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GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government
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The Awakening 28744 Views
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Description:
Dig up your trench coat, grab your magnifying glass, and stick on that fake mustache (we know you have one): it's time to unleash your inner Sherlock Holmes and analyze the ending of The Awakening . Was it suicide? Or was it an accident?
Transcript
- 00:01
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin <Sho-pan>, a la Shmoop.
- 00:11
Everybody makes mistakes. And sometimes, they’re a good way to learn stuff, like not to put
- 00:19
the car into reverse when you’re on the freeway…
- 00:21
…and the importance of putting down your coffee cup before checking your watch.
- 00:23
Then there’s the self-sabotage. The haircut you gave yourself before school picture day.
Full Transcript
- 00:27
Or the study session you blew off so you could unlock the next level of Call of Duty.
- 00:31
Sure, the outcome wasn’t great, but it was definitely a product of your decision.
- 00:32
Usually, we emerge from our misadventures unscathed, and ready to screw up another day.
- 00:33
Ain't life grand? In Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, feisty
- 00:36
heroine Edna is having a rough time adjusting to life as an independent woman.
- 00:42
She finally managed to ditch her husband and score a hottie bad boy. She’s even starting
- 00:48
to make a name for herself as a painter.
- 00:54
But then her "hear me roar" philosophy scares away the man she really wants…
- 00:59
…and she starts getting visits from the Guilt Fairy.
- 01:07
Edna's next move is to make a grand exit by drowning in the ocean.
- 01:11
Sure, she's a drama queen, but is this really the ending she intended? Was Edna's drowning
- 01:16
a suicide… or an accident? There are some pretty substantial arguments
- 01:21
for the "oopsie" theory.
- 01:21
Edna isn't exactly in a “safety first” mindset at this point. She's heartbroken and
- 01:22
freaking out about the future…not the best time for a little dip!
- 01:24
Sure, Edna’s a pretty moody gal, but she's got a lot to look forward to. She's finding
- 01:29
buyers for her paintings, and she has a pretty sweet bachelorette pad.
- 01:37
She's even making plans to bring home a couple rebound boyfriends. Why would Edna deliberately
- 01:43
end it all when she is finally achieving her goals?
- 01:47
Or, maybe Edna’s swan song is really an attempt to push the envelope.
- 01:53
Her friend Mademoiselle Reisz <Rice> tells her that, to succeed, she must become a "courageous
- 01:59
soul that dares and defies." In other words, art isn’t for wimps.
- 02:05
So how does Edna raise the shock factor after having two affairs and sort of leaving her
- 02:11
husband? Well, nothing says “I’m a risk-taker” quite like skinny-dipping in broad daylight.
- 02:17
The problem is, Edna is no Michael Phelps. She might be setting a personal record by
- 02:18
swimming farther than she has before…
- 02:18
…but by the end of the book, it’s “Ocean:1, Edna: 0.”
- 02:20
But what if Edna really did go on a suicide swim? She doesn’t have 99 problems, but
- 02:23
she’s got a few really big ones.
- 02:25
The early 1900s weren’t exactly about bra-burning and free love…
- 02:28
…and Edna’s behavior may have serious consequences.
- 02:33
If the news of her affairs ever went… viral, Edna’s husband could easily make sure she
- 02:38
never saw her children again.
- 02:40
There are also risks to her social life. Edna’s best friend, Adele, tells Edna to dump her
- 02:42
man-candy, or she’ll be flying solo for the next girl’s night out.
- 02:42
Even Edna’s crush is too chicken to handle a steamy affair... he'd rather make an honest
- 02:42
woman of her.
- 02:42
Edna has to choose between free life as an outcast and caged life as a man’s property,
- 02:49
and maybe that’s a decision she doesn’t want to make.
- 02:52
So what’s the verdict in this episode of CSI: New Orleans:
- 02:58
Accident…
- 02:59
…or suicide? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
- 03:08
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