The Awakening: Learning to Express Yourself Through Art

Kate Chopin wrote this novel to show that during that time women are never taken very seriously. She wrote two novels and many of short stories about based in Louisiana and 20th-century feminist. She introduces the modern feminist literary movement. In this novel, The Awakening, Kate Chopin used her own significant way to how Edna begins to realize the world around her. In her novel, The Awakening, Kate Chopin use motifs, diction, and simile to portray how the point of view of character inner and thoughts and feeling. Throughout her novel, it showed how only narrative point of view and characters have limited thoughts and feelings.

The narrative point of view was mostly focused on Edna Pontellier’s emotion. In Chapter 9, it showed how many examples of different kinds of her walking up to the realization that she can admire more about music and to the fact that her life is up to a point where it had become life changing. Edna learned how to indicate herself through art. It started when Edna heard Mademoiselle Reisz performed on the piano. The literary device motif is an idea, object, or a concept that repeats itself throughout the text. Which it gives us clues to the theme of what does the author wants to emphasize. An example of a motif is music. For an example in the text “Musical strains, well rendered, had a way of evoking pictures in her mind.” The effect is when Mademoiselle Reisz play the piano, Enda felt the effective power inside of her. Listening to music, Edna explores music and her own art. It shows how when listening to the deeply emotional journey as it unleash Enda’s inner passions. When Mademoiselle Reisz plays piano, she has an artistic expression. She is aware that music has the power to express emotion from it. Another literary device that Kate Chopin used is diction. Diction means the choice of words by the speaker or a writer.

There is a few examples of diction that I would like to discuss in this essay is “fond” because there are many different kinds of words that can be used an expression like addicted, partial, and romantic. Fond mean to having an affection or liking for. The effect of these words can be effects on the reader’s attitude, but also the feeling toward to the character in the story. Another diction is “fever” mean to have an intense emotion or activity. Another word that can be used is passion. The author uses good diction to show the style of writing determined by the choice of word by the speaker. The last one is “solitude” mean a situation of being alone. When Edna name “solitude” for the piece for the piano name, she starts to image thing.

Simile means a comparison, showing similarities between two different things. The simile is “When she heard it there came before her imagination the figure of a man standing beside a desolate rock on the seashore. He was naked. His attitude was one of hopeless resignation as he looked toward a distant bird winging its flight away from him. ” It’s comparatively a naked man and a bird. The effect is that Edna mind is thought an image of a naked man who feel sad for the bird. Edna had a deep emotion for that man, and ignore the women. The another simile is “Another piece called to her mind a dainty young woman clad in an Empire gown, taking mincing dancing steps as she came down a long avenue between tall hedges.” It’s a comparable female and a bird. The female is the symbol of the figure of the bird which the narrative keeps saying “dainty young women”. If you combine the first simile and the second one, is that it looks like Edna image naked, as a women version of her masculine figure of solitude. The last simile is 'the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul, swaying it, lashing it, as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body.' it’s a connection between music and the sea. Like the waves and the music appeals on Edna.

Throughout The Awakening by Kate Chopin, it had much of a deeper meaning in the novel. These literary devices make the connection with Edna. She learned how to express herself through art more. She is aware that music has a power to express emotion to it. When listening to Mademoiselle Reisz play Chopin, Edna feel the passion and the tear in her eye. The connection that I have is that I listen to music, the song it’s meaningful, powerful and touching. The different kind of song has hidden emotion to it and some song talk about biggest issue that seemed in the society. A song that is most motivating and life changing for people in society now.