The Awakening and Butterfly Burning Essay -- Literature Comparison Pap

The Awakening and Butterfly BurningThe summaries do not add anything to the paper and could (should) have been skipped. Given the thesis of the paper, I would have wish to have seen a discussion of the male / female conflict, and a more than than detailed discussion of the individual / society conflict. The deuce womens struggles to find their own scent out of individuality are, after all, attempts to free themselves from the expectations of their husbands and of the societies in which they live. Such an exploration might have led the writer to some conclusions about the major differences in the two novels. (Note that the conclusion basically summarizes similarities.) The writer of the paper might well have come to conclusions different than those I am about to describe -- the following comments, in other words, are meant to suggest the type of discussion that I would have liked to have seen. Ednas husband (The Awakening) is financially much better off than is Phephelaphis ( Butterfly). He is, however, portrayed as not particularly loving -- he prefers to spend his time either at work, or gambling with his friends. Phephelaphis husband spends time onward from her, but he needs to do that in order to earn a living. Indeed, Ednas husband is basically indifferent about whatever she does. Phephelaphis seems to care more about her, but he is clearly upset about her abortion. This leads, if I remember correctly, to his having sex with another wo slice, just the opposite of the situation in The Awakening, where Edna is the bingle whose extra-marital affairs are emphasized. Edna is, throughout the novel, much freer from her husband than Phephelaphi is from hers. Phephelaphis is, in other words, the more difficult marital situation. ... ...hin both novels. In Butterfly Burning, Fumbatha was older and more experienced in the ways of the world than was Phephelaphi. Conversely, in The Awakening, Robert was younger than Edna and much less experienced in li fe than was Edna. The age differences played key roles in each novel. Age seemed to be the difference in how the world was viewed and the responsibilities required of each person. In Butterfly Burning the man was the older, seemingly settled, and wiser where in The Awakening, the man was younger and much less worldly, settled, and content. 28 In summary, both novels were a reflection of a womans struggle and quest to find a new identity for herself. Both novels use water as a symbol of life, death, and a gentle friend. The novels were both an awakening of the spirit and a animated of a spirit crushed like the fragile wings of a butterfly.