Meaning of Life and Desiree’s Baby

Where had Madame Valmonde found Desiree for the first time when she was a baby? In the shadow of the big stone pillar.

b) Why had Armand’s mother never left France? Armad’s mother never left France because she loved the country so much and she died there. c) What was Madame Valmonds’s reply to Desiree’s letter? Her reply was “My own Desiree: Come home to Valmonde; back to your mother who loves you. Come with your child.”

1.
d) During which month were they picking cotton at L’Abri? October e) What did Armand have put on the bonfire? Armand put the black slaves he owned on the bonfire and old things from his wife and child.

2. In your own words:
a) Describe Desiree. Desiree is very young and sweet. She seems like a very clueless girl but is well mannered. She also seems very appreciative but also very sensitive towards the people who she loves.

3.
a) Describe how Desiree and Armand met and fell in love. Desiree was just standing around by the stone pillar and Armand saw her and it was almost “love at first sight”. The only thing is he had seen her before but he saw her in a different light that day and fell in love instantly.

3. What is the meaning of the following words in the context in which they appear: a) Riveted: in this context it means fixed, like Desiree had a fixed star on her baby.

b) Suffused: in this context it means covered or filled.
c) Plantation: A large farm like area.
d) Beneficient: performing acts of kindness
e) Bayou: a creek, secondary watercourse, or minor river that is tributary
to another body of water f) Peignoir: a woman’s loose negligee or dressing gown
g) Quadroon: a person of one-quarter black ancestry

4. What is the meaning of the phrase “He was reminded that she was nameless.” in the context in which it appears? This phrase means that he remembers that she was abandoned and does not know where she came from.

5. Why do you think La Blanche had that name? I think that she may have had that name because she was mixed with white.

6. 2. In your opinion, why did Desiree avoid the main road leading to the Valmondes’ and turn to the Bayou? Why did she choose the attire she did? What do you think happened to Desiree and her baby? I think that Desiree avoided the main road to avoid humiliation. She didn’t want anybody to see her leaving like that especially in the rough conditions that she was in. I think that Desiree may have killed herself and her baby because of the fact that she thought she was black and may have been looked down upon.

7. What was the “issue” with the baby? What was evidenced at the end of the story that determined why the baby had the “issue”? The issue with the baby was that it was mixed. Evidence at the end was the slaves skin color matching the baby and Armand being half black.

8. Did the ending shock you? Why or why not? Yes, the ending did shock me because I actually thought that Desiree would find out she was half black. I didn’t see Armand as being black and there weren’t any hints that he was as far as physical appearance.