Desiree's Baby

Taylor Cole
AP-English
Desiree’s Baby
I really enjoyed Desiree’s baby just because it kept me confused right up until the end. There was little moments when that I had the whole story in the bag, little did I know it was more complicated than that. This story kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. i did have to read certain paragraphs over and over again but it wasn’t a problem.
I think the purpose of this story was to stress this racial problem that I’m sure was happening back in the slavery times. It shows the great lengths that people would go just not to be considered black. Armand knew the entire time that his baby could have been turning out a little brown skinned. It was almost like when the baby was first born he was so happy and relieved that it appeared to be white. But as time progressed he noticed a difference and decided the only way out would be to blame his wife.
At first I couldn’t believe he would choose to abandon the love of his life just because of his mother being mixed with black. This self conflict he is having has nothing to do with his wife. But I took time to reconsider how much he valued his family name. A man’s ego will lead him to make a lot of decisions he might regret in the future, and I’m sure losing his wife and child would be something he will definitely regret.
The other half of me was feeling very bad for Desiree. Here she is a new mother looking to her husband for support and he suddenly turns on her. She was also concerned about the color of her child but the story never really made it clear if she questioned herself. Actually the story made me think maybe she had an affair with one of the slaves. The uneasiness and the guilt she had forced me to believe she had cheated on the love of her life. She loved him so much and it was hurting her how he was pushing her away, and that gave me the idea that he knew she had been cheating.
I felt relief when her mother told her to come home to her so she could take care of her. I just thought the story would change and maybe Armand would confess at least to his wife, just to put her out of her misery but I guess not. The truth of the situation is that Armand will never be able to have kids without the fear of them coming out black.
The sad part is this child will grow up with no father figure and depending on how dark he gets Desiree might be forced to send him out to the fields to be a slave. Hopefully her mother will be able to prove to her that this situation is not her fault. I think that the end of this story will have a moral that says “whatever is done in the dark will come to the light.”