APAwakeningEssayStudentThesis 1
The Awakening / AP Lit Open Questions—Student Thesis Statements
4. The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings. "The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from their readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events -- a marriage or a last minute rescue from death -- but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death." Choose a novel or play that has the kind of ending Weldon describes. In a well-written essay, identify the "spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation" evident in the ending and explain its significance in the work as a whole. Edna was not going to sacrifice herself or her happiness anymore for others. Not for her husband, her children, her fellow friends: Madame Lebrun and Madame Ratignolle, or even the love of her life, Robert. She loved herself too much and felt herself too important to stay confined to a role that didn’t fit who she was as a person. Edna came to this realization through a series of different experiences: her relationship with Robert, her friendship with Mademoiselle Reisz, and her developing artistic ability for painting. Edna realized that she couldn’t be herself and be happy, and still “remember the children.” She no longer wanted to be possessed mind, body, and soul. In the end, she would only be sad, alone, frustrated, and unhappy. So she came to the realization that she had to kill herself and accepted that fact.
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Edna’s suicide was a happy ending for her alone. She came to the realization that she couldn’t remain awakened and live in a world filled with moral conventions and responsibilities. Her death reconciled her life with freedom.
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All happy endings don’t always end with merely
4. The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings. "The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from their readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events -- a marriage or a last minute rescue from death -- but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death." Choose a novel or play that has the kind of ending Weldon describes. In a well-written essay, identify the "spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation" evident in the ending and explain its significance in the work as a whole. Edna was not going to sacrifice herself or her happiness anymore for others. Not for her husband, her children, her fellow friends: Madame Lebrun and Madame Ratignolle, or even the love of her life, Robert. She loved herself too much and felt herself too important to stay confined to a role that didn’t fit who she was as a person. Edna came to this realization through a series of different experiences: her relationship with Robert, her friendship with Mademoiselle Reisz, and her developing artistic ability for painting. Edna realized that she couldn’t be herself and be happy, and still “remember the children.” She no longer wanted to be possessed mind, body, and soul. In the end, she would only be sad, alone, frustrated, and unhappy. So she came to the realization that she had to kill herself and accepted that fact.
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Edna’s suicide was a happy ending for her alone. She came to the realization that she couldn’t remain awakened and live in a world filled with moral conventions and responsibilities. Her death reconciled her life with freedom.
************************************************************************
All happy endings don’t always end with merely