8/14/2019 Desirees Baby Analysis

1/2

Shahid 1

Shahid, Ebrahim

English 1302-900

Mrs. M. Harrison

April 8, 2013

Desirees Baby (1893)

Author: Kate Chapin (1851 - 1904)

Characters:

Madame Valmondethe mother of Desiree

Zandrinea minor character, not much is known about her. She might be the

nurse or babysitter of the baby

La Blanchea minor character of which very little information is told Desireewhite woman who gives birth to a dark skinned toddler and is

abandoned by her also Caucasian husband for this

The babya baby born from 2 white parents, but is black as a 3 month old Coton Mais - a minor character of which very little information is told Monsier Valmondethe father of Desiree Armand AubingyDesirees husband who abandons her because their son is

black

Armands motherthe biological mother of Armand who happens to be blackSetting: The setting of the story is in LAbri, Louisiana in the month of October. It is in a

time most likely in the 19th

century as blacks are still considered slaves.

Dominant Literary Element: The dominant literary elements of this story are

symbolism and irony. Desirees baby is nothing but an innocent three month old baby,

8/14/2019 Desirees Baby Analysis

2/2

Shahid 2

but because of his color he becomes a symbol of conflict between races. Also at the end

of the story the reader learns that even though Desiree is accused of being partially black

it is in fact the mother of Armand, the father of the baby who is black.

Symbols: These symbols seemed most important in the story

Lettersthe letters are symbolic of explanations and hope for Desiree and forArmand they are just pieces of the past

Firefire is a symbol of destruction and Armand uses fire to burn everythingrelated to Desiree and her baby to erase his self-assumed shameful past

Theme: The theme of this story is racism and ignorance. Out of ignorance Armand

accuses his wife of being partially black which he thinks is the cause of his 3 month old

sold being black, when in fact its his own biological mother who is black and he ends up

abandoning his wife and son for the wrong reason.

Evaluation: I think this story teaches a great morale lesson. It teaches the reader a lesson

about the dangers of making assumptions. It also gave me a better idea of what 19th

century racism was like. The story however, does not really match up with the times and

in todays society people would think of Armand as more of a jerk instead of being

empathetic towards him.