According to Lyiscott “What Does It Mean To Be ‘Articulate’”. a stereotype is a is judgement by a different race that causes conflict and unfairness. Lyiscott says “Why these books not about my people.”Furthermore, she is judged by her race. People judge her thinking she’s not as intelligent. Stereotypes make everything different and difficult for a lot. Not just different races, but also different religions. Everyone is judged by what they wear, and how they speak or even how they look. We all judge someone before we get to know them and we have our on idea on what we think of them. Stereotyping has gotten way out of hand in generations. Lyiscott’s professor once judged her and thought she wasn’t as intelligent just because of her race, therefore…
Miscegenation is seen throughout the various stories, such as "Desiree's Baby" by Chopin and in "The Wife of My Youth" by Chesnutt. In "Desiree's Baby" Desiree's husband, Armand, is ashamed of part of him that he believed to be inferior to the White in him, ashamed of his African roots. Once Desiree's baby is born, and the quadroon in the baby begins to show, Armand seeks to veil his secret by accusing Desiree of having African ancestry herself, which at the time was seen as a "fault". Driven by shame and hopelessness, Desiree takes her life and her child's. In "the Wife of My Youth" light skinned African American believed they were superior to those that were darker than them. Mr. Ryder, a former slave, found himself thinking like the other "Blue Veins" members; the lighter they were the more superior they were. When Mr. Ryder finds himself in the presence of "the wife of [his] youth" he reflects on what he is and where he came from, and takes again his former spouse for a wife again. Miscegenation today is still criticized, although we see more interracial marriages than previous years. Like Mr. Ryder, I feel that accepting where you come from makes you a more legitimate person. I prefer Chesnutt's method on portraying miscegenation, although Chopin's is very…
In “Desiree’s Baby”, Desiree is just the wife and the mother of Armand’s child that he ends up denying. Women did not have a say so at all during this time. Armand is the very strict slave owner, but he is also the “breadwinner”, but he makes Desiree feel complete when he is showing her his soft side. When he starts to disown the baby that’s when Desiree becomes weak because he blames her for him being mixed blood. That is when she tells her mom “My mother, they tell me I am not white. Armand tells me I am not white. For God’s sake tell them it is not true. You must know it is not true. I shall die. I must die. I cannot be so unhappy, and live” (Chopin 5). After Armand tells her to take the baby and leave, Desiree becomes depressed and does not want to live…
There used to be a time where white people thought having African American blood in your family was wrong. It was thought of as a shame to your family or a disgrace to the name. Kate Chopin tells a story about a wife and husband who have a new child. Desiree, a white orphan that was adopted by the Valmonde family, is enthralled about the arrival of her baby boy and her husband Armand, a strict slave owner is also excited to see his first born son. However, the family begins to realize that something is mysteriously wrong with the newborn. They begin to notice that he is acquiring the traits of an African American and soon the couple start to narrow down the possibilities of the situation. In the story “Desiree’s Baby”, Kate Chopin uses symbolism and foreshadowing to portray that there is something eccentric about the baby and creates a mysterious plot that keeps the audience looking out for these clues.…
Man often pairs logical rationale with the underlying emotional basis for his decisions, but emotion ceases to exist when it no longer parallels the rationale. At the beginning, Monsieur Aubigny’s passion for Désirée awakens with the ferocity of all “that drives headlong over all obstacles.” Chopin compares its tenacity to an avalanche and a prairie fire, giving the impression of strength and omnipotence, and Monsieur Aubigny uses this passion to justify his quick courtship and marriage to Désirée. However, just as the fire and the avalanche, his passion weakens with every obstacle. Upon his realization that Désirée gave birth to an African-American child, his passion immediately freezes. He loses his humanity, indifferent to Désirée’s pleas…
The delight that Désirée was able to find was with a little baby and a man she fell in love with. As the mother of Désirée begins to speak about the baby and how he has changed “Désirée’s face became suffused with a glow that was happiness itself” (243), and what this shows how delighted she feels with her baby. Another time she shows joyousness in the story is when it states “This is what made the gentle Désirée so happy, for she loved him desperately” (243), when stating this it is showing how having the baby has made her husband a kinder person which makes her happy. When the baby was born Desiree’s husband became happier “Oh mamma, I’m so happy; it frightens me”(243), saying this it helps us…
In the era Chopin wrote "Desiree's Baby" sexism was a major point in the lives of women, permitting them from being able to speak for themselves. Chopin later reveals that Armand was the one who truly was of black dissent and he was the one who had passed those genes down to the baby. But Desiree who has all the right in the world to defend herself cannot simply because of her sex. She is accused of the "unconscious injury she had brought upon [Armand's] home and his name"(244). Although Chopin states that Desiree is whiter than Armand and the baby, because of the setting of the story she cannot defend her honor in saying she isn’t black. Peel writes that, "Desiree is immersed in her husband's value system and never stands up to [Armand], not…
The reader can start to feel this child like attitude Desiree has in the beginning when Madame Valmonde thought that “it seem[ed] but yesterday that Desiree was little more than a baby herself”(Chopin 1). This sentence foreshadow and hints at Desiree's thoughts and actions being based on what others think of her. One example of this is how she lets Armand decide her happiness. In the story it states, “when he frowned she trembled, but loved him. When he smiled, she asked no greater blessing of God” (Chopin 1). As it says in the quote Desiree based her joy on Armands actions and feelings. This relates to the end of the book when she leaves the town and is never being seen again leading the reader to believe she died or went into hiding; Desiree possibly killed her and the baby because Armand assumed and she could not live with others thinking badly of her. Another example of this is when she writes her mom asking her to deny that she was black but when her mother wrote back saying, "My own Desiree: Come home to Valmonde; back to your mother who loves you. Come with your child” (Chopin 2). Which shows that Madame Valmonde also thought that Desiree was black. The reader can infer that because of two people's assumption that she was black, Desiree started to feel low in worth leading her to possibly kill herself. These examples in the story show that Desiree was dependent on others inside of being self…
‘Desiree’s Baby’ is a short story written by Kate Chopin. This story highlights some sense of consequence and karma as the main theme. It also tends to explore the problems of a man’s pride who is trying to overcome the love he has got for his race and wife. The purpose of this essay is to examine some of the major themes; racial superiority and inferiority, blind and deep love, and mystery, and how they have changed everything in the entire story.…
Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby" is a timeless portrayal of one woman's startling descent into hysteria and the societal pressures that bring on rapid and uninhibited panic. Desiree unknowingly becomes the victim of her husband's hierarchical cover-up- he puts the blame for the child's condemned skin color on Desiree when he is in fact of black descent. This forceful allegation, compounded with other accusations of not being white that presumably take place outside of the home, in effect drive Desiree and her fragile soul six feet under.…
He was a typical Southern aristocrat, and the things that mattered did not allow for Desiree. Desiree was a threat to Armand’s pure name, which in turn threatened his wealth, lands, and his successful place in society. Armand removed that threat. “Moreover, he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name.” (Chopin 33) This seals the deal. Armand married Desiree for love, not for wealth or status or any other reason. When she hurt the things dearest to him, his home and name, the love left. When love left, there was no reason to stay with her. Moreover, her mere presence was a continual stab in the back, bringing him closer and closer to social death. Desiree became a liability, and so Armand removed her. It is not a Disney story where the prince gives up his crown to marry the slave, nor is the slave made a princess. It is a story where society does not allow for nobles to have mixed blood, where a woman with unknown past could be condemned for having impure blood without proof. It is a story where the prince is conditioned by that very society from birth and acts accordingly. It is a story where that prince, that society, victimizes someone who simply fell in…
For the past two weeks, my English class has been studying Kate Chopin. I am almost ashamed to admit that I was ignorant of Chopin until this course. Her writing style is so natural, precise, and detailed that it makes me feel like an observant background character instead of just a reader. I love it. The endings to Chopin's stories, however, are undeniably my favorite part of her writing. She is known for delivering surprising, almost twisted endings. The Story of an Hour and Desiree's Baby left me feeling bewildered, saddened, and oddly amused. Of course, I was saddened and bewildered by each of the women's lives and deaths in both stories. Poor Louise Mallard was so ready to live her life only for herself. Then, ol' Brently came back a knockin' from the dead... Do not even get me started on the treatment of Desiree in Desiree's baby. The discovery made by her husband, Armand, gives me only the slightest sense of justice. Frankly, the amusement I receive from Desiree's Baby stems from that same slight sense of justice. Naturally, the amusement felt from The Story of an…
A culture that enslaves the lesser human with acts unspeakable in nature creates an ideaology that a subculture is less than human, while perpetuating that a higher class is more justified in their actions through racism, slavery, and rape. The culture that perpetuates such hate is one that is superior to all others. In "Desiree's Baby," Kate Chopin scrutinized Southern Racism and the repugnance of miscegenation through the eyes of Desiree. Desiree was a young bride that was adopted with no connection to the past that marries a successful Louisianan plantation owner. Desiree and Armand have a baby, but something isn't quite right with him because at about three months of age the truth comes out, the baby has African origins causing the marriage to dissolve. Armand's accusation leads to heartache and tragedy because he valued his family name more than his family. Having a mulatto in those times was not unheard of, but not in "his" family. The cultural system is flawed because it leads to pride being challenged and personal humiliation of social system based on white supremacy and the oppression of women and people of color.…
“Desiree’s Baby” is a story about race, in Kate Chopin’s story. The reader begins to be aware that there is a mystery about that child’s parentage, when Desiree gives birth to her child. Besides Desiree’s racist husband, he finds out that she was born from black parents. The story of Desiree’s Baby is about race, it is a mystery about the child’s parentage.…
In the short story “Désirée's baby’, Kate Chopin uses the setting, tone, and symbols to give the characters their identity as well as setting the emotional transition of love. The story investigates the issue of a man's pride defeating the affection he has for his significant other and race. The reason for this paper is to look at why Armand's pride was greater and more than the adoration for his better half, and how race changed everything.…