Social Differences In The Awakening By Kate Chopin And The...

Max Connon once avowed, â€Å"people are going to behave however the social norms permit, and beyond that.† Connon is unambiguously implying that the normal ways of society are going to be followed most of the time but, at some point in time these norms are also going to be disobeyed or challenged. A social norm is defined as the informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society. As societies grow and culture changes, the social norms of a society change as well. Certain deeds become socially intolerable, while other deeds become socially tolerable. In the vastly different novels, The Awakening (Kate Chopin), 1984 (George Orwell), A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens), and The Road (Cormac McCarthy), social norms are†¦show more content†¦Accordingly Edna states â€Å"I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself. I can’t make it more clear, it’s on ly something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me (Chopin 62)†. Furthermore, this one quote is essentially the epitome of the novel. Edna loves her children, but she would not give up her newly found identity that is independent of the social expectations of her identity. Edna Pontellier contravenes the 19th century social norms in order to find her true self. Likewise, Winston Smith in George Orwell’s 1984 disobeys the social norms in order to pursue an outlawed love affair. 1984 by George Orwell is a dystopian- an imagined place in which everything is unpleasant or bad- novel that tells of the alarming future. The novel tells of a totalitarian government (called the â€Å"Party†) that uses manipulation and intense surveillance to gain control over the minds of its citizens. Orwell writes,war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength (6). These three slogans are the core of the Party. Set in Airstip One, which is a province of the superstate Oceania, the protagonist Winston Smith, searches for independence from the social norms. In the beginning of the novel, Orwell describes posters that say â€Å"big brother is watching you (3)†. The â€Å"big brother† these posters are referring to is a man with aShow MoreRelated The Variety of Feminisms and their Contributions to Gender Equality by Judith Lorber1120 Words   |  5 Pagestogether is the oppression of women in general. Though, it is when talking about male dominance, wom en’s resistance, and women’s social roles, that the views on feminism changes. In the book, The Awakening, Kate Chopin greatly reveals women’s resistance within a male dominated society through her main character Edna Pontellier. Similarly, in her short, The Story of an Hour, Chopin emphasized the oppression that married women went through with their husbands during the late 1800s. The Yellow Wallpaper byRead More Love and Self in Kate Chopins The Awakening Essay3484 Words   |  14 PagesLove and Self in The Awakening  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kate Chopins The Awakening is often said to triumph the exploration on the emotional and sexual needs of women, and the novel certainly is about that to a great extent, but even more importantly, it is a quest for individuality and the meaning of love. Through the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, Chopin describes in her novel one womans journey towards self-consciousness. Several stages of awakenings can be detected on the road, which are discussedRead MoreLiterary Criticism : The Free Encyclopedia 7351 Words   |  30 PagesAppearing to Diminish: Female Development and the British Bildungsroman, 1750-1850, Bucknell University Press, London ISBN 978-0-83875-411-5 12.Jump up ^ Stein, M., The Black British Bildungsroman and the Transformation of Britain: Connectedness across Difference in Barbara Korte, Klaus Peter Mà ¼ller, editors (1998) Unity in Diversity Revisited?: British Literature and Culture in the 1990s, pp. 89–105, Gunter Narr Verlag, Tà ¼bingen ISBN 382-3-35192-3 13.Jump up ^ Franco Moretti, Albert Sbragia (1987) The