The Awakening Essay - 1091 Words

Books, unlike movies, have been around since the beginning of time. For the most part, they are more meaningful than the movies that are made from these books. This is due to the fact that an author is able to convey his/her message clearer and include things in the book that cannot be exhibited in a movie. For this reason, the reader of the book is much more effected than the viewer of the film. In the novella, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, there is much more evidence of symbolism as well as deeper meaning than in the movie version of the book, Grand Isle. Chopin conveys her symbolic messages through the main character’s newly acquired ability to swim, through the birds, through sleep, and through images of the moon. amp;#9;Edna†¦show more content†¦amp;#9;Another major symbolic image in this novel is the birds. They are, however, almost completely disregarded in the movie. They symbolize repeating cycles as well as the entrapment of women. In the opening lines of the book, the parrot keeps quot;repeating over and over: ‘Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi!’quot; (Chopin, 1) This represents the cycles that reoccur throughout the novel. One example is the nine-month cycle of life that is evident through Madame Ratignolle’s pregnancy. Additionally, the mocking bird represents the ability to dare and defy for he quot;hung on the other side of the door, whistling his fluty notes out upon the breeze with maddening persistence.quot; (Chopin, 1) The movie doesn’t mention any of this. amp;#9;The entrapment of women is another element that’s represented by the birds. It’s characterized by the quot;pigeon-housequot; (Chopin, 99) that Edna moves into. It quot;stood behind a locked gate, and a shallow parterre that had been somewhat neglected.quot; (Chopin, 99) The pigeon house represents inequality that women had to face in Chopin’s times. The locked gate shows that women were anything but free during that time period. The two parrots that are in a cage further support this. They are just like Edna hoping to escape from society’s rules and standards. She relates herself to a quot;bird winging its flight away from [Lamp;eacute;once].quot; (Chopin, 27) She does this because he treated her like aShow MoreRelatedThe Awakening on Kate Chopins The Awakening1745 Words   |  7 Pages The time period of the 1880s that Kate Chopin lived in influenced her to write The Awakening, a very controversial book because of many new depictions of women introduced in the book. The Awakening is a book about a woman, Edna Pontellier. In the beginning, she is a happy woman with her husband and 2 kids vacationing at Grand Isle. While there, Edna realizes she is in love with Robert Lebrun and that she was just forced into an unloving/dissatisfying marriage with Mr. Pontellier. Robert howeverRead MoreDemoralization In The Awakening1584 Words   |  7 Pagesthem and cause them to lose hope. 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