Desiree’s Baby is a short story written by Kate Chopin. In the story there are a man named Armand that believed to be a white man. One day Monsieur Valmonde found a abandoned baby whom he raised. She was courted by the son of another wealthy family named Armand. They marry and have a child. When the people see the baby they have the sense that it is different and they realize that the baby’s skin is the color of one-quarter African. Armand immediately assumes that his wife is part black so she and the baby were evicted by Armand. Finally Armand realizes that he is the one-quarter African and not his wife (Chopin). In “Desiree’s Baby”, Kate Chopin uses symbolism, themes and characters to develop this short story.
To begin with, one literary device that Kate Chopin uses is symbolism. Symbolism is a person, place, or thing that represents something beyond itself, most often something concrete or tangible that represents an abstract idea (“A glossary of Literary Terms”2). One symbol in Desiree’s Baby is the bonfire. The bonfire symbolizes both Armand’s anger and desire to rid himself of Desiree, as well as his passion for his lost wife, which was described as “a prairie fire” at the beginning of the story. Another example of symbolism is fine clothes, “Armand orders fine clothes and ladies’ accessories for Desiree from Paris when he wishes to marry her. …show more content…
These fine objects symbolize Armand’s wealth and influence, as well as the material transaction that is taking place through the marriage” (LitCharts.com 1).
In addition a literary device that Kate Chopin uses is themes. Theme is the message about life or human nature that is “the focus” in the story that the writer tells (“A Glossary of Literary Terms” 3). The first theme Kate Chopin uses is racism and gender bias. Like many other American men of the mid-nineteenth century South, Armand Aubigny bases the worth of a person primarily on his or her race and gender. Women are subordinate to men, he believes, and persons with a black in their family tree are little more than subhuman (Cummings Study Guides 1). Another example theme Kate Chopin uses is judging by appearances. Armand loved Desiree’s outer beauty, not her inner beauty. She was a trophy. When the trophy became tarnished in his eyes, he removed it from its shelf and discarded it. He also rejected his child, for its skin exhibited a taint of impurity. Finally, like other Old South plantation owners, he viewed the blackness of his slaves as a defect that colored even their souls. However conversation between Desiree and Madame Valmonde indicates that he apparently found time for La Blanche, the slave woman whose name (French for white) suggests that she was of mixed heritage, with light skin made her a tolerable sexual object for Armand. Desiree, speaking of the loudness of her baby’s crying, says, “Armand heard him the other day as far away as La Blanche’s cabin” (Cummning Study Guides 1). Another literary device that Kate Chopin uses is characterization. Characterization is a technique a writer uses to create and develop a character by what he/she does or says, other characters say about him/her, or how they react to him/her (“ A Glossary Of Literary Terms”1). The protagonist Desiree is described as “beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere”
To begin with, one literary device that Kate Chopin uses is symbolism. Symbolism is a person, place, or thing that represents something beyond itself, most often something concrete or tangible that represents an abstract idea (“A glossary of Literary Terms”2). One symbol in Desiree’s Baby is the bonfire. The bonfire symbolizes both Armand’s anger and desire to rid himself of Desiree, as well as his passion for his lost wife, which was described as “a prairie fire” at the beginning of the story. Another example of symbolism is fine clothes, “Armand orders fine clothes and ladies’ accessories for Desiree from Paris when he wishes to marry her. …show more content…
These fine objects symbolize Armand’s wealth and influence, as well as the material transaction that is taking place through the marriage” (LitCharts.com 1).
In addition a literary device that Kate Chopin uses is themes. Theme is the message about life or human nature that is “the focus” in the story that the writer tells (“A Glossary of Literary Terms” 3). The first theme Kate Chopin uses is racism and gender bias. Like many other American men of the mid-nineteenth century South, Armand Aubigny bases the worth of a person primarily on his or her race and gender. Women are subordinate to men, he believes, and persons with a black in their family tree are little more than subhuman (Cummings Study Guides 1). Another example theme Kate Chopin uses is judging by appearances. Armand loved Desiree’s outer beauty, not her inner beauty. She was a trophy. When the trophy became tarnished in his eyes, he removed it from its shelf and discarded it. He also rejected his child, for its skin exhibited a taint of impurity. Finally, like other Old South plantation owners, he viewed the blackness of his slaves as a defect that colored even their souls. However conversation between Desiree and Madame Valmonde indicates that he apparently found time for La Blanche, the slave woman whose name (French for white) suggests that she was of mixed heritage, with light skin made her a tolerable sexual object for Armand. Desiree, speaking of the loudness of her baby’s crying, says, “Armand heard him the other day as far away as La Blanche’s cabin” (Cummning Study Guides 1). Another literary device that Kate Chopin uses is characterization. Characterization is a technique a writer uses to create and develop a character by what he/she does or says, other characters say about him/her, or how they react to him/her (“ A Glossary Of Literary Terms”1). The protagonist Desiree is described as “beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere”