Villains, superheroes, and monsters--all of these are characters with which the reader is familiar. Authors use many techniques to develop the personalities of these characters to the readers. Authors use literary elements such as inner dialogue, appearance, and name meaning to create the characters. In “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, Chopin uses internal thoughts, the plot, and the setting to make Desiree the protagonist of the story.
Desiree has internal conflicts with herself throughout the whole story. As we all know Desiree has fair skin. So she always seems to question herself whether she is half black or not. She has a lot of suicidal thoughts. She wants to be white so badly, she would rather be dead if she can not. This story took place in the mid-1800s, during this time period African Americans were slaves and discriminated against.
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As we said this story took place during a time where African Americans were frowned upon in the southern state of Louisiana. It is a time period before the Civil War was fought. During a racist time period, things were not great form Desiree. Her husband who she came to love turns out to be racist. He begins to be very cruel to her and their baby. Desiree seemed like the perfect woman for Armand despite her fair skin complexion. In fact, Chopin says “For the girl grew to be beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere,--the idol of Valmonde”.
The plot plays a big part in Desiree being the antagonist. The first line of the story mentions Desiree and her baby. The Valmondes adopted Desiree after falling deeply in love with her after they found her. Armand comes into her life, later on, in the story in which the two wed. They have a baby, Desiree wakes up one morning and discovers something odd. Her baby boy is black. Armand is not happy about this at all. We come to find out that Armand is racist.
Armand soon kicks Desiree out and blames her for the child not being fully white. We come to find out that Armand is to blame for the baby’s complexion. He is not purely white, he is embarrassed by his newfound truth. Because African Americans were not accepted into the society around this time Desiree and the baby leaves never to be heard of again. And because of Armands racism and hateful ways he loses the love of his life.
Desiree is obviously the protagonist of the story. The story basically follows her actions. Soon as the story starts it provides background information about Desiree. About how she was abandoned by her birth parents. Then soon adopted by the Valmonde family. Her skin complexion also plays a big role in the story and how her son is black. Which causes her to lose the love of her life Armand, who is racist. The story ends with Desiree leaving town form good with her baby.
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