In this time of the story, this was considered a huge problem for a person of white color. Kate Chopin uses many symbols to represent the meaning of the story. In the story she symbolizes the stone pillar, fine clothes, and the bonfire.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desiree's Baby Thesis

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The time period in which Chopin wrote "Desiree's Baby" as well as the time the story took place provides key insight to the theme since they are both surrounding the United States slavery era. Chopin wrote the story in the late nineteenth century…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desiree's Baby Essay

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The short story “Désirée’s Baby” written by Kate Chopin is a jaw-dropping story loaded with elements of racism, morality, and sexism of the 19th century. Every part of Chopin’s story was an eye opening experience for me because it allowed me to visualize the way women and black people were seen as. Neither women or blacks had the opportunity to prosper and be successful because they, of course, mere seen as inferior to the superior white male. However, in “Désirée’s Baby” Chopin informs the reader on how all of the elements could eventually lead to death, hence Désirée and the baby. Chopin is one of the most extravagant writers and all of the stories I have read by her have been very creative.…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a list of Kate Chopin’s short stories, she reflects on both male and female roles but mostly has a little more emphasis on her female characters, as this subject was sensitive during the 1800s where racism and prejudice was a norm and men were ranked above women, and women above slaves. “Desiree’s Baby” is a story where Chopin emphasizes on pride, gender issues, womanism, and race while creating ironies and symbolism. Although the story was written in 1982 when slavery was already abolished, it took place in Louisiana when slavery was still viable. In the story, Chopin follows her usual routine where her female character Desiree, goes though to transformation from a vulnerable young girl to an independent woman. She also has happy characters whose lives turn grim towards the end of the story. Chopin starts by introducing the two main characters Desiree and Armand, given the symbol that Desire was “beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere” (Chopin 28) and Armand is “a strict one” and his family is “…one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana” (Chopin 29) and a slave owner.…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Kate Chopin Individualism

    • 2067 Words
    • 9 Pages

    A statement Chopin made clear when she used the phrase “ Desiree's face became suffused with a glow that was happiness itself ”(194) A sign of Desiree desire to be a mother. Chopin wants to use a character that embodies traditional women like in female literature of the past. An example of such characters seen in “ Historicizing Domesticity: The Impact Of Women ‘s Rights Movement” shown in the sentence “Uncle Tom’s cabin (1852) offer a familiar case study for line of reasoning.Female character such as Eva , Mrs. Bird Halliday … these women seem content with their roles”(Marc Egnal 5). Desiree is an example of a traditional woman used to show the weakness of marriage. Seen when Desiree’s husband does not want to be with her because of their baby not being white. “ In silence he ran his cold eyes over the written words. He said nothing. ‘ shall go I go Armand ‘she asked in tones shaped with agonized suspense ‘yes go’ ‘Do you want me to go ‘Yes, I want you to go .’”(197).Such a horrible thing Desiree’s greatest wish was to be a mother, yet she denied that request by the man she loved proving how shallow and cruel marriage can be.We see that in Desiree is a representation of Chopin style of writing where individuals trapped in impersonal relationships bound by the conventions of their respective cultures Something readers can see in the situation the protagonist had to face…

    • 2067 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Désirée's Baby

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Désirée’s Baby was written by Kate Chopin in the year November 24, 1892, this particular story was published in Vogue on January 14, 1893. This is a story that was greatly ahead of its time, just like Kate Chopin herself. She wrote stories that made her reader’s question the decisions they may have chosen in life. Désirée’s Baby is a story of great contrast, young love, social class, and race. It was a story unlike many others at this particular point in time that it was written. There are numerous differing characteristics in Désirée’s Baby, from the personalities of Désirée herself and her husband, Armand. Also, just the way they were raised in general. Armand was raised in France and had moved to America when he was eight while Désirée had…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story starts with Madame Valmond, who is going to visit her daughter, Désirée, because she has given birth to a baby boy. On her way over, Valmond thinks about the time she found Désirée all alone, when she was just a little baby. Valmonde arrives at her daughters house called L’Abri, which is owned by Désirée’s husband Arband Aubigny. When she sees her grandchild, she notices something different with him. Valmond leaves again and 3 month later, Désirée is still at L’Abri with her child. Armand, who had been so loving towards her, has become really cold and do not want to speak to his wife: “”Armand,” she called to him, in a voice which must have stabbed him, if he was human. But he did not notice. “Armand,” she said again. (s. 4)” She knows something has changed. One day her baby is lying on the bed, and one of the slaves on the farm is fanning the child with a fan, here she finds out what is wrong; “She looked from her child to the boy who stood beside him, and back again; over and over. “Ah!” It was a cry that she could not help; which she was not conscious of having uttered. The blood turned like ice in her veins, and a clammy moisture gathered upon her face. (s. 4)” This is the climax of the story. She now realizes that Armand thinks she is black, which was…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    DESIREES BABY

    • 1031 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The struggle to save face amongst our peers, to hang on to a certain social class or status has changed very little from the times of slavery and segregation. People today, just like they did centuries ago, go through great lengths to cover up secrets that may bring shame to their family name or cause them to be the subject of scrutiny amongst their acquaintances. Love is superficial and feelings can change at a blink of an eye if their spouse, partner or significant other fails to meet the expectations or threaten in any way the way they envision their life should be. Kate Chopin illustrates this in the short story “Desiree’s Baby”. A story about racism, prejudice and the blindness that overcomes Armand when he realizes that his son is of a mixed race. His racism is so deep, it is seen by the cruelty towards his slaves. To preserve his standing amongst his social class, he shunned his wife and his child, and drove her to her death. The irony was that he did not consider that those qualities that he despised and which he saw in his son, were ones that he possessed through his tainted bloodline.…

    • 1031 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desiree Baby

    • 822 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Desiree’s Baby” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. The setting of this story is set in the 19th Century in Louisiana. This short story is a love story between Armand Aubigny and Desiree. “Desiree’s baby” begins like many love stories before it with love at first sight, but does not end like a typical romance novel due to its harsh ending. Armand begins to become progressively distant towards Desiree and her baby throughout the story due to Armand discovering that they are not white. Armand did know about his black ancestry before reading the letter because Armand was 8 years old when his mother passed, there is textual evidence that Armand already read the letter, and because Armand wasn’t in love with Desiree.…

    • 822 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Desiree's Baby

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “Desiree’s Baby” by K. Chopin is set in the early nineteen hundreds, just before the American Civil War. In that era, slavery was legal and people who had traces of African descent were treated worse than insects. It was an era when a human’s value and social status were measured by the color of their skin. Chopin writes about the importance of social status and the importance of race versus love, family, dignity, pride and honor. In addition, the story is an example of what Armand was capable of and willing to give up in order to conserve his authority in a society dominated by whites despite his knowledge of being part Black.…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Misjudgements

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The sad and shocking part was when the baby had about three months of age; Desiree was suddenly disturbed by a subtle feeling of menace by which unannounced visits from neighbours mystery and a strange behaviour from Armand. Sadly after a couple of months, Armand accused Desiree for being of black decent due to the baby’s complexion. Armand was a neighbouring plantation owner and bearer of one of the finest names in Louisiana. In this story, Kate Chopin, informs us that Desiree’s baby had a dark complexion and Armand developed a strong accusation towards Desiree. He accused her of being black. Desiree denies the accusation and evens try to prove to Armand by telling him that her hands are whiter than his. Also, she express that her eyes are grey.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Analysis of Desiree's Baby

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Cited: Erichson, Jon. “Fairytale Features in Kate Chopin’s ‘Desiree’s Baby.”” Literature Resource Center. N.P., 2001. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.…

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Lowest Animal

    • 1712 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Chopin’s story, “Desiree’s Baby” is a story that is largely about race. When Desiree gives birth to her child, the reader begins to become aware that there is a mystery about the child’s parentage. There are other characters, notably LaBlanche’s quadroon son, which also serve to raise concerns about racial identity. Chopin builds a mystery in order to provoke the characters’ and the reader’s anxieties about race. Write an essay in which you explain how she does this and determine whether it is effective. Determine what you believe to be Chopin’s point in writing a story such as this one.…

    • 1712 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    yur jbvhvgb hnh

    • 1216 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the short story, Desiree’s Baby, Kate Chopin there is a sense of karma and consequences that are used in the story wrote that. The story explores the problem of a man’s pride overcoming the love he has for his wife and race. In the short story, Desiree’s baby by Kate Chopin the character Armand Aubigny is racist, in denial and mean.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    desiree's baby

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Desiree's Baby is a short story written by Kate Chopin. She was abandoned when she was younger and adopted by this rich white family, called the Valmondes. She marries a guy called Armand. Then she has a baby. 3 months later after the baby born, her husband gets mad. He notices that the baby is black because of Desiree is black. Next, that baby was rejected by Armand. Finally, Armand feels regretful because he finds a letter that his mom writes to his dad and it says that his real mom is also a black woman.…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays