... The Awakening, Kate Chopin conveys her ideas by using carefully crafted symbols that reflect her characters' thoughts and futures. One of the most important of these symbols, the bird, appears constantly, interwoven into the story to provide an insight to the condition of Edna and her struggle. At each of the three stages of her transformation, birds foreshadow her actions and emphasize the actions' importance while the birds' physical state provides an accurate measure of ... her feeling of freedom by using a rising bird. She speaks of two lovers who could feel "the beating of the birds...

• Word Count: 1017
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... 6 and 39 of Kate Chopin's story The Awakening, one is able to see that the author planned to depict the final scene to be tragic yet triumphant. Like Edna's final act in chapter 39, the first half of chapter 6 allows the reader to understand that Edna is lost in her search for individuality and freedom in her life. Perhaps the most apparent connection between the two chapters is the symbol and role of the sea which allows ... when she enters the water by lifting "her white body- instead of having someone or something do it for her (637). The ocean lets her make her own choices and bring...

• Word Count: 631
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate