Desiree's Baby

             In the story "Desiree's Baby" by Kate Chopin Armand Valmonde falls in love with Desiree and marries her. They live happily together until Armand notices his first born child was a mix of the black and white races. In an angered rage Armand refuses to speak to Desiree and eventually drives her to leave his house hold along with the child. In the end Armand finds a letter his mother wrote to his father and finds out that his mother was of the black race making him the reason for his mix child. Kate Chopin uses many literary devices to display the theme in the story which is how hypocritical Armand is. Flashbacks, similes and irony are the main tools Kate uses in the story to show his hypocorism.
             In the beginning of the story a flashback is use to give us a background on how Desiree and Armand met. In the flashback Armand fell in love with Desiree "as if struck by a pistol shot". He loved her regardless of her obscure origin and the fact that she had not yet been given a name. It seems as if his love for Desiree was very strong and never-ending. This flashback illustrates how Armand goes against his own personal feelings when he decides that Desiree isn't good enough for him anymore and dismisses her from his life.
             During the story, Kate uses many similes to express Armand's feelings. "After it was dealt he felt like a remorseless murderer" is a quote after Armand dismisses Desiree out of his home. He felt like a murderer because he was murdering his love for Desiree. Armand was so caught up in how his family was viewed by others that he destroyed his marriage with no idea that he was the problem. Armand's hypocorism murders his marriage and leaves him unaccompanied.
             The biggest tool Kate uses is the irony in the end when Armand finds he is the one from the black race. In a shocking event Armand finds out that his mother belonged to the black race. This is stated ...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Desiree's Baby. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 20:38, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/99394.html