Who Is Desiree's Baby '?
The most prevalent theme in the short story, “Desiree’s Baby”, is racism. This particular short story was set during a time when blacks, or African Americans, were not only considered to be of the lowliest station, but were also kept as indentured servants, or slaves. To wealthy plantation owners, they were neither respected nor, in most cases, treated very well. The slave’s one and only job was to please their master in any and all tasks. If that were not bad enough, most all whites, or Caucasians, thought blacks to have very low mental capacity and only did well when performing manual labor. White people believed that they were superior in all ways to blacks to the point that they were forbidden any and all freedoms that all whites enjoyed. When Desiree was found as a baby, no one knew her origin, but as she grew, her complexion, her hair and eyes all resembled that of any other Caucasian person so it was assumed that she was just that. The same could be said for her husband, Armand. When Desiree gave birth to her son, it came as a tremendous surprise to Desiree that as the baby
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grew, his looks began to resemble that of a light-skinned black child. Desiree took the blame upon herself, with the help of her husband of course, because of the lack of knowledge she had about her biological family. Even though it was originally assumed that Desiree was the carrier of the dreaded black gene, it turned out that Armand’s mother was in fact either of the black race or a combination of the white and black races.
When Armand learns this, it is too late. Desiree has already taken the baby and gone to either commit suicide or simply die in the swamp. Her death was senseless and uncalled for, not only because Armand carried the gene, but because she would think she had to do such a thing at all. Desiree believed that she and the baby were somehow tainted because they were part African American. It just goes to show how serious everyone during this time period took the importance of not only a title, but also the color of one’s skin. To think that someone would go to such lengths to kill themselves and their infant child only because of their appearance is mind
blowing. Racism, prejudice, bigotry, and ignorance still run rampant today, however it is nothing compared to what it was in the 1800’s. In one particular excerpt from the story, it made mention of Armand’s poor treatment of his servants. It all made sense as to why he treated them so poorly at the end of story when the reader finds out that his mother is African American. It could have been that he abused his slaves because he saw a reflection of himself in them simply because he hated that he was part of, what he considered to be, their lowly race.
The color of one’s skin is just that, a pigment. It is an insignificant physical characteristic that means very little when it comes to the worth of any individual, but for Desiree, her baby, and her husband, it meant everything; literally a life or death scenario. Sadly, there was not a happy ending for Desiree or her infant child and almost assuredly Armand’s future did not bode so well either. Armand’s racism towards his own race or kinsmen is what ruined him. No amount of pretending to be something he was not was ever going to make him worthy.
grew, his looks began to resemble that of a light-skinned black child. Desiree took the blame upon herself, with the help of her husband of course, because of the lack of knowledge she had about her biological family. Even though it was originally assumed that Desiree was the carrier of the dreaded black gene, it turned out that Armand’s mother was in fact either of the black race or a combination of the white and black races.
When Armand learns this, it is too late. Desiree has already taken the baby and gone to either commit suicide or simply die in the swamp. Her death was senseless and uncalled for, not only because Armand carried the gene, but because she would think she had to do such a thing at all. Desiree believed that she and the baby were somehow tainted because they were part African American. It just goes to show how serious everyone during this time period took the importance of not only a title, but also the color of one’s skin. To think that someone would go to such lengths to kill themselves and their infant child only because of their appearance is mind
blowing. Racism, prejudice, bigotry, and ignorance still run rampant today, however it is nothing compared to what it was in the 1800’s. In one particular excerpt from the story, it made mention of Armand’s poor treatment of his servants. It all made sense as to why he treated them so poorly at the end of story when the reader finds out that his mother is African American. It could have been that he abused his slaves because he saw a reflection of himself in them simply because he hated that he was part of, what he considered to be, their lowly race.
The color of one’s skin is just that, a pigment. It is an insignificant physical characteristic that means very little when it comes to the worth of any individual, but for Desiree, her baby, and her husband, it meant everything; literally a life or death scenario. Sadly, there was not a happy ending for Desiree or her infant child and almost assuredly Armand’s future did not bode so well either. Armand’s racism towards his own race or kinsmen is what ruined him. No amount of pretending to be something he was not was ever going to make him worthy.