The Awakening Study Guide

Analytical Focus:

Point of View: The point of view in this novel is in third person. The narrator is just like a silent observer, watching everything while being non-judgmental to anyone. This third person point of view allows us to clearly see what others think about Edna, and Edna's thoughts exactly too.

Imagery: The imagery in this novel is very vividly descriptive from the very start. It begins with the introduction to the parrot on chapter 1, "A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over…" this allows us to see the parrot in our minds. The author also uses imagery to help us better understand some of the characters by describing their physical appearance.

Diction: The author is incorporating a lot of French language in this novel due to the setting being in New Orleans. The explanation for this is simple due to the fact in history with the Louisiana Purchase by the French left a lot of influence on the New Orleans people. The author also uses a lot of adjectives to describe everyone and everything in the novel, giving us a better feel of what is going on. The author gives us a lot of details to emphasize the important events occurring at the moment, and goes straight to the point.

Tone: The tone in this novel is very nonchalant, very calm, and very observant of everything going on around the protagonist, including other people's thoughts about her and her own thoughts.

Thematic Focus:

Inherence to Conventions: Edna in the novel had to stick to the rules of her time. This meaning she had to be the house wife, taking care of the children, staying home all day, cooking cleaning the whole ten yards. In this time, not following the rules or rebelling was completely out of the ordinary and not very common. In this novel we see how Edna's husband Mr. Pontellier travels and Edna has to stay home with the kids while he is away getting the money to sustain the family. Edna is forced to oblige by what her husband and children