The Awakening and, indeed, all of Kate Chopin's stories, were written during a time in American history when people of color were considered second-class citizens. Although only a few of these stories deal explicitly with race relations, several of the stories contain casual usage of dated words referring to people of color. It may be a good idea to warn students about this ahead of time, and provide them with some brief historical and cultural background on the time period in which these stories are set.
The thought questions in this lesson plan provide material and ideas that students can use to write short original essays. For the sake of improving the power of expression, teachers...
