November 28, 2003


On My Bookshelf: “The Awakening”
By Kate Chopin

David Mun, 24
Job Seeker

David Mun was promoted from Bret Harte in ’94, he graduated from Leland in ’98, finished at UCLA in ’03, and has decided to enroll for the spring ’04 semester in the cruel world, where we are all forced to choose between chasing our dreams and finding jobs.

“There’s a lot going on,” says Mun. “I probably ought to follow the formula for success; get a job, maybe go back to grad school, but there are so many other things I want to try.”

Recently Mun read Kate Chopin’s classic, “The Awakening,” and drew inspirational insights, noting the similarities between the main character’s dilemma and the decisions facing anybody that hasn’t quite established themselves.

“The Awakening’s” main character, Edna Pontellier, is a 28-year-old mother of two, living in a 19th Century Creole village. Pontellier becomes extremely frustrated with her society’s routine. She is passionate and artistic, full of a corralled vitality with no outlet due to her circumstances and surroundings. One summer, while her husband is away, Pontellier’s repressed emotions surface. She commits adultery with a younger man and experiences mixed feelings. Despite the painful ridicule delivered by society, Pontellier derives a great sense of pride developing from within. Every step she took to relieve herself from obligation added to her growth as an individual. In the end, Chopin uses Pontellier to ask whether an individual’s growth is worth the inherent consequences that follow.

“I loved this book,” says Mun. “I was rooting for Edna to follow her dreams.” However, Mun realizes that fiction is just that. Laughing to himself, he finishes, “I have an interview with Microsoft next week.”

- By Justin Petersen