The Awakening Final Project

One of the most debated topics in politics and at home right now is the equality of marriage. We are now realizing as a country that our differences make us who we are and we all deserve the same rights. If the United States passes a law in favor of equality of marriage we will be taking great advancements in our history.  The United States should pass a law for marriage equality because our country started based on equality, promotes adoption, and divorce rates will decline.

As Americans our basic rights are stated in the Declaration of Independence and protected in the Constitution. The Declaration of Independence says “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights.” Before our country had a government we knew that we were all different but created equal no matter our differences. Each person was also guaranteed rights that can’t be taken away from them and included in those rights are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” When the government is denying people the right of marriage they are denying people their pursuit of happiness and way of life. If the government passed gay marriage they would be giving people their pursuit of happiness and giving young children the possibility of a good life.

            Many children each year are put up for adoption for many reasons and if the gay marriage law passed many other children could be saved from bad homes and frightening childhoods.  All but two states have laws that allow same-sex or gay couples from adopting. The children would be able to live in safe, welcoming homes. Out of all the same-sex couples in America 94,627 have children and 21.20% of those children are adopted or step children. Children are able to experience the same lifestyle as any other children in America. Children will also most likely experience a home with both parents where as children of some heterosexual couples will experience split families.

            Each year it seems as if more families wither heterosexual parents are experiencing divorce. In 2010 for each of the 6.8 marriages 3.6 of them got divorced. That has jumped from 7.2 marriages and 3.6 divorces in 2007.  Many of the states that have approved gay marriage have the lowest divorce rates in the country. Massachusetts which was the first state to legalize gay marriage has had the lowest divorce rate since 2008.  Alaska on the other hand has one of the highest divorce rates in the country and they were one of the first states to prohibit gay marriage. If a law was passed that allowed same-sex marriage many states would have a lower divorce rate and the people would be happier.  

            As the years pass more people are accepting the idea of same-sex marriage. In 2004 51% of the people that partook in the Wall Street Journal Poll were strongly opposed to same-sex marriage, by 2013 that number has dropped to 32%. Each year the equality of marriage gains more support. If we would pass the equality of marriage law our country would be upholding our basic values, promoting adoption, and divorce rates would be lower.

Symbolism in The Awakening

     Kate Chopin uses many different symbols in The Awakening, but the most prominent symbols is birds.Chopin uses symbolism to convey the feelings of some characters. Right at the beginning of the book we see symbolism with birds and more appear throughout the text as we read.

    Chopin continually uses the birds to represent the freedom that Edna wants. The bird symbolism shows up in the first chapter of the book and is used in many chapters after showing how trapped and constricted Edna feels. She feels trapped because she is unhappy in marriage with Mr. Pontellier and she doesn't like her role as a "mother-woman" in the Creole society.

     The bird symbolism is prominent throughout the book and provides a great amount of insight into Edna Pontellier's feelings. The birds symbolize Edna wants of freedom from her marriage and responsibilities  On the first page of the book Mr. Pontellier is harassed by a parrot saying, "Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That's all right!" The parrot is telling Mr. Pontellier to "Go away! Go away! For heaven's sake!" The bird symbolizes how Mrs. Pontellier wants to be away from her husband even though she, her husband, or the reader don't know it yet.

     As the book progresses the bird symbolism makes more appearances especially in chapter nine when Mademoiselle Reisz plays piano at the party Madame Leburn holds a party for the guests. As Mademoiselle Reisz plays Edna sees "the figure of a man standing beside a desolate rock on the seashore. He was naked. His altitude was one of hopeless resignation as he looked toward a distant bird winging its flight away from him." Edna's bird in this scene shows how she wants her freedom as a woman in the strict society that she lives. She hasn't really fit into her "mother-woman" role in the Creole society which intensifies her cry for freedom in the book.

     The bird symbolism emerges again in the middle of the book when Edna decides to move out of their massive house on Esplanade Street to the small house around the block. Many of her friends called it her "pigeon-house." The name of the house symbolizes Edna breaking free from the typical Creole woman and living on her own. This is Edna's big moment where she gets most of her freedom in the book. She has her freedom for awhile until Robert denies their love and Mr. Pontellier writes of his return in early March. She uses her freedom to its full advantage by returning to the Grand Isle.

     Edna is at the Grand Isle again returning only for a little while before Mr. Pontellier returns home. She decides to go for a swim in the Gulf when she gets there and as she is entering the water sees "a bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water." This bird symbolizes how Edna feels right now. She has lost her only love, Robert, and can't go back to her broken marriage with Mr. Pontellier. The bird she sees is like her; broken and falling down. So as Edna goes for her swim she becomes the bird she sees.

   The birds in this book symbolized freedom at the beginning and conformity at the end. Chopin changes the symbol the bird represent to show that things are broken as easily as they are made. The birds with the light wings break easily like the women in the Creole society who were fragile and submissive. Not only do the birds portray symbolism in the book they also foreshadow some events that are going to happen. The first and last symbolism examples told us how Edna was feeling at that point and what her possible motives were. Chopin uses her symbolism and foreshadowing to help to reader to relate and connect better with characters.