Duke University English Use of Water to Inform the Theme Novel Analysis

User Generated

Qbpgbe_ZvxrXney

Humanities

Duke University

Description

writing question: why did both Chopin and LaPlante set their novels on a  body of water ? how does water inform both novel of "The awakening" and  "half moon bay" one quote from each novel. 

Unformatted Attachment Preview

A Bit of Water Half Moon Bay Pages 36-38 Let’s start our virtual discussion with where our class is headed: Writing Question: Why did both Chopin and LaPlante set their novels on a body of water? How does water inform both novels? Think. Think. Think…. The quotes that we will be exploring can be found on pages 36-38. Interesting stuff; one could use this to answer the essay’s writing question. Right? Here we go: From page 36. “One week after Heidi’s funeral, Jane encounters unexpected traffic on her way home from work. Driving north on the usually empty Route 1, she pills up behind a long line of cars stretching at least a mile ahead. As she inches closer, she sees that a large crowd has gathered at Surfer’s Beach, one block west of Jane’s cottage. She has to wait ten minutes to turn onto the street, obstructed by gawkers as drivers pause to stare at whatever is causing the snarl. Jane gets a glimpse before she turns the corner. An astonishing sight. A whale beached itself on the sand. People in official-looking emergency vests are gathered around it, with yellow police tape keeping the crowds at a distance from the huge grey mass. An alien in their midst” (La Plante 36). Ellipsis, shown above, by the way, are used to show the omission of writing. Right, Oliver? I’m using ellipsis to show that I’m skipping a section of the reading. From page 38. Can you believe this? he asks, pointing to the whale. It tower over the heads of the people in the crowd. But as Jane and Adam walk closer, Jane can see that something isn’t right. On the whale’s side are splashes of color, lines, and loops of red, blue, and green. Some asshole, says Adam, Last night. At first Jane isn’t sure what he’s talking about, but now she can that WE’RE ALL FUCKED has been spray-painted on the whale’s enormous side. A majestic creature turned into a platform for obscenities. A smiley face has been added on the creature’s tail. Who could have done such a thing? Jane asks. Adam shrugs. He seems to taken it in his stride. She would have thought it would have insulted his sense of cosmic justice. It’s worse than you think, he says. The whale was still alive. The rangers had put wet blankets on it and were coming regularly to hose it down. They hoped it would go out in the second tide today, which is going to be a high one. But whoever did this also poured water into the whale’s air hole. It drowned” (LaPlante 38). ***Note: LaPlante uses italics to show dialogue. Normally, quotation marks are used. I find LaPlante’s use of italics for dialogue interesting and creative. Check This Out!
Purchase answer to see full attachment
Explanation & Answer:
2 12 Pages
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

hey...i have completed your assignment. kindly have a look and let me know if you need any edits

In literature, water is used as a symbol of life, purification, rebirth and death. Water has also
been seen as a symbol for creation as well as destruction. The novels “The Awakening” by Kate
Chopin and “Half Moon Bay” by LaPlante are both set on water bodies, where water largely
informs their themes in different ways. This paper consists a discussion on the use of the water
theme in novels.
In The Awakening, the sea signifies liberty and escape. Edna, the main character in this story
only feels brave when she when she is in solitary. Edna, the main character is a young woman,
married to an elderly rich man and a mother of two children. She is a housewife who is seen as
unfulfilled and unhappy in life. In the beginning, Edna cannot swim but after she learns how to
swim, she discovers her strength and baptizes herself with the water. The association of water
and cleansing symbolizes rebirth. Initially, water really scares her and she is not free at all. She
however allows herself to swim, which is how she finds h...


Anonymous
Excellent! Definitely coming back for more study materials.

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Similar Content

Related Tags