The Awakening Motifs and Symbols

Here’s what you need to know: Yesterday was your Awakening Quiz. Make Ups will take place before or after school today or tomorrow. If you come today after school I’ll here at 2:15 (I have a quick meeting to attend). Over the weekend you have homework, you need to read and understand the short story: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman-Perkins The story can be printed out from my website: hodgeel.weebly.com OR “The Yellow Wallpaper” is in your textbook pages 1066-1078 You will have homework tonight – more details coming your way. Today we’ll be annotating passages from The Awakening if you have your own copy you may write directly in the book. If you don’t your more than welcome to pick up the passages from the desks in the back. In order to annotate highlighters are also in the back if needed. In your notes that you’re keeping for The Awakening you should add this definition: A motif is a unified pattern of recurring objects or images used to emphasize a significant idea in large parts of or throughout the text.

“The Gilded Cage” Evelyn de Morgan 1919

Observations What’s the most dominant image? What is in the periphery? What are your observations with the color, medium, style? What else sparks your interest?

Analysis Why does the painter choose to make certain images dominant and others marginal? What might be the significance of the bird? Does the painting evoke a certain mood or theme? How? Why? How might the title of the painting, The Gilded Cage affect the analysis?

Song “A Bird in a Gilded Cage” by Harry von Tilzer 1900 She’s only a bird In a gilded cage, A beautiful sight to see, You may think she’s happy And free from care, She’s not Tho’ she seems to be, ‘Tis sad when you think Of her wasted life, For youth cannot mate with age, And her beauty was sold For an old man’s gold, She’s a bird in a gilded cage.

Bird Motif There are a few subtle references to birds throughout The Awakening. Without closer investigation into the passages and when birds show up we could completely miss the subtle hints Chopin is leaving behind. So we’ll read and annotate the following sections/chapters: A. Chapter 1 (page 1) A green and yellow parrot . . . when they ceased to be entertaining. B. Chapter 9 (page 23) At an early hour in the evening . . . twins in that one impetuous outburst. C. Chapter 27 (pages 82-83) “What is the matter with you?” . . . END D. Chapter 39 (pages 115-116) Despondency had come upon her . . .END

Annotation is just note taking (a note of explanation or comment added to a text or diagram.) It’s your brain digesting the material. Suggestions for how to annotate: Note any titles / number lines, paragraphs, stanzas Circle and define any unknown words. Summarize each section/stanza. Underline/highlight key phrases. Note word patterns, repetitions, point of view, or anything else that strikes you as confusing or important (label literary/rhetorical devices). Write down questions Determine not only what the text is saying but what the author is doing Annotating

A.

In class, Continue to read an annotate passages A-D (focusing on the bird motif). When you’re finished see if you can draw some conclusions about what the author is doing with these repeated images of birds. (I’m here to help bounce ideas around)

Homework – Due 8.23.19 Read and annotate the following passages: E. Chapter 6 (page 13) Edna Pontellier could not have told why . . . enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace. (entire chapter) F. Chapter 10 (page 27-28) Edna had attempted all summer to learn to swim . . . I was watching you", he told her. G. Chapter 25 (pages 73-77) When the weather was dark and cloudy Edna could not work. . . . you will let me come back?“ (entire chapter) As you read and annotate look for a motif that’s present in these passages. What do all of these passages have in common. What images/motifs are common? We’ll review and discuss tomorrow.

8.23.2019 Take out your annotated selections of The Awakening. Remember you have homework over the weekend: you need to read and understand the short story: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman-Perkins The story can be printed out from my website: hodgeel.weebly.com OR “The Yellow Wallpaper” is in your textbook pages 1066-1078

Discussion Passages A-D Passages E-G What do we associate with birds? What is the author illustrating through the use of birds? What lessons are we supposed to conclude from our investigation of the birds? What common images or motifs did you find throughout the text? What is the author illustrating through the use of these motifs? What lessons are we supposed to conclude from our investigation of these motifs?

Conclusions Symbol Meaning Understood Motifs are often symbolic. Symbol When a material object comes to represent, or stand for an idea or concept, it becomes a symbol. Meaning A symbol is an object that represents a meaning, so it is said to be symbolic or representative of that meaning. A symbol can represent different things depending on the experiences of a reader or the context of its use in a text. Understood Certain symbols are so common and recurrent that many readers have associations with them prior to reading a text. Other symbols are more textualized and only come to represent certain things through their use in a particular text.

Water/rebirth

George Frederick Watts Found Drowned George Frederick Watts 1850

Ophelia John Everett Millais 1851-1852

Chapter X – learns to swim Why does Edna compare her learning to swim with children learning to walk? What might this comparison signify about Edna’s self-perception? Why does Chopin use swimming as a metaphor for rebirth? How might you characterize Chopin’s syntax? Give an example from this excerpt.