ENG 3312 Studies in Fiction

M. Dressman UHD

Response to Kate Chopin (The Awakening): 70 points

Create an MS Word file and attach it to the Blackboard Assignment feature. You will have

four answers – one from Part I and three from Part II.

If answers from this exam have composition, grammatical, or mechanical problems, they will be

returned to you for revision.

Part I. Kate Chopin conveys the “local color” – the cultural situation – of Louisiana in The

Awakening. Offer several examples of ways in which Chopin takes advantage of the unusual

aspects of the local culture to capture reader interest. In an essay of about 300 words,

demonstrate how these examples of regionalism contribute to realism. (25 points)

Part II. Select three of the following characters and, in three character sketches of about

150 to 200 words each, explain the characters’ functions in the novel in bringing out the

developing character of Edna Pontellier. (15 points each, for a total of 45)

1. Léonce Pontellier

2. Madame Ratignolle

3. Dr. Mandelet

4. Alcée Arobin

5. Victor Lebrun

6. Mademoiselle Reisz

When you have completed this exam, proceed to the next set of readings for this course, the stories of

James Joyce.