The Awakening Rhetorical Analysis

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In The Awakening, Mademoiselle Reisz questions Edna’s ability to defy society through the use of metaphor in order to reveal that opposing social norms requires a great deal of strength. Mademoiselle Reisz feels Edna’s back in order to determine the power of Edna to go against society. Reisz herself is an independent woman that openly lives a solitary life based around a love for music; therefore, she speaks from experience. To begin, Mademoiselle Reisz mentions that “bird that soars above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings.” The strong bird is one that can fly away from anything attempting to cage it and prevent it from living freely. Edna similarly attempts to do the same, as she hopes to escape the traditional ways of a set society. Chopin describes the bird as having “strong wings” something …show more content…
The bruised bird is clearly injured, just as a weaker person and can not soar using powerful wings, rather it is “bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.” The weakling tried to fly at the height of the strong bird, but does not have the ability to do so as it does not have the strength to maintain flight, thus making it flutter and fall instead of soaring. Mademoiselle Reisz adds this contrast to illustrate how seeking to go against society can end in one of two ways: success or failure. Mademoiselle Reisz questions which bird Edna is by feeling Edna’s shoulder blades to see if her “wings were strong”. If Edna succeeds in her quest to gain independence and rebel against the role of a woman in the 19th century, she will be considered the strong bird. Edna can also fail in her pursuit and fall aimlessly back towards the earth almost guaranteed for destruction as the weakling.Ultimately, Mademoiselle Reisz employs a metaphor to question Enda’s power to go against tradition and illustrate that to do so strength is
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