Edna Pontellier could not have told why, wishing to go to the beach with Robert, she should in the first place have declined, and in the second...

Edna Pontellier could not have told why,

wishing to go to the beach with Robert, she

should in the first place have declined, and in

the second place have followed in obedience

to one of the two contradictory impulses

which impelled her.

A certain light was beginning to dawn

dimly within her—the light which, showing

the way, forbids it.

At that early period it served but to

bewilder her.

It moved her to dreams, to

thoughtfulness, to the shadowy anguish

which had overcome her the midnight when

she had abandoned herself to tears.

In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to

realize her position in the universe as a

human being, and to recognize her relations

as an individual to the world within and

about her.This may seem like a ponderous

weight of wisdom to descend upon the soul

of a young woman of twenty-eight-- perhaps

more wisdom than the Holy Ghost is usually

pleased to vouchsafe to any woman.

But the beginning of things, of a world

especially, is necessarily vague, tangled,

chaotic, and exceedingly disturbing. How few

of us ever emerge from such beginning!How

many souls perish in its tumult!

The voice of the sea is seductive; never

ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring,

inviting the soul to wander for a spell in

abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of

inward contemplation.

The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The

touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the

body in its soft, close embrace.

1. The “it” in line 9 refers to:

a) “ the two contradictory impluses” 

b)“a certain light...beginning to dawn”

c) “the way”

d) ”the shadowy anguish”

2. In line 23,”vouchsafe” can be best replaced by:

a) bestow

b) inform

c) refuse

d) deign

3. The final paragraph of the passage(lines 34-36) foreshadow

a) Edna’s affair with Arobin

b) Robert’s shipwreck on his way to Mexico

c) the sucide at the end of the novel

d) doctor Mandalet’s disapperance

4. Which of the following lines best describes Edna’s journey from this point to the end of the novel?

a) “the voice of the sea speaks to the soul.”

b)”this may seem like a ponderous weight of wisdom”

c)”it moved her to dreams, to thoughtfullness, to shadowy anguish...”

d)”of a world especially,is necessarily vague, tangled, chaotic and exceedingly disturbing.”

5. Line 30 contains an example of which literacy device?

a) polysyndeton

b)asyndeton

c)anthropomorphism

D) metonymy

6.the final two paragraphs depict a sea that is:

a) anthropomorphised

b) didactic

c) personified

d) dynamic

7.which of the following best describes edna’s characterization in the passage:

1. She is firm in her resolve to do as she pleases.

2. She is confused and lost regarding who she is and what she wants.

3. She is young and a bit naive.

a) 2 only

b) 1 and 3 

c) 2 and 3

d) 1,2, and 3

8. The shift in perspective in the sentence beginning on line 26 and ending on line 27 does all of the following except

a) give the reader a direct connection to the emotions Edna is feeling.

b) imply that the situation is not uncommon

c) give the narrator the opportunity to insert her commentary and experiences

d) describe a situation for Edna to be a part of something greater than she.

9. The ”anguish in line 12,most likely refers to

a) Edna’s distress over the creole culture and her lack of understanding with it.

b)the heartbreak Edna felt when she listened to Madame Ratignolle reveal the intimate details of her delivery, knowing she would never be a “mother-women”

c) the torment of knowing that is on the beach with Robert and the moment,though beautiful to her, would have repercussions.

d) the sadness Edna felt when she realized, after being scolded by Leonce and checking on Raoul, that she is trapped.

10. The tone of the passage the best be described as

a) sardonic

b)reverent

c) didactic

d)solemn

What is a literacy foil? Which characters serve as foils in The Awakening and how does their relationship illuminate the text?

Protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess “that outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions.” Identify a character who outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Analyze how this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid mere plot summary.