Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin | Short Story Analysis

“Désirée’s Baby” is a short story by Kate Chopin published in 1893. The story is set in Louisiana during the mid-nineteenth century, or the Antebellum South period. At the time, rich, white slaveowners were at the top of the social hierarchy. This story intertwines themes of racism and sexism through a complex plot and development of characters.

Included in this purchase is:

• Complete short story “Désirée’s Baby” by Kate Chopin
• Academic vocabulary graphic organizer
• Activating prior knowledge activity based on the historical context
• Brief background information for students to build on prior knowledge
• Literary Analysis questions where students will:
  • Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
  • Analyze how complex characters develop over the course of the text
  • Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • Analyze literary elements such as irony, foreshadowing, and character motivations.
• Constructed response question where students will:
  • Determine theme and how it emerges and shaped by specific details.
  • Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
• Answer keys

File Types Included:

Teacher Guide and Answer Keys (PDF)

Student Copy of Activities (Word document—editable for teachers)

Student Copy of Activities (PDF—ready to print)

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