... 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 that of Edna's. The irony in ... woman of great limitation and restraint. Early in the novel, while Edna attemp...

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