herself before anyone or anything else. The adversity posed to her in the form of her position in society is a challenge that she must overcome. Edna uses one character in particular as inspiration for her courage. The person whom Edna truly admires is Mademoiselle Reiz, who is a brilliant pianist. Her talent is somewhat lost on the other people on the island. They cannot appreciate her artistry as does Edna because Mademoiselle Reiz does not fit their idea of what a proper woman should be; she is eccentric and bold. Her music touches Edna to the very core of her being. "Mademoiselle played a soft interlude. It was an improvisation.Gradually and imperceptibly the interlude melted into a soft opening minor chords of the Chopin Impromptu.Edna did not know when the impromptu began or ended.The music grew strange and fantastic-turbulent, insistent, plaintive and soft with entreatythe music filled the room. It loated out upon the night, over the housetops, the crescent of the river, losing itself in the silence of the upper air.Edna was sobbing, just as she had wept one midnight at Grand Isle when strange, new voiced awoke her. She arose in some agitation to take her departure" (Awakening 116) Something inside her is stirred, and she feels alive like never before in her life. Edna respects Mademoiselle Reiz because she has the courage to be different. It is Mademoiselle's music that starts to "awaken" Edna and allows her to see the beauty and passion in life. The "awakening" that Edna goes through is truly a test of strength, truth, but most of all, courage. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a novel about a independently wealthy man, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is a man of hope and relentless optimism. He is in love with his selfish and almost heartless neighbor, Daisy. His love has spanned years, and traveled hundreds of miles. Gatsby becomes wealthy simply to impress and win over Daisy, even though she is already married. On...
