At The Cadian Ball Pdf

Posted on by admin

Kate Chopin -- Short Fiction

Notes and Discussion Questions

Kate Chopin At The Cadian Ball Pdf Install Openwrt On X86 Pc Ascharya Deepak Tv Serial Avatar The Legend Of Korra Book 4 Episode 12 Sub Indo Speedfight 2 Repair Manual 40 Hp 1996 Johnson Outboard Service Manual Gooddual Display Mac Download Prp 058iig Driver For Mac How To Mac Os X 10.5 Bruno Furst Memory Course Pdf.

'At the 'Cadian Ball' (1892) -- Discussion Questions:

At the cadian ball summary
  1. “At the ’Cadian Ball” is included in Bayou Folk, Kate Chopin’s first book of short stories.The sketch of an Acadian woman is the frontispiece of A Night in Acadia (1897), Chopin’s second book of short stories.
  2. File: CadianBallSummary.PDF Download file CadianBallSummary.PDF Date added. 'At the Cadian Ball,' written by Kate Chopin in 1892. Some of the articles listed here may be available on line through university or public libraries.

  1. Why does each person go to the ball -- Bobinot, Alcee, Calixta, Clarisee?

  2. What is the history between Calixta and Alcee?

  3. Why is Alcee attracted to Calixta? Why is Calixta attracted to Alcee? Why is Bobinot attracted to Calixta? Why is Clarisse attracted to Alcee? Why is Calixta seemingly not attracted to Bobinot?

  4. What is Clarisse's role in this story?

  5. Why does Calixta consent to marriage with Bobinot?

  6. Construct the 'social ladder' as it is presented in this story. Who is on top? Who is in the middle? Who is at the bottom? Are there different 'ranks' within each of these three general groups?

  7. What is the central idea or theme?

'At the 'Cadian Ball' (1892) -- Reading Notes:

At The Cadian Ball Story

  • Hierarchies of Southern Society:

    • Race

    • Class

    • Gender

  • Southern Louisiana Locale

    • Courting

    • Jealousy, Scandal, Affair

    • Consent to marry without emotion

    • Acknowledgement of love

    • Constructions and Interconnectedness of Class Power and Sexual Desire

  • Superior-Class Status for CREOLES -- (e.g., Clarisee and Alcee) -- They are descendants of the original French and Spanish settlers of Louisiana.

  • Lower-Class Status for CAJUNS ('Cadians) -- (e.g., Calixta and possibly Bobinot) -- They are descendants of the French colonists who were exiled from Acadia (in Nova Scotia) by the British in the 18th century. Apparently, they are not considered 'white.' And within the rank of Cajuns ('Cadians'), status is granted according to racial characteristics that are viewed as European rather than African.

    • Calixta had a Spanish-Cuban mother -- this means more status for her.

    • Racial characteristics for Bobinot -- European and African -- 'Brown' -- Not considered White.

  • Lowest-Class Status for BLACKS -- (e.g., Bruce)

    • Mulatto = 1/2 Black and 1/2 white

    • Quadroon = 1/4 Black

At The Cadian Ball By Kate Chopin Pdf

At The Cadian Ball Pdf

Analyses‎ > ‎

'At the 'Cadian Ball' by Kate Chopin

Alcee Laballiere is a male upper-class Creole. He becomes betrothed to his cousin Clarisse. He actually likes Calixta, a beautiful lower-class Cajun. However, he cannot/will not marry beneath his class. Bobinot is a lower-class Cajun male and becomes betrothed to Calixta.
When a hurricane devastates Alcee’s rice crops, he takes off to the Acadian Ball, seeking mischief. Clarisse sees him go and follows. At the ball Alcee flirts with Calixta. Clarisse shows up and convinces Alcee to come home. Dismayed, Calixta resigns herself to marrying Bobinot. Alcee is jubilant when Clarisse tells him that she loves him and they are to be married.

Alcee Laballiere comes from a wealthy plantation-owning family. Chopin portrays his upper-class upbringing through his polished, dignified speech. He gambles and plants mostly rice, which is destroyed by a storm. He then gets drunk and goes to the Acadian Ball seeking mischief, namely the comfort of Calixta.
Calixta comes from a lower-class Cajun family. She is described as the most beautiful woman at the ball, despite her simple wardrobe. She falls for Alcee, but their class differences make it taboo for them to marry. In the end she ends up settling for Bobinot.
Bobinot is another member of the lower class. He is somewhat of a simpleton, shown by his heavily accented, simplistic speech. He is captivated by Calixta's beauty from the beginning and pursues her tirelessly.
Clarisse is Alcee's cousin. She doesn't seem to realize her feelings for Alcee until she learns he is interested in Calixta.
As is typical of 'local color' stories of the period, the conflict in this story is primarily internal to the characters. Alcee is conflicted by his sexual attraction to Calixta and society's disapproval of inter-class relations. The hurricane that destroys much of his crop can be seen as a sub-conflict.
A theme of the story is feminism. Chopin is trying to tell women to take control of their lives, just like Clarisse does and Calixta fails to do (she resigns herself to marrying Bobinot, instead of following her heart and fighting for Alcee). Another theme of the story is the inter-mingling of classes. Chopin seems to be trying to break down social strata, encouraged by the flirtation between Alcee and Calixta.
Setting:
The story takes place in the culturally-rich Louisiana.
http://wikitravel.org/upload/shared//thumb/2/24/Louisiana_regions_map.png/300px-Louisiana_regions_map.png
http://www.civilwaralbum.com/louisiana/images/plantation2.jpg
Further Reading: