Option 2

THE AWAKENING BY KATE CHOPIN

"The Awakening", is a novel by Kate Chopin first published in 1899. The story is set in New Orleans on the Southern coast at the end of the nineteenth century, and tells a story of a young woman who stumbles upon a quest to find who she really is, who she wants to be, and where she belongs. These songs below can be related to "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin do not only relate to Eda Pontellier (the main character), but also to many of the other characters. 

Song Number 1: Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Ray  

Kiss me hard before you go 
Summertime sadness 
I just wanted you to know 
That baby you're the best 

I've got that summertime, summertime sadness 

Got that summertime, summertime sadness 
Got that summertime, summertime sadness 
Oh, oh 

I'm feelin' electric tonight 
Cruising down the coast goin' by 99 
Got my bad baby by my heavenly side 
I know if I go, I'll die happy tonight. 

Oh, my God, I feel it in the air 
Telephone wires above are sizzling like a snare 
Honey I'm on fire I feel it everywhere 

Nothing scares me anymore 

Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Ray is the a great depiction of what is going on in "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin for numerous reasons. Edna is the protagonist of the book. She is twenty eight years old and is the wife on a very wealthy New Orleans man in business. The novel begins in the Grand Isle at an exclusive resort on the Gulf of Mexico. This resort is managed by Madame Lebrun and her two sons, Victor and Robert. The  Pontellier family (Edna, her husband and children) are vacationing there for the summer. Through a series of multiple events over the hot summer Edna begins to feel aware of her feeling towards Robert Lebrun, who is Madame Lebrun's son. He is a twenty six year old bachelor who is compassionate , adventurous, and charming. 

In the middle part of the song can be related to the beginning of Edna and Roberts love affair, "I'm feelin' electric tonight, [. . .] Got my bad baby by me heavenly side, I know if I go i'll die happy tonight". This "electric feeling" Lana del ray is talking about can be related to this indescribable  desire to spend time with Robert and sneak away with him. As their relationship progresses it almost feel as if she is loosing herself. She starts to make comments about relief when her kids are gone, it is almost as if it is just Robert and her in her own little world. She could die happy with him, essentially freeing herself from the responsibilities of her conservative lifestyle and family. 

"Kiss me hard before you go, [. . .] I just wanted you to know, that baby you're the best". This can be related to the part in the novel where Edna finds out Robert is leaving her. She wants him to know that he is the best and that she loves him. "I've got that summertime, summertime sadness" is in line almost exactly to the story because this dramatic love affair takes place during the summer. Later in the novel Edna will look back on the long, warm days she spent on the beach with Robert and will long for those summer days back, summertime sadness overcomes Edna in the end. 

Song Number 2: Follow me by Uncle Kracker

"You don't know how you met me, you don't know why
You can't turn around and say good-bye
All you know is when I'm with you I make you free
And swim through your veins like a fish in the sea, I'm singing"

I chose to pick this song, to have a song that relates from a different characters point of view. Follow me by Uncle Kracker is a song about a man asking a woman to allow herself to be swept away and live in the moment, essentially falling in love. It is about following your heart and letting go of reason and logic. "You can't turn around and say goodbye" this can be illustrated at the beginning of the novel when Robert tries to flatter Edna in many ways, however she denies him at first. Later on she realizes that she can no longer resist her feelings and essentially doesn't want to say goodbye. "All you know is when I'm with you I make you free". As the novel progresses many more things begin to make Edna fell this sense of being "free", however it is initially Robert who is the man to introduce her to that feeling and is the one who begins her self "awakening". Edna is letting go of the the boring life she once had and embracing her independence from her husband. 

Song Number 3: Firework by Katy Perry

"Do you ever feel

Like a plastic bag

Drifting through the wind

Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel

Feel so paper-thin

Like a house of cards

One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel

Already buried deep

Six feet under

Screams but no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's

Still a chance for you

'Cause there's a spark in you"

This is probably the song I feel relates the most to the novel as a whole. Of course their are certain songs that relate to her feeling towards Robert specifically, her sexual desires toward Alcee, or even her changing feelings about Adele. However, this story is about Edna re-discovering herself and finding things out about her emotion that she had been suppressing for many years. It is about her quest for independence and her fight against the conventional life of a southern wife and mother. "Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?". This lyrical line by Katy Perry is exactly how Edna feels almost throughout the entire novel. She is desperately wanting to start her life again and escape her monotonous life. She indeed already feels buried deep because of her kids, husband, responsibilities, and life she has already established for herself. However I believe that Edna becomes "A firework" during her swim during the beach get together in chapter X. Before this night Edna had only attempted to swim and had been very fearful of the ocean. That night she decides to take a leap of faith and her "Spark" (according to Katy Perry) begins to go off. The "Awakening" states "But that night she was like the tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who all of a sudden realizes its powers, and walks for the first time, alone, boldly with overconfidence" (Chopin, 27). It is during this swim that she establishes her sense of independence not only from her husband but from society and boundaries. In my opinion when Edna realizes how vast the ocean is and the depth of the ocean she channels that into herself and seeks to find the depth and strength in herself as well. 

Song Number 4: A Place in this World by Taylor Swift

"I don't know what I want

So don't ask me

'Cause I'm still trying to figure it out

Don't know what's down this road

I'm just walking

Trying to see through the rain coming down

Even though I'm not the only one who feels the way I do

I'm alone, on my own

And that's all I know

I'll be strong, I'll be wrong

Oh, but life goes on

Oh, I'm just a girl trying to find a place in this world"

A place in this world by Taylor Swift is a song about a young girl who is trying to figure out where she belongs in the world and how she fits in. During our class discussion we talked about how throughout the novel Edna feels as if she must pick between the two identities of the other female characters. First there is Madame Reisz who is wise and a free spirit, she is independent. Adele on the other hand in the epitome of a perfect wife and mother, she is selfless, and devoted to the life of others but not quite her own life. Edna desperately wants to be like Madame Reisz, yet she can't make the full commitment to leave her old ways. This struggle to have her won voice during this time in history is a reoccurring theme throughout the novel. Near the end of the novel, Edna is selling her painting she says, "Oh and be able to paint in color, rather than in words" (Chopin, 85). Edna starts to express herself in paintings and in color rather than words because she feels as though her voice has been oppressed her whole life. If she can't speak up maybe she can find her place in the world thought art, maybe her art can be her communication, her way of figuring things out. "I dont know what I want" lyric in the song really sums up Enda's emotions throughout the book. In the end, Edna's inability to decide her place in the world results in her taking her life at sea, ironically the same place she found her very freedom. 

Song Number 5: Thinking Over by Dana Glover

"I've been searching for reason and I'm running out of time
I can feel that it's the season
Time to make up my mind

And I can't really tell ya what I'm gonna do
There are so many thoughts in my head
There are two roads to walk down
And one road to choose
So I'm thinking over the things that you've said
I'm thinking over the things"

In my opinion this song could reoccur several times in the novel and correlate to what is going on. In almost everything Edna does in the novel she has two choices: do it the conventional way or do the daring thing. When she decides to go for the swim at night the book quotes, "She grew daring and reckless" (Chopin,27). In that instance she decided to go down the free road. Edna must also think over what kind of mother she really wants to be, if she wants to be like Adele and be nurturing or if she wants to be independent. She must decide who she wants to be her lover, throughout the novel she has three extremely diverse relationships with different men. She must also decide if she wants to live or die, or if there is even an area in between where she can get out of her relationship yet start another life. She must decide how to behave in society, and what is appropriate to say and what is not. It seems as if Enda's whole life is a series of "thinking over" how to act and what road to choose.